This essay is the introduction to a book of the same title, forthcoming in summer of 2021 from Oxford University Press. The purpose is to document the ways in which patent systems are products of battles over the economic surplus from innovation. The features of these systems take shape as interests at different points in the production chain seek advantage in any way they can, and consequently, they are riven with imperfections. The interesting historical question is why US-style patent systems with all their imperfections have come to dominate other methods of encouraging inventive activity. The essays in the book suggest that the creation of a tradable but temporary property right facilitates the transfer of technological knowledge and thus fosters a highly productive decentralized ecology of inventors and firms.

An examination of how the patent system works, imperfections and all, to incentivize innovation Do patents facilitate or frustrate innovation? Lawyers, economists, and politicians who have staked out strong positions in this debate often attempt to validate their claims by invoking the historical record--but they frequently get the history wrong. The Battle over Patents gets it right. Bringing together thoroughly researched essays from prominent historians and social scientists, this volume traces the long and contentious history of patents and examines how they have worked in practice. Editors Stephen H. Haber and Naomi R. Lamoreaux show that patent systems are the result of contending interests at different points in production chains battling over economic surplus. The larger the potential surplus, the more extreme are the efforts of contending parties-now and in the past-to search out, generate, and exploit any and all sources of friction. Patent systems, as human creations, are therefore necessarily ridden with imperfections. This volume explores these shortcomings and explains why, despite all the debate, historically US-style patent systems still dominate all other methods of encouraging inventive activity.

The Case for Patents offers an affirmative case for the many economic benefits of the patent system and shows how patents provide incentives for invention, innovation, and technological change. The discussion highlights the many contributions of patents to economic growth and development. The Case for Patents helps restore balance to public policy debates by recognizing the important contributions of the patent system.

From the "Diaper Wars" that pitted Procter & Gamble against Kimberly-Clark to disputes over high-temperature superconductors, veteran technology writer Fred Warshofsky tracks patent litigation's path to becoming one of the most potent financial tools of the 1990s. The stakes are enormous. For example, Honeywell Inc. more than doubled its net income for the third quarter of 1992 despite lower operating revenue by winning some dozen patent infringement suits against Japanese camera makers, including a tidy $96 billion from Minolta. Japanese companies frequently win. In a revealing analysis of the patent wars in Japan, Warshofsky shows how Japanese industries surround basic patents with clusters of patent modifications. In the global winner-take-all battle, this strategy gives them effective control over the licensing and usefulness of the original invention. The patent game becomes more complicated with the development of each new product and technology. Nowhere is the phenomenon more evident than in software, semiconductors, and biotechnology. Warshofsky delves into each of these highly sophisticated industries. In the software industry, for instance, Warshofsky dissects patent battles such as Apple v. Microsoft and Borland v. Lotus that have made front-page headlines. The Patent Wars is the first book to take an incisive look at this new business offensive and its consequences, including hackers and piracy in cyberspace. As more and more companies deliberately strive to prohibit competition and innovation, this stimulating and highly informative book will become essential reading for people in business and finance, technology-watchers, and policymakers.

In Patent Wars, one of America's leading patent scholars provides an accessible overview of U.S. patent law; the arguments for and against patents; and the ongoing debates over topics including the patentability of genes, software, and business methods, the impact of patents on drug prices, "patent trolls," and the smartphone wars.

This major business biography of Polaroid and its founder and inventor Edwin Land, covers how the company grew from the initial Polavision prototypes during World War II, to the 1980s landmark patent infringement trial against Kodak that nearly brought the company to its knees.

Why Has America Stopped Inventing? takes a close look at why America’s 200 year experiment with patents appears to be failing, and why America has all but stopped inventing. It explains why our over-legislated patent system has snuffed out any incentive to invent desperately needed technologies, such as new forms of clean energy. Why Has America Stopped Inventing? shows how this happened by comparing the experiences of America’s most successful 19th century inventors with those of today.