This workshop will focus on the types and availability of intellectual property (IP) data, and investigate the novel ways these data are being used at the frontier of research to investigate relationships between institutions and innovation. The workshop will also discuss elements of the current debate in the U.S. to reform the "broken" patent system (Jaffe and Lerner, 2004).

Recently, reliable and "clean" IP data have been increasingly available from governmental and non-governmental sources. While many of these datasets are comprised exclusively of patent data (Hall et al. 2001), and a significant portion of our introductory discussion will focus on patents, we will also discuss the availability and uses of other types of data such as trademark and copyright. The workshop will also focus on some uses of these data in research studying the relationship between institutional structures and technological innovation, including legal research (Quillen and Webster, 2001) and economic research (Graham and Harhoff, 2006). These studies also implicate issues in the patent reform debate that we'll discuss.

The Jaffe and Lerner (2004) book is for reference only, but it does give useful context and is an excellent read. Other papers are required.