The U.S. patent system is besieged by costly litigation and a growing chorus of critics who claim that patents are neither economically nor morally justified. A variety of proposed reforms and entrepreneurial institutions, however, might improve it significantly, resulting in more justice for inventors and more funding to help them develop inventions that benefit society.

Arthur M. Diamond, Jr. is Kayser Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Business and EntrepreneurshipEconomyIntellectual PropertyLaw and LibertyLitigationRegulationScience and Public Policy