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The Role of Scientific and Technical Data and Information in the Public Domain Proceedings of a Symposium (2003) / Chapter Skim
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3. Intellectual Property - When Is It the Best Incentive Mechanism for S&T Data and Information?
Pages 15-18

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From page 15...
... The third wrong answer is that "the private sector is more efficient than the public sector." The fourth is that, "without intellectual property, even public domain inventions will not be used efficiently" the Bayh-Dole argument. Consider the first wrong answer, that otherwise we won't get inventions.
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From page 16...
... Increasingly, even the discoveries that are publicly funded are restricted by intellectual property, e.g., the many discoveries made in national laboratories funded by the Department of Energy. Wrong answer number two is that "intellectual property rewards inventors, and doesn't hurt users provided it is licensed." It is true that intellectual property rewards inventors, and may even be an important engine of growth and of invention.
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From page 17...
... These are prize systems, and they are very good at inciting effort. Whether there is a disparity between the effort that such funding incites, and the effort incited under intellectual property rights, is a nuanced question.
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From page 18...
... There are many realms of scientific inquiry, especially those that are closely tied to industry and industrial development, that we would not want to put under the jurisdiction of a public sponsor. Under intellectual property rights, the private sector will apply at least a weak test of whether an R&D investment is worth the cost, namely, whether it is likely to turn a profit.
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Key Terms

  • deadweight loss
  • wrong answer
  • price discrimination
  • public sector
  • hurt users

  • proprietary price
  • rewards inventors
  • underlying basic
  • property rewards
  • publicly funded

  • perfect price
  • users provided
  • third wrong
  • versus public
  • basic reason

  • price reduces
  • pricing versus
  • private incentives
  • avoiding deadweight
  • single price

  • incite effort
  • creates deadweight
  • particular subject
  • effort incited
  • using intellectual

  • stimulate improvements
  • public sponsor
  • collateral improvements
  • basic inventions
  • makes profit


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