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The Uneasy Case For Patent Races Over Auctions, Michael B. Abramowicz
The Uneasy Case For Patent Races Over Auctions, Michael B. Abramowicz
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
In advancing his prospect theory of patents, Edmund Kitch dismissed the possibility of distributing rights to particular inventions through auctions, arguing that the patent system avoids the need for governmental officials to define the boundaries of inventions that have not yet been created. Auctions for patent rights to entire inventive fields, however, might accentuate the benefits of a prospect approach, by allowing for earlier and broader patents. Auction designs that award the patent to the bidder that commits the most money to research and development or that agrees to charge the lowest price, meanwhile, can reduce the costs of the …
The Danger Of Underdeveloped Patent Prospects, Michael B. Abramowicz
The Danger Of Underdeveloped Patent Prospects, Michael B. Abramowicz
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
Commentators have long recognized that much of the work of commercializing an invention occurs after a patent issues. They have not recognized, however, that by the time market conditions make commercialization potentially attractive, the remaining patent term might be sufficiently short such that a patentee will not develop an invention to the extent that the patentee would if more patent term remained. This concern about patent underdevelopment provides a counterweight to patent prospect theory, which urges that patents be issued relatively early in the invention process. While the patent system reduces this risk by requiring a substantial degree of achievement …