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A Comment On 'Do Patents Facilitate Financing In The Software Industry?', James Bessen
A Comment On 'Do Patents Facilitate Financing In The Software Industry?', James Bessen
Faculty Scholarship
'Do Patents Facilitate Financing in the Software Industry?' by Ronald J. Mann contributes empirical evidence to our understanding of how software startups use patents. However, a close examination of the actual empirical findings in this paper points to rather different conclusions than those that Mann draws, namely: few software startups benefit from software patents and patents are not widely used by software firms to obtain venture financing. Indeed, among other things, the paper reports that 80% of venture-financed software startups had no acquired any patents within four years of receiving financing.
An Essay On The Challenges Of Drafting A Uniform Law Of Software Contracting, Maureen A. O'Rourke
An Essay On The Challenges Of Drafting A Uniform Law Of Software Contracting, Maureen A. O'Rourke
Faculty Scholarship
This Essay, originally presented at Lewis & Clark Law School’s 2006 Distinguished Intellectual Property Visitor lecture, discusses the challenges involved in developing a uniform law of software contracting. Technology and the law have developed since 1995, when the first efforts to codify such a law began. These earlier efforts were largely unsuccessful, and substantial uncertainty still exists in transactions involving software. In this Essay, Dean O’Rourke discusses the American Law Institute’s Principles project that seeks to identify approaches courts could use in adjudicating disputes involving software agreements. The challenges of developing the Principles include the same theoretical, practical and political …
Commercializing Open Source Software: Do Property Rights Still Matter?, Ronald J. Mann
Commercializing Open Source Software: Do Property Rights Still Matter?, Ronald J. Mann
Faculty Scholarship
For several years now, open source software products have been gaining prominence and market share. Yet the products themselves are not as provocative as the way in which they are developed and distributed. Two related features of the open source model are distinctive: the use of collaborative development structures that extend beyond the boundaries of a single firm, and the lack of reliance on intellectual property ("IP") rights as a means of appropriating the value of the underlying technologies. Firm-level control of intellectual property is replaced by a complex set of relations, both informal and sometimes contractual, among strategic partners …
Chapter 3: Open Source Software: Free Provision Of Complex Public Goods, James Bessen
Chapter 3: Open Source Software: Free Provision Of Complex Public Goods, James Bessen
Faculty Scholarship
Open source software, developed by volunteers, appears counter to the conventional wisdom that private provision of public goods is socially more efficient. But complexity makes a difference. Under standard models, development contracts for specialized software may be difficult to write and ownership rights do not necessarily elicit socially optimal effort. I consider three mechanisms that improve the likelihood that firms can obtain the software they need: pre-packaged software, Application Program Interfaces (APIs) and Free/Open Source software (FOSS). I show that with complex software, some firms will choose to participate in FOSS over both "make or buy" and this increases social …
Patents And Business Models For Software Firms, John R. Allison, Abe Dunn, Ronald J. Mann
Patents And Business Models For Software Firms, John R. Allison, Abe Dunn, Ronald J. Mann
Faculty Scholarship
We analyze the relation between patents and the different business models available to firms in the software industry. The paper builds on Cusumano's work defining the differences among firms that sell products, those that provide services, and the hybrid firms that fall between those polar categories. Combining data from five years of Software Magazine's Software 500 with data about the patenting practices of those software firms, we analyze the relation between the share of revenues derived from product sales and the firm's patenting practices. Accounting for size, R&D intensity, and sector-specific effects, the paper finds a robust positive correlation between …