On limiting or encouraging rivalry in technical progress: The effect of patent scope decisions

Abstract This essay is on the effects of the scope of a patent - e.g., how broad its allowed claims - on subsequent inventing in a field. It is argued that this depends on the topography of technical advance in a field, in particular on how inventions are linked to each other and in the extent to which rapid technical advance requires a diversity of actors and minds, as contrasted with being facilitated by express coordination of inventive activity. Technical advance is examined in several different fields, with a focus on how patents influenced the pace and quality of development. The authors conclude that allowing and enforcing broad patent claims tends to hinder technical progress.

[1]  David B. Audretsch,et al.  Innovation and Technological Change: An International Comparison , 1991 .

[2]  Jerry R. Green,et al.  Novelty and Disclosure in Patent Law , 1990 .

[3]  Paul A. David,et al.  Heroes, Herds and Hysteresis in Technological History: Thomas Edison and ‘The Battle of the Systems’ Reconsidered , 1992 .

[4]  P. Dasgupta,et al.  Uncertainty, Industrial Structure, and the Speed of R&D , 1980 .

[5]  S. Winter,et al.  An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change.by Richard R. Nelson; Sidney G. Winter , 1987 .

[6]  J. Brittain,et al.  The semiconductor industry. , 1978, Science.

[7]  Yoram Barzel,et al.  Optimal Timing of Innovations , 1968 .

[8]  S. Scotchmer,et al.  Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Cumulative Research and the Patent Law , 1991 .

[9]  C. Shapiro,et al.  Optimal Patent Length and Breadth , 1990 .

[10]  Peter S. Menell,et al.  Tailoring Legal Protection for Computer Software , 1986 .

[11]  Kenneth Flamm,et al.  Targeting the Computer: Government Support and International Competition , 1987 .

[12]  George Bittlingmayer,et al.  Property Rights, Progress, and the Aircraft Patent Agreement , 1988, The Journal of Law and Economics.

[13]  S. Winter,et al.  Appropriating the Returns from Industrial Research and Development , 1987 .

[14]  P. Klemperer.  How Broad Should the Scope of Patent Protection Be , 1990 .

[15]  E. Kitch,et al.  The Nature and Function of the Patent System , 1977, The Journal of Law and Economics.