"In The Case for Patents, Daniel Spulber offers a clear and informative defense of a strong system of patent rights, which effectively undermines the claims of patent skeptics who wish to junk or weaken the system. Armed with a sophisticated but accessible analysis, Spulber traces the life cycle of patents. He articulates the rationale for patent creation; shows their commercial utility; and outlines the role of strong remedies by way of both injunction and damages for patent breach. Essential reading for both professional and general readers."
Richard A Epstein
Laurence A Tisch Professor of Law, New York University Law School
Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution
James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law Emeritus and Senior Lecturer, University of Chicago
"In keeping with the characteristically systematic and thoughtful approach demonstrated across his many books, Professor Spulber once again gives us a clear, step-by-step explanation about how individual businesses and society in general can make choices to make things better for us all. The Case for Patents succinctly describes particular pitfalls associated with modern debates about the patent system, as well as providing a set of tools for mitigating or avoiding their pernicious effects. Accessible to a wide audience, this book can materially help anyone trying to decide how they would like to make the best use of patents."
F Scott Kieff
Fred C Stevenson Research Professor, George Washington University Law School and
former Commissioner US International Trade Commission
"The Case for Patents provides a timely and badly needed antidote to recent scholarship that denigrates patents as wasteful monopolistic clogs on marketplace transactions, particularly in new high-tech sectors. Professor Spulber's work concisely explains that, to the contrary, patents are property rights that promote the spread and adaptation of new technologies, thereby spurring dynamic economic growth to the benefit of the American public. It also breaks new ground on important policy questions, such as patent royalty determinations and the nature of patent licensing contracts. What's more, Spulber explores why other government-centered mechanisms to induce inventions, such as public prizes for discoveries, are far inferior to patents. This book is a must read for anyone working on public policy affecting American innovation, at a time when patent holders are under legal siege."
Alden F Abbott
Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University, and
former General Counsel, Federal Trade Commission
"The Case for Patents provides a robust and convincing economic justification for patent rights by one of the leading scholars in the field. The book is accessible to non-economists and policy analysts, as well as economists, and deserves to be widely read. Based on wide-ranging analysis of the roles patents serve and an impressive marshaling of empirical evidence, Spulber emphasizes how patents do far more than provide an innovation incentive; most importantly, they underpin market transactions in technology. This promotes access to capital and the ability to monetize the returns to inventions for small entrepreneurial companies, and thus improves the efficiency of vertical specialization. But, this only works if there is effective patent screening (and enforceability), so that patents are informative signals to the market and are socially desirable as well. While there are social costs from patents, this book is an important reminder of the need to protect patent rights and to facilitate markets for technology."
Mark Schankerman
Professor of Economics, London School of Economics
"Professor Spulber's book is a pathbreaking synthesis of economics, business strategy, and law that makes the case for a robust patent system. The Case for Patents is a must-read book for the academic and policy communities."
D Daniel Sokol
Professor, University of Florida Levin College of Law
"Few subjects today deserve robust economic analysis more keenly than innovation and entrepreneurship, and few issues spark more vigorous debate than the role that intellectual property rights play in increasing, or impairing, economic performance and social welfare. For those interested in understanding how the modern economy works, The Case for Patents is essential reading."
Stuart Graham
Scheller College of Business @ Georgia Tech and
Former Chief Economist, United States Patent and Trademark Office
