When deciding whether the Happy Birthday song has a copyright, we are really debating how broad or narrow intellectual property rights should be.
Weekly Roundup: From Apple’s Chimes to Boston’s Olympics
Our everyday economics includes innovation, incentives, environment, regulation, gender,monopolistic competition, oligopoly ,intellectual property and cost,
The Sounds That Can Sell a Product
For monopolistic competition and oligopoly, firms can achieve product differentiation through sounds that are associated with one good or service.
When Is Technology Transfer Okay?
During the 18th century, Sweden gave cash to its “spies” in England so they could buy copper and iron production secrets. Meanwhile, England issued a patent to a chemist who just returned from Russia with a new brewing method. Moving in the other…
Can the Supreme Court Change How We Watch TV?
At the Supreme Court this week, broadcasters sought to stop a small firm from competing against them. Saying it was violating copyright law, ABC led a group challenging Aereo’s business model. Aereo uses tiny antennas to send programming to viewers…
(Not So) Dumb Starbucks
At New York’s 2nd Ave Deli, you can order the Instant Heart Attack and/or the Triple Bypass Sandwich. Listed on the menu like this (below), the sandwiches are trademarked. When the 2nd Ave. Deli trademarked its heart attack sandwiches, they consulted…