

The Case Against Patents (2012) [pdf] - pessimizer
http://research.stlouisfed.org/wp/2012/2012-035.pdf

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throwawaykf05
1\. These are the same authors behind the "Against Intellectual Monopoly"
book, which, of course, they cite in this paper. In general, I would not trust
anything these authors put out without fact-checking all their claims and
actually reading the studies they cite. I have found that they are rather, uh,
flexible with their facts:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7889290](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7889290)

2\. They claim they could find no evidence supporting a relation between
patenting and innovation growth, only a relation between patenting and
increased patenting. This is false - there are many studies showing positive
correlation between patenting and measures of innovation other than patenting,
such as R&D expenditure, and diversity of industries in which innovation
happens. Just from a quick search:

[http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1513814](http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1513814)

[http://nw08.american.edu/~wgp/park_lippoldt08.pdf](http://nw08.american.edu/~wgp/park_lippoldt08.pdf)

[http://www.dklevine.com/archive/sokoloff-
kahn.pdf](http://www.dklevine.com/archive/sokoloff-kahn.pdf)

[http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam041/2003043048.pdf](http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam041/2003043048.pdf)

[http://www.nber.org/books_in_progress/invention/chapter7.pdf](http://www.nber.org/books_in_progress/invention/chapter7.pdf)

[http://www.nber.org/papers/h0042.pdf?new_window=1](http://www.nber.org/papers/h0042.pdf?new_window=1)

Heck, patenting is also positively correlated with increased prosperity in
general:

[http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013...](http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/02/patenting%20prosperity%20rothwell/patenting%20prosperity%20rothwell.pdf)

3\. The bit about the correlation of patenting and productivity growth is also
incorrect, and is actually something of a strawman. The theory is innovation
results in increased productivity, and patenting is a proxy for innovation,
but the relation between innovation and productivity is ambiguous and
difficult to quantify:

[http://www2.itif.org/2013-competitiveness-innovation-
product...](http://www2.itif.org/2013-competitiveness-innovation-productivity-
clearing-up-confusion.pdf)

[http://elsa.berkeley.edu/pub/users/bhhall/papers/BHH11_Innov...](http://elsa.berkeley.edu/pub/users/bhhall/papers/BHH11_Innovation_Productivity_NEPR.pdf))

But even then, a quick Google suggests that there _is_ evidence of patenting
and increased productivity:
[http://cep.lse.ac.uk/people/bloom/BloomVanReenen.pdf](http://cep.lse.ac.uk/people/bloom/BloomVanReenen.pdf)

The authors certainly are aware of Google, so I'm guessing they simply decided
to cherrypick studies that support their point of view.

4\. Of course, there are costs imposed by the patent system as well, and there
are a number of studies showing these as well, many of which this paper cites.
The big question these days is, how can we tune the system optimally so that
the benefits outweigh the costs? To get a more nuanced view of the situation,
see this metastudy:

"RECENT RESEARCH ON THE ECONOMICS OF PATENTS", Bronwyn H. Hall Dietmar Harhoff

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worldnick
It's really very simple. As the population grows the amount of productivity
lost by the people who cannot be productive because of a patent will be much
higher than the one party who can be productive. Also with a high number of
people thinking the chances of new ideas being created simultaneously is very
high (and probably always was). Patent do no increase productivity. This is a
moot point. Patents share information, but production _limitations_ should
have no part in sharing information. Historical credit is probably more than
enough reason for most inventors. New ideas get a natural advantage without
any legal help. The legal aspect does nothing good for our society. If aliens
were looking at us limit each other they would probably laugh...

