Issues

Licensing Standard Essential Patents with FRAND Commitments: Preparing for 5G Mobile Telecommunications

As 5G mobile telecommunication technologies develop, some have proposed that courts or administrative agencies should regulate licensing of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs).

Reforming the Patent System

Three tailored patent reforms would improve the patent system without requiring more evidence as to whether stronger patent protection promotes innovation generally.

A Toolkit of Policies to Promote Innovation

Innovation is an important route to continued productivity growth in the United States. Tax credits for research and development (R&D) are among the best ways to spur innovation. Evidence as to whether the patent system promotes innovation is inconclusive.

Increasing Diversity in Innovation by Tracking Women, Minority, and Startups: Innovators that Patent and Supporting Experimentation in Inclusive Innovation

The Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success (SUCCESS) Act of 2018 requires the United States Patent Office (USPTO) to better support women, minorities, and veterans in innovation.

Speech Across Borders

Several courts have ordered online service providers to take down content worldwide. Other rules restrict speech depending on the nationality and location of the speaker. Tech firms also curate content on a global scale.

Finding Reasonable Royalty Damages: A Contract Approach to Patent Infringement 

Courts differ as to how to calculate damages for patent infringement. The best approach would be for courts to construct an “informed contract” between the parties to the dispute.

Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation: Evidence from the Human Genome

Intellectual property (IP) is intended to encourage innovation. For two years, Celera held exclusive IP rights to data about some human genes. During this time, other firms reduced research and development (R&D) related to these genes from 20-30%. These effects persisted for years after.

Privacy as Commons: Case Evaluation Through the Governing Knowledge Commons Framework

“Privacy” is best defined as a matter of the appropriate flow of information. A concept known as the “general knowledge commons” helps analyze privacy problems, although the concept was developed for creative content rather than privacy analysis.

Global Collaborative Patents

Some firms based in the United States file collaborative patents on inventions made by teams with members inside and outside the United States. This collaborative innovation is growing in importance. Collaborative patents tend to be of high quality.

Intellectual Contract and Intellectual Law

Technological change is increasing the importance of intangible assets. A new legal concept, the “Intellectual Contract” (IC), would better support innovation, as current Intellectual property (IP) rules are limited.