This book has broad coverage of both copyrights and patents and is designed for a general audience, focusing on simple examples. The authors conclude that the only sensible policy to follow is to eliminate the patents and copyright systems as they currently exist.
Contents
1. Introduction;
2. Creation under consumption;
3. Innovation under competition;
4. The evil of intellectual monopoly;
5. The devil in Disney;
6. How competition works;
7. Defenses of intellectual monopoly;
8. Does intellectual monopoly increase innovation?;
9. The pharmaceutical industry;
10. The bad, the good, and the ugly.
Reviews:
"For centuries, intellectual property rights have been viewed as essential to innovation. Now Boldrin and Levine, two top-flight economists, propose that the entire IPR system be scrapped. Their arguments will generate controversy but deserve serious examination." - Eric Maskin, Nobel Laureate, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
"This is an important and needed book. The case made by Boldrin and Levine against giving excessive monopoly rights to intellectual property is a convincing one. Monopoly in intellectual property impedes the development of useful knowledge. I think they make the case that granting these monopoly rights slows innovation." - Edward C. Prescott, Nobel Laureate, University of Minnesota
"Boldrin and Levine present a powerful argument that intellectual property rights as they have evolved are detrimental to efficient economic organization." - Douglass C. North, Nobel Laureate, Washington University in St. Louis
