Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Cumulative Research and the Patent Law

Scotchmer, Suzanne

doi:10.1257/jep.5.1.29

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Journal of Economic Perspectives: Vol. 5 No. 1 (Winter 1991)

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Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Cumulative Research and the Patent Law

Article Citation

Scotchmer, Suzanne. 1991. "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Cumulative Research and the Patent Law." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1): 29-41.

DOI: 10.1257/jep.5.1.29

Abstract

Most innovators stand on the shoulders of giants, and never more so than in the current evolution of high technologies, where almost all technical progress builds on a foundation provided by earlier innovators. Most economics literature on patenting and patent races has looked at innovations in isolation, without focusing on the externalities or spillovers that early innovators confer on later innovators. But the cumulative nature of research poses problems for the optimal design of patent law that are not addressed by that perspective. The challenge is to reward early innovators fully for the technological foundation they provide to later innovators, but to reward later innovators adequately for their improvements and new products as well. This paper investigates the use of patent protection and cooperative agreements among firms to protect incentives for cumulative research.

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Authors

Scotchmer, Suzanne (U CA, Berkeley)

JEL Classifications

O34: Intellectual Property Rights
K11: Property Law

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