A Proposal for a Defensive Patent License

Abstract

This is a draft op-ed for Wired, for purposes of discussion at Santa Clara University's November 16, 2012 conference,“Solutions to the Software Patent Problem.”

It is a very brief discussion of the argument presented in my paper with Jason Schultz, “Protecting Open Innovation: A New Approach to Patent Threats, Transaction Costs, and Tactical Disarmament,” forthcoming 26 Harvard Journal of Law and Technology __ (2012), available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2040945.

Please do not cite or quote this draft. I look forward to talking with everyone at the conference about this idea!