Michael J. Meurer
Abraham and Lillian Benton Scholar, Professor of Law
Michael J. Meurer is the Abraham and Lillian Benton Scholar and Professor of Law at Boston University School of Law, where he is one of the most cited intellectual property scholars in the United States. His book Patent Failure, co-authored with James Bessen, challenged the conventional wisdom about the patent system and has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House, and the European Parliament. He holds both a J.D. and a Ph.D. in Economics, and he has received fellowships from the Pew Charitable Trust, the Ford Foundation, the Olin Faculty Fellowship at Yale Law School, and AT&T Bell Labs.
Teaching Style
Professor Meurer takes a rigorously empirical and economic approach to intellectual property, using data and economic models to challenge conventional assumptions about patent law. His Socratic method is analytical and systematic, often asking students to evaluate the real-world effects of IP doctrines on innovation and competition. He cold-calls regularly and expects students to engage with both legal doctrine and the economic evidence, pushing them to think about whether patent rules actually promote or hinder innovation.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Understand the basic economics of intellectual property, including the tradeoff between incentives to innovate and deadweight loss from monopoly pricing
- 2Be prepared to discuss empirical evidence about whether patents promote or impede innovation in different industries
- 3Know the key patent doctrines including patentability requirements, claim construction, and infringement analysis
- 4Think about how patent policy intersects with antitrust concerns and competition policy
Areas of Expertise
Education
- Ph.D. in Economics, University of Minnesota
- J.D., cum laude, University of Minnesota Law School
- S.B. in Economics and Interdisciplinary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Notable Publications
- Patent Failure: How Judges, Bureaucrats, and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk (Princeton University Press, co-authored with James Bessen)