Taking patents seriously

Do patents make economic sense? This question is as relevant today as it was at the time of the Industrial Revolution. The questions that troubled the judges are surprisingly similar. There are two issues in particular: what is the legal status of intellectual creations and what are the economic effects of a patent system? In the 18th century, judges struggled to determine how a patent for inventions fitted within the traditional description of property. Today, judges have struggled in a similar way with the legal status of software and whether it can be protected by a patent or only by copyright. Copyright

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