Law Commons^™

Engineering A Deal: Toward A Private Ordering Solution To The Anticommons Problem, F. Scott Kieff, Troy A. Paredes

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The problems of the intellectual property ("IP") anticommons are infamous. Many people fear that the potential for vast numbers of IP rights to cover a single good or service will prevent an enterprise from even attempting to launch a business for fear of being unduly taxed or retarded or simply held up. This Article offers a solution based on private ordering within the context of existing laws. This approach uses a limited liability entity structured so that IP owners are given an actual stake in the operating business and thus an incentive to participate in the enterprise; and yet at …