Summing Up: Feathering the Nest for Inventors

Sensible patent reform should focus on feathering the nest for inventors in the United States.  There is nothing more important to our long-term prospects within the global economy.  To summarize the posts made this week:

IP is a limited exclusive right to an inventor's time, not a limited exclusive right to a thing.  I.e., IP is Not an Asset.  Lawyers, business people, and politicians should consider how the patent law will affect the activities of inventors.  A plugged R&D pipeline can lead to Stranded R&D and an exodus of inventors from the United States.  We would promote the progress of arts and sciences better by building legal and financial institutions that recognized the benefit of a division of labor between inventing ideas and building things.  This is What Adam Smith taught the Founding Fathers.