Patent Reform: A Mixed Blessing for the U.S. Economy?

Robert M. Hunt

Senior Vice President and Associate Director of the Consumer Finance Institute

November/December 1999

Business Review — At the end of the 1990s, it seems ironic to question the performance of the American patent system.

Spending by industries on research and development, measured in inflation-adjusted dollars or as a percent of gross domestic product, has never been higher. Patenting activity in the U.S. has never been higher. The rate of technological advance in sectors such as drugs, computer hardware, and software is simply amazing. Yet there is evidence that devoting even more resources to R&D could further improve our standard of living.

This article appeared in the November/December 1999 edition of Business Review.

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