This essay considers how patent law doctrine clouds the historical record of technological development. The essay first surveys a recent book that relied heavily on patent records to reexamine acutely the role of intellectual property in economic development, "The Democratization of Invention,"...

With a few narrow exceptions, U.S. patent law concerns itself with activity that either occurs within this country’s borders or crosses its borders. The result is that patent owners have only been able to recover money damages for activity that takes place in this country. In the typical case,...

When organizations in technology industries attempt to advance their innovative activities, they must be cognizant of the intellectual property rights of others. Patent thickets can thwart ongoing innovation, however, and throughout the last 150 years, firms have stumbled into a number of patent...