Clarity and certainty in the patent system facilitate the market for technology and technological progress, which is the key driver of long run economic growth. Alan Marco, Chief Economist at the US Patent and Trademark Office, calls for greater certainty in the patent system by examining the story of the Other Land of Lincoln: the Lincoln family's move from Kentucky to Indiana.
Alan Marco is the Chief Economist at the US Patent and Trademark Office, where his research focuses policy-relevant topics in intellectual property. He is the co-creator of the USPTO’s PatentsView.org, a free and open platform for exploring and accessing high-quality patent data. He has published academic articles on the intellectual property marketplace, uncertainty in intellectual property rights, patent valuation, and high-tech mergers. Dr. Marco obtained his PhD in Economics from U.C. Berkeley, and he has held faculty positions as associate professor in the Williams School of Commerce at Washington and Lee University and associate professor of economics at Vassar College. In the Fall, Dr. Marco will begin a faculty position in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
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