A European Assessment of Intellectual Property and Innovation

Professor Ian Hargreaves discusses Intellectual Property and Innovation, a Lisbon Council publication, co-edited by Prof. Hargreaves. The report brings together contributions on intellectual property from 10 leading European intellectuals, and draws on the pioneering work of Digital Opportunity: A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, a high-level review Prof. Hargreaves prepared for UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

Biofuels Patent Issued for Lignin-Solvent Process

A patent that opens the door for the creation of biofuels from abundantly available plant fiber has been issued to researchers at the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology (WIST) at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

WIST’s first patent is for a process that makes biofuels and other products from cellulosic plant material, including agricultural residues such as corn stover or plants grown specifically for fuel production, such as hardwood and softwood trees. The process is also a key step in making other high-value bioproducts.

Why Did Samsung Pass on Licensing Apple Patents?

New evidence in the Apple-Samsung trial indicates Apple made Samsung an offer to license its intellectual property.

Courtroom battles

An Antitrust case over e-book pricing, Google and Oracle in the “world series” of intellectual-property lawsuits, and a merger between two big 3D-printing companies.

IBM’s New Smart Floor

Originally filed in 2009, IBM’s smart floor patent outlines a multi-touch surface system that not only knows where you are at a given moment but also how you’re feeling. This personalized touch will track where you are, identifying with the shape on the individual. The perceived advantages seen immediately are the use of it in hospitals for smart surveillance and medical monitoring. One wonders if they will incorporate mobile apps within the floor for access to quick information, like other smart technologies. 

ESADE Knowledge: Open Innovation and Public Policy  in Europe

ESADE professors Henry Chesbrough and Wim Vanhaverbeke have released a report that sheds new light on open innovation and public policies in Europe. The report, commissioned by the Science Business Innovation Board, was presented at the European Commission’s Innovation Convention in December. The report makes various recommendations for public policies, for boosting open innovation and for fostering competitiveness in the European economy.

In this interview, world famous economist and author Daron Acemoglu discusses how intellectual property influences innovation in the United States. Daron Acemoglu argues that intellectual property rights and innovation are very closely related because the patenting of products encourages and motivates others to generate new ideas. It creates a variety of spill-over benefits for consumers and competing firms because it gives them something on which to expand. Acemoglu asserts that the system of patenting has been the bedrock of Western economic growth for the last 200 years.