Patents & Financial Meltdown
What happens when you give out lots of property rights, but nobody exactly knows what those rights cover? Yes, that might describe software/business-method patents and the result is costly litigation, disputes and a net disincentive for innovation.
But that also describes recent markets in collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps. And with these markets, as anyone who has read a newspaper (some people still do that) during the last month knows, the result is a bit more ominous. My former venture capital investor and all-around Wise Man, Ben Rosen, sums up the current financial crisis in three words: “Nobody Knows Anything.”
Property rights have the potential to be strong institutions promoting economic growth. But, as these examples show, if the rights are not well-designed and well-implemented, they can be perverted from this goal. Brian Kahin draws the parallel between the financial/real-estate “bubble” with the still-expanding “bubble” in patents. As Brian suggests, combine that bubble with a Ponzi scheme (Intellectual Ventures) and you might have a real perversion.
Boycott Novell » Microsoft Storms India with Patents, by Proxy said,
October 3, 2008 @ 7:08 pm
[…] patently-absurd escapades of IV have made it exceptionally unpopular and it shows. Brian Kahin draws the parallel between the financial/real-estate “bubble” with […]
Comparing The Mortgage Bubble To The Patent Bubble | Technology Update News said,
October 10, 2008 @ 8:19 pm
[…] Mortgage Bubble To The Patent Bubble Bessen and Meurer have a brief, but interesting post noting at least some similarities between the “mortgage bubble” that resulted in the current financi… with the ongoing “patent bubble.” In both cases, as they note, you’re dealing with products where […]
TPile » Blog Archive » Comparing The Mortgage Bubble To The Patent Bubble said,
October 10, 2008 @ 8:27 pm
[…] and Meurer have a brief, but interesting post noting at least some similarities between the “mortgage bubble” that resulted in the cur… with the ongoing “patent bubble.” In both cases, as they note, you’re dealing […]
Tech Verdict » Blog Archive » Comparing The Mortgage Bubble To The Patent Bubble said,
October 10, 2008 @ 8:28 pm
[…] 10, 2008 – 8:17 pm | by Michael Masnick Bessen and Meurer have a brief, but interesting post noting at least some similarities between the “mortgage bubble” that resulted in the current financi… with the ongoing “patent bubble.” In both cases, as they note, you’re dealing with products where […]
. [ Z o o B a B ] .: Ipsummit said,
December 4, 2008 @ 9:31 am
[…] http://www.researchoninnovation.org/WordPress/?p=108 […]
. [ Z o o B a B ] .: Ipsummit said,
December 4, 2008 @ 9:31 am
[…] http://www.researchoninnovation.org/WordPress/?p=108 […]
ex Africa semper aliquid novi » The Patent Bubble, worse than the subprime mortgage bubble? said,
January 4, 2009 @ 11:05 am
[…] as one commentator on Kahin’s post put it “What happens when you give out lots of property rights, but […]