The Economic Implications of Patent Reform
Executive Summary
Economists have long recognized that the development and spread of economic innovations are the most powerful factors affecting how fast the U.S. economy grows and how much the incomes of most Americans will rise. Changes in the patent rights that protect the intellectual property embodied in innovations, therefore, can affect U.S. prosperity. Our analysis has found that three provisions of the patent reform legislation now before the U.S. Congress could dampen or discourage innovation with potentially serious consequences for the American economy.