The Federal Circuit’s expansion of patentable subject matter in the 1990s led to a threefold increase in software patents, many of which contain abstract ideas merely tethered to a general-purpose computer. There is little evidence, however, to suggest this expansion has produced an increase...

We analyze the extent to which private defensive litigation insurance deters patent assertion by non-practicing entities (NPEs). We study the effect that a patent-specific defensive insurance product, offered by a leading litigation insurer, had on the litigation behavior of insured patents'...

Because judges exercise discretion in how they handle and decide cases, heterogeneity across judges can affect case outcomes and, thus, preferences among litigants for particular judges. However, selection obscures the causal mechanisms that drive these preferences. We overcome this challenge by...

In this chapter, we explore the extent to which universities and other nonprofit research institutes currently participate in the secondary market for patents. We document 220 assignments, involving a total of 544 U.S. patent assets, that appear to represent arms-length patent sales by...

The duration of a given patent's life is a factor of two variables: first, the maximum term of protection afforded by law, and second, its owner's willingness and ability to comply with periodic renewal obligations. This chapter reviews the theoretical and empirical literature related to both

In her Article, The Rise of the End User in Patent Litigation, Professor Bernstein makes the case for legislative and judicial action designed to protect technology users from abusive patent enforcement that exploits their relative lack of resources and technical knowledge. This Essay presents...

This Essay is based on comments I submitted May 6, 2015 in response to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Request for Comments on Enhancing Patent Quality. It proceeds in two parts. First, I share two general observations about the PTO's current slate of New Quality Proposals: specifically,...

This Essay is based on comments I submitted May 6, 2015 in response to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Request for Comments on Enhancing Patent Quality. It proceeds in two parts. First, I share two general observations about the PTO's current slate of New Quality Proposals: specifically,...

Calls for the creation of a "small claims" intellectual property court have arisen periodically in the U.S. since at least the late 1980s. While prior efforts to establish such a court have fizzled, a recent push to establish a small claims tribunal within the U.S. Copyright Office is gaining...

We analyze the extent to which private defensive litigation insurance deters patent assertion by non-practicing entities (NPEs). We study the effect that a patent-specific defensive insurance product, offered by a leading litigation insurer, had on the litigation behavior of insured patents'...