150 Years of Patent Protection
考察了60个国家150年间专利保护强度差异的三类解释，发现富裕国家更可能拥有专利制度，但也会设置更高费用和限制；民主国家更倾向专利保护，而历史因素和商法起源也很重要。
This paper examines three sets of explanations for variations in the strength of patent protection across sixty countries and a 150-year period. Wealthier nations are more likely to have patent systems, to allow patentees a longer time to put their patents into practice, and to ratify treaties assuring equal treatment of other nations. But they are also likely to charge higher fees and limit patent protection in some important ways. Countries with democratic political institutions are consistently more likely to have patent protection appear to be determined by historical factors. The origin of a country's commercial law appears particularly important in explaining the presence of restrictions on patentees' privileges and discriminatory provisions against foreign patentees.