Innovation, Invention, and Standards

The term “innovation” has a spellbinding effect. As innovation is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, no one can reasonably stand on the opposite side. To do so would cast one’s lot with the fragile sands of backwards thinking and technological regression. For that reason, arguments that changes in the law or industry practice would harm innovation tend to be considered seriously. And such arguments sometimes are vigorously propounded. But that does not mean they are correct. This essay cri