Thursday, October 07, 2004

Innovators work for free - historically

Marginal Revolution: The returns from innovation
The implication is that “society” pays a paltry $2.20 for every $100 worth of welfare it enjoys from innovating activities.

This may change with recent abuses of patent and copyright -- innovators may capture more of the value. On the other hand, it is pretty clear we'll get less innovation from an era of protected intellectual property.

Bottom line, innovators innovate because they have to. It's a compulsion. Some people need to run, some people need to innovate.

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