Patents and the Dissemination of Inventions

摘要

In theWinter 2013 issue, Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine ("The Case Against Patents," pp. 3-22) conclude that patents cannot promote the dissemination of technology and technical information. They argue (p. 9) that if an inventor were reasonably certain that others would not learn the details of an invention during the period of patent protection, then patenting would be unnecessary because competitors would be unable to make the invention and appropriate any of the market from its inventor. That is, a patent provides only one benefit to the inventor: additional years during which to sell an invention without competition. Similar analysis is frequently employed in the legal and economics literature: for examples, see Bessen and Maskin (2009, especially footnote 31); Ohlin 2005; Kultti, Takalo, and Toikka (2007); and in this journal, Posner (2005, p. 66).