Are patents worth their bother?
Victoria Reitz
New research and rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court might make companies and inventors wonder if patents are worth the trouble to file. The debate is fueled by an upcoming book from former Boston University Law School professors, James Bessen and Michael Meurer. The two compiled data about the money behind patents and patent litigation. They found that, excluding the pharmaceutical industry, since the 1990's companies spend more on litigation than they make in profits.
The authors note that "patents do provide profits for their owners, but taking the effect of other owners' patents into account, including the risk of litigation, the average public firm outside the chemical and pharmaceutical industries would be better off if patents did not exist."
Joel
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