Do Patents Do More Harm Than Good?

March 21, 2008

Amid the clamor over patent reform, a parallel debate is occurring. The TechDirt blog has an interesting discussion going about whether patents do more harm than good. Here's blogger Mike Masnick's premise: "Any given monopoly is going to be bad. There are economic rents associated with a monopoly. It limits the supply available and increases the cost, acting as a deadweight loss to society. That's absolutely true with patents as well (as much of the research has shown). However, there are a few more reasons why patents tend to be a net negative. ..." It's provocative stuff. Inventors Digest will be featuring Michael Meurer in our June issue. He's co-author of Patent Failure: How Judges, Bureaucrats and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk, and will spell out his argument how patents stifle innovation. Stay tuned ....