Economics of Invention: Knowledge Creation for Innovation

Table of Contents

The book is organized into three thematic areas: the creation of inventions, the process of innovation, and the patent system. The themes address chance events in inventions, priority competition, intrinsic motivation for invention, uncertainty in the innovation process, the tragedy of the anti-commons, the sources of knowledge of sustained technological progress, the public domain, and the patent system for overcoming the Nordhaus trade-off. This book bridges the gap between theory and empirical evidence and analyze these key factors that affect innovation performance.

Introduction: Purpose and Overview

Part I. Generating Inventions

Chapter 1: Process of Invention
Chapter 2: Priority Competition
Chapter 3: Incentive Design for Inventors
Chapter 4: Inventor Careers, Mobility and Education

Part 2: Innovation

Chapter 5: Processes for Innovation and Uncertainty
Chapter 6: Inventive Steps, Private and Social Values of Inventions
Chapter 7: Examining the Tragedy of the Anti-commons
Chapter 8: Innovation through Open Technology Standards

Part 3: The Patent System

Chapter 9: Public Domain and the Patent System
Chapter 10: Cumulative Innovation and the Research Exception
Chapter 11: “Nordhaus Tradeoff” and the Patent Examination System