Abstract
The launch of the Russian Sputnik vaccine in 2020 echoed the launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite in 1957 and reminded the world once again that Russia is a sophisticated technological power. Most inventions in the Soviet Union were managed by the system of inventor’s certificates which ensured open flows of knowledge among the scientific networks behind Russia’s industrial development. Inventions in today’s Russia are managed by the globalized institution of patents which can create high barriers to entry in innovation markets. This article argues that the globalized institution of patents has been compromised in Russia because the barriers to entry that patents create are not justified in the absence of well-functioning markets. The danger of the institutional mismatch is lost opportunities for Russia to grow knowledge and to diversify its economy. Western property rights in innovation in the hands of crony capitalists can magnify the social harms of the patent system leading to high concentration of ownership of knowledge.
Highlights
If Leo Tolstoy had written about innovation, his work might have started with ‘‘all innovation success stories are alike; each innovation failure fails in its ownS
This article argues that the globalized institution of patents has been compromised in Russia because the barriers to entry that patents create are not justified in the absence of wellfunctioning markets
What is distinctive about the Russian innovation case is that it does not fit the category of a developing country
Summary
If Leo Tolstoy had written about innovation, his work might have started with ‘‘all innovation success stories are alike; each innovation failure fails in its own. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia once again experimented: it transplanted the globalized institution of patents and by doing this introduced high barriers to entry in innovation markets.. For the rest of the world, Russian innovation capacity is important because it is a potential source of a more diversified economy and a tool for lifting Russia out of crony capitalism.. The article argues that the globalized institution of patents has been compromised in Russia because the barriers to entry that patents create are not justified in the absence of well-functioning markets.
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