The Patent System at a Crossroads
Regulation, Vol. 41, No. 1, Spring 2018
USC CLASS Research Papers Series CLASS18-6
USC Legal Studies Research Papers Series 18-6
5 Pages Posted: 27 Mar 2018 Last revised: 3 Apr 2018
Date Written: March 29, 2018
Abstract
Judicial decisions, agency actions and legislative enactments have promoted a creeping reversion toward the weak patent regime that prevailed for several decades preceding the establishment of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The pending Supreme Court case, Oil States Energy Services v. Greene’s Energy Group, provides an opportunity to reflect upon the choice between a “property rights” vision of the patent system in which resource allocation is principally directed by market signals and an administrative vision of the patent system in which resource allocation is perpetually subject to adjustment by courts and regulators. A growing body of empirical research raises doubts concerning the social costs that have been attributed to a robustly enforced patent system and, by implication, poses a challenge to policy actions that have targeted property-like attributes of that system.
Keywords: patents, Oil States v. Greene's Energy
JEL Classification: O34, K2
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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