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Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2017

Edited by
Stephen M. Maurer
Stephen M. Maurer
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley
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Summary

We investigate how liability rules and property rules protect intellectual property. Infringement might not be deterred under any of the enforcement regimes available. However, counterintuitively, a credible threat of infringement can actually benefit the patentholder. We compare the two doctrines of damages, lost profit (lost royalty) and unjust enrichment, and argue that unjust enrichment protects the patentholder better than lost royalty in the case of proprietary research tools. Both can be superior to a property rule, depending on how much delay is permitted before infringement is enjoined. For other proprietary products (end-user products, cost-reducing innovations), these conclusions can be reversed.

Type
Chapter
Information
On the Shoulders of Giants
Colleagues Remember Suzanne Scotchmer's Contributions to Economics
 , pp. 164 - 195
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2017

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References

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  • Document
  • Edited by Stephen M. Maurer, University of California, Berkeley
  • Book: On the Shoulders of Giants
  • Online publication: 12 October 2017
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316443057.024
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  • Document
  • Edited by Stephen M. Maurer, University of California, Berkeley
  • Book: On the Shoulders of Giants
  • Online publication: 12 October 2017
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316443057.024
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Document
  • Edited by Stephen M. Maurer, University of California, Berkeley
  • Book: On the Shoulders of Giants
  • Online publication: 12 October 2017
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316443057.024
Available formats
×