Economic Analysis Of Collective Management of Patent: Patent Pools

Abstract

As a result of the advancement of technology, using the patent and the relationship among inventors have been developed. These factors have put forward a new type of contract called “patent pools”. Pool is a means to manage and commercialize the patent. Pool is a collective management of inventions resulting from legal-economic circumstances, such as patent thicket, collaboration among inventors, increase in research activities, avoiding the possible patent infringement, reducing transaction costs. By considering that Iran is dealing with these agreements in its development stages, this article aims to fill the gap in terms of literature. This article analytically examines related literature by addressing this question: How can inventors, consumers and society benefit from these contracts. In dealing with this question, cost-benefit analysis is considered. This paper first defines the pool and its features, and then analyzes its economic fundamentals.

Keywords

• patent pools”
• “law and economic”
• “intellectual property rights”
• “patent thicket”
• “collective management of patent