Intellectual property protection in the United States has always been about generating
incentives to create. Thomas Jefferson was of the view that"[i] nventions... cannot, in nature, be a …

The patent system is designed with a paradigm invention in mind-a new device or machine
covered by a single patent. Historically, this paradigm was a fairly accurate portrayal of the …

How much time and money should the Patent and Trademark Office spend deciding whether
to issue a patent? To judge by recent criticism of the office from academics, industry leaders…

… For a discussion of what happens when we relax these unrealistic assumptions, see
Lemley, Economics of Improvement, supra note 69, at 1048-72. On the importance of efficient …

… Lemley & Lawrence Lessig In this Article, Professors Mark Lemley and Lawrence Lessig
address the question of "open access" and its relationship to the architecture of the Internet. It is …

I have a colleague in practice who claims that as a trade secrets lawyer, his job is to" prosecute
thieves and defend entrepreneurs." For a lawyer in private practice, determining which is …

… and Mark Lemley. It provides the first comprehensive explanation of why the patent system
is perceived by different industries in fundamentally different ways. Burk and Lemley make a …

… Kimberly Moore collected a comprehensive database containing every patent lawsuit filed
in the United States that terminated during 1999-2000.34 John Allison and Mark Lemley …

The standard justification for intellectual property is ex ante: the goal of intellectual property
is to influence behavior that occurs before the right comes into being. It is the prospect of the …

Economists often assume that a patent gives its owner a well-defined legal right to exclude
others from practicing the invention described in the patent. In practice, however, the rights …