Economics of Intellectual Property Law

For this comprehensive collection, the editor has brought together key readings on the subject of the law and economics of intellectual property rights - patents, copyrights and trademarks. It provides a judicious selection of the most important published research on this most crucial topic, drawing equally from the law review and economics literature. It thus brings together classic articles often referred to and cited, but rarely encountered in a single published source.The articles have been selected on the basis of three primary criteria: their continuing influence in legal and economic discussions; their longevity (important in a field where the volume of published work is very large and growing very quickly); and, their relevance to contemporary theoretical and policy debates. The chosen writings delve deeply into theory, empirics, and institutional detail, ranging from Edwin Mansfield's early, influential study on patents and imitation costs, to very recent work on the relationship between copyright law and the first amendment. This collection makes an indispensable desk reference for scholars of intellectual property rights.