Original article is available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3312696Academics and others may get greater uptake of their policy ideas if framed not only as policies to enact but experiments to try and to learn from. A companion article, Rigorous Policy Pilots, lays out a framework, “MATTER”...

The patent system is built on the premise that patents provide an incentive for innovation by offering a limited monopoly to patentees. The inverse assumption that removing patent protection will hurt innovation has largely prevented the widespread use of compulsory licensing - the practice of...

Responsive to calls from lawmakers, the USPTO has recently announced a broad set of measures to increase the quality of drug patents ex ante, before they are granted, as a way of in the US. However, there is currently no way to tell which patent applications cover inventions that will lead to...

While patent assertion entities ("PAEs" or patent “trolls”) have received a lot of attention, little of it has focused on the distributional impacts of their demands. The impact of PAEs on startups is crucial, because startups contribute to job creation and innovation, making them potential...

While many believe the patent system has hit a historic and unprecedented low, discontent with patents is nothing new. In 1966, a Presidential Commission recommended prohibiting software patents because of the PTO s inability to vet them. In 1883, the Supreme Court railed against speculative...

For years, high-tech companies have amassed patents in order to deter patent litigation. Recently, a secondary market for patents has flourished, making it more likely that patents obtained for defensive purposes will end up in the courtroom. This article explores the current patent ecosystem,...