24/7 competitive innovation

Abstract

Intellectual property (IP) rights differ from ordinary property rights. Historically, societies have tolerated monopolistic inefficiency from IP protection to incentivize intellectual asset creation. This paper considers how competitive markets can optimally allocate resources, bypassing that monopolistic inefficiency. It departs from earlier related work in three ways: First, it allows economic actions undertaken progressively rapidly as technology advances. Second, it weakens property rights yet further, allowing both consumers and asset holders to make and sell copies. Third, it distinguishes nonrivalry from infinite reproduction. The first departure restores the traditional view that competitive markets fail. The second and third, surprisingly, have competitive markets achieve social efficiency