A growing number of empirical studies measure how extended copyright terms negatively affect the number of book titles in print. Many of these same studies also demonstrate significant differences in the pricing of bound volumes, ebooks, and audio books editions of public domain and copyrighted...

Although much ink has been spilled over the decision of the Supreme Court in eBay v. Mercexchange to modify the test for equitable relief in patent cases and to nullify the long-standing presumption that victims of infringement are always entitled to permanent injunctions, an obvious point is...

In a world of zero transaction costs, one should observe optimal invention and innovation. As long as a system of enforceable contracts were in place, firms with inventive capacity and firms requiring inventions would negotiate for the optimal production of new creations. With adequate...

In The Problem of Social Cost, Ronald Coase demonstrates that economic efficiency does not require that those acting in a market should be legally responsible for all the harm they cause. He offers numerous examples from nuisance law, and this essay argues that intellectual property infringement...

This article considers current proposals for patent law reform in light of a simple theory about intellectual property law: In a world without transaction costs, the assignment of property rights is not necessary to stimulate the optimal production of creative goods. Because potential users of...

Genetically modified pollen drifting onto the field of a neighboring farm may cause substantial harm. If the bystanding farmer is growing non-genetically modified crops, she may suffer a pecuniary loss due to genetic pollution. If the pollen is patented, the patentee may also claim harm stemming...

Patent law is under-theorized in the sense that the predominating incentive-based justifications cannot by themselves adequately explain empirical evidence on patenting gathered by research economists. This article provides an alternative justification for patent law based on private transaction...