James Bessen

Lecturer in Law at the Boston University School of Law at Boston University

Schools

  • Boston University

Links

Biography

Boston University

James Bessen studies the economics of innovation and patents. He has also been a successful innovator and CEO of a software company. Currently, Mr. Bessen is Lecturer in Law at the Boston University School of Law.

Bessen has done research on whether patents promote innovation, why innovators share new knowledge, and how technology affected worker skills historically. His research first documented the large economic damage caused by patent trolls. His work on software patents with Eric Maskin (Nobel Laureate in Economics) and Robert Hunt has influenced policymakers in the US, Europe, and Australia. With Michael J. Meurer, Bessen wrote_ Patent Failure _(Princeton 2008), highlighting the problems caused by poorly defined property rights. A forthcoming book, Learning by Doing: The Real Connection Between Innovation, Wages, and Wealth (Yale 2015), looks at history to understand how new technologies affect wages and skills today. Bessen’s work has been widely cited in the press as well as by the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court, judges at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Federal Trade Commission.

In 1983, Bessen developed the first commercially successful “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” PC publishing program, founding a company that delivered PC-based publishing systems to high-end commercial publishers. Intergraph Corporation acquired the company in 1993.

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Cases

James Bessen’s interview with WBZ on Boston’s bid for Amazon headquarters

October 19, 2017

WBZ James Bessen Expert quote: “What Amazon may do when it comes here is just aggravate and worsen the ability for other companies to hire talent.” Watch full video

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Tech Leaders Call AI and Automation a Threat to Human Life

October 4, 2017

Chief Executive James Bessen People everywhere are concerned about technology’s impact on jobs and the economy, but was entrepreneur Elon Musk channeling his inner Luddite when he warned attendees at a National Governors Association meeting in Nevada last Summer about the economic disruptions that automation and artificial intelligence will cause… Expert quote: “That the problem […]

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Tech Leaders Call AI and Automation a Threat to Human Life

October 4, 2017

Chief Executive James Bessen People everywhere are concerned about technology’s impact on jobs and the economy, but was entrepreneur Elon Musk channeling his inner Luddite when he warned attendees at a National Governors Association meeting in Nevada last Summer about the economic disruptions that automation and artificial intelligence will cause… Expert quote: “The problem of […]

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Lesson from the cupcake ATM: Better to be a baker than a seller

July 4, 2017

Quartz quoting James Bessen, School of Law “Sprinkles, a chain of bakeries, has installed 15 or so cupcake ATMsaround the US…” Expert quote: “…automation itself sometimes brings growing employment to occupations.” View full article. 

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Robots won’t take your job—they’ll help make room for meaningful work instead

March 21, 2017

Quartz James Bessen, School of Law “Unencumbered by the prospect of re-election, outgoing presidents tend to use their final speeches to candidly warn against threats they believe to be metastasizing in society…” Expert quote: “It all hinges on demand.” View full article. 

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When Robots Take Bad Jobs

March 1, 2017

The Atlantic James Bessen, School of Law James Ford worked at various printing presses for decades, eventually becoming head pressman at a bookbinding shop in Michigan… Expert quote: “This, in turn, exacerbates inequality, said James Bessen, a lecturer at the Boston University School of Law who studies innovation.” View full article

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Bill Gates Is Wrong That Robots and Automation Are Killing Jobs

February 28, 2017

Fortune Magazine by James Bessen, School of Law “In a recent interview, Microsoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates proposed that robots should be taxed…” View full article.   

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Learning to Love Our Robot Co-Workers

February 28, 2017

The New York Times James Bessen, School of Law “The robots were Joe McGillivray’s idea…” Expert Quote: “We tend to think that automation, generally speaking, replaces humans, but really in the big picture that isn’t true.” View full article. 

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EU intensifies fightback on counterfeit goods

February 22, 2017

Financial Times James Bessen, School of Law The EU has been intensifying its crackdown on fake products — including watches, perfume, mobile phones and pharmaceuticals — that can now be found all too easily on the worldwide web… Expert quote: “Professor James Bessen, economist at the Boston University School of Law, says technology — in […]

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Robot as barista? Automation moves into service sector.

February 1, 2017

The Christian Science Monitor James Bessen, School of Law There’s something different about the way Cafe X serves coffee. Customers at the San Francisco coffee shop don’t place their order with a cashier. And there’s no barista behind the counter to froth up cappuccinos, either. At Cafe X, a robot does all the work…. Expert quote: […]

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