Organized by Richard A. Epstein, Omri Ben-Shahar, and Jonathan Masur

Intellectual property in all forms is one of the great drivers of innovation in any modern technological economy. The creation of patentable material however is only the first stage of a complex process of commercialization. That commercialization in turn depends on an effective system of intellectual property licenses to exploit the potential gains from trade between original inventors and others who work in this area. The process of commercialization, however is far from easy and this conference explores many of the roadblocks that stand in its path. Some of these are doctrinal, as intellectual law contains a number of rules that limit the ability of licensors and licensees to fashion their own agreements. The first sale (or exhaustion rule) is one prominent advantage. A second stems from the inability of some licensors and licensees to enjoin the use of patented technology by persons who have not taken licenses from original inventor. Other difficulties come in deciding the optimal terms of licenses, and in organizing the multiple transactions needed to make these licenses work in a variety of consumer and producer markets, both domestically and overseas. The conference will also address the settings in which it may be appropriate to use commercial licenses. And it will have several empirical papers that explore the trends in licensing in various industries. Licensing is the life blood of commerce in innovation. It is imperative that we understand how the processes now work and how they may be improved.

Schedule

Friday, June 18, 2010

8:45-9:00 a.m.

•   Welcome

9:00-9:45 a.m.

• Florencia Marotta-Wurgler, New York University, "Will Increased Disclosure Help? Evaluating the Recommendations of the ALI's 'Principles of the Law of Software Contracts'"

9:45-10:30 a.m.

• Robert A. Hillman, Cornell Law School, and Maureen O'Rourke, Boston University School of Law, "Defending Discloure in Software Licensing"

10:45-11:30 a.m.

• Anne Kelley, Microsoft Corporation, "Practicing Effectively in the Patent Marketplace"

11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

• Mark A. Lemley, Stanford Law School, and Ziv Shafir, partner, Durie Tangri LLP, "Who Chooses Open Source Software?"   [abstract]

1:30-2:15 p.m.

• Omri Ben-Shahar, University of Chicago Law School, "Damages for Unlicensed Use"

2:15-3:00 p.m.

• Randal C. Picker, University of Chicago Law School, "The Razors-and-Blades Myth"

3:15-4:00 p.m.

• Christopher Sprigman, University of Virginia, and Christoper Buccafusco, Chicago-Kent College of Law, "The Creativity Effect"  [abstract]

4:00-4:45 p.m.

• Richard Epstein, University of Chicago Law School, and F. Scott Kieff, George Washington University Law School, "Questioning the Frequency and Wisdom of Compulsory Licensing for Pharamaceutical Patents"

Saturday, June 19, 2010

9:00-9:45 a.m.

• Rebecca Eisenberg, University of Michigan Law School, "Unlicensed Use of Patented Inventions"

9:45-10:300 a.m.

• David McGowan, University of San Diego School of Law, "The Tory Anarchism of Open Source Licensing"

10:45-11:30 a.m.

• Jonathan Masur, University of Chicago Law School, "Third-Party Patent Doctrines and Licensing Behavior"

11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

• Guy A. Rub, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, "Contracting around Copyright: The Uneasy Case of Unbundling of Rights in Creative Works"