Intellectual Property

Patents

A patent provides protection for an invention to the owner of the patent. The protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years. Patent protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold without the patent owner's consent.

TAP Blog

TAP Scholars Work on Intellectual Property Issues

In honor of World IP Day, TAP highlights a few of the articles and scholars that examine intellectual property technology-policy issues.

TAP Staff Blogger

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Fact Sheets

Software Patents

A patent provides an exclusive legal right to an invention for a limited period of time, in exchange for public disclosure of that innovation. As with other property rights, patents may be sold, transferred, or licensed for a third party’s use.

Quote

Buying Bitcoin Led Patent Mega-Millionaire to an Even Bigger Investing Idea

"If they can screen out bad patents, the application becomes more attractive to potential licensees. The value of his system is how much noise there is. I know there's lots of bad patents out there." — Mark Schankerman, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics

Mark Schankerman
CNBC
January 12, 2018

Featured Article

A Simple Approach to Setting Reasonable Royalties for Standard-Essential Patents

This article suggests binding arbitration as a way to resolve disputes arising within standard-setting organizations.

By: Mark Lemley, Carl Shapiro