If only the work on patent legislation in Congress had the rigor and reliance on sound principles of the engineering and science that produce inventions and medical breakthroughs protected by patents. I am an engineer, and earlier in my career have worked with engineers from around the world to find the best technical solutions to include in standards for wireless communications. Fascinated by the legal and economic structures that support innovation, I later pursued a Ph.D. in economics, and now I study the role of patents, technology standards, and patent litigation in the innovation economy. As an engineer and economist who reveres the scientific method and empirical research, I find myself compelled to engage in the currently ongoing patent debates for getting the record right on some dubious data currently being cited as “facts”.
