Michael Meurer

Michael J. Meurer

Professor of Law

Abraham and Lillian Benton Scholar

SB in Economics and Interdisciplinary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JD cum laude, University of Minnesota
PhD in Economics, University of Minnesota


Biography

The son of an economics professor, Michael Meurer knew by the time he was 13 that he, too, wanted to teach at the university level. An SB, JD and PhD later, he became an economics professor at Duke University and later a law professor at the University of Buffalo. He came to Boston University School of Law in 1999, where he has taught courses in patents, intellectual property and public policy toward the high-tech industry. “It’s a special privilege to be able to speak three times a week to an attentive and thoughtful audience,” he says.

Professor Meurer has received several grants and fellowships, including two grants from the Pew Charitable Trust, a Ford Foundation grant, an Olin Faculty Fellowship at Yale Law School and a postdoctoral fellowship at AT&T Bell Labs. He has served as an expert witness for the Federal Trade Commission on a merger case presenting issues related to patent licensing. He also has consulted with government officials from developing countries about antitrust law, and taught short courses in American intellectual property law at the law faculties of the University of Victoria and the National University of Singapore. “I’m excited by the prospect of having a positive influence on American technology law and policy,” Professor Meurer says. Outside of work, he enjoys playing and watching basketball.

Publications

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  • James Bessen, Erich Denk, Chen Meng & Michael J. Meurer, Do Salary History Bans Mitigate Discriminatory Hiring Practices? 76 Labor Law Journal (2025)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Janet Freilich, Michael J. Meurer, Mark Schankerman & Florian Schuett, A New Approach to Patent Reform 14 UC Irvine Law Review (2024)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Bilski and the Information Age a Decade Later, in The Cambridge Handbook of Investment-Driven Intellectual Property (Enrico Bonadio & Patrick Goold,2023)
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  • William E. Kovacic, Robert C. Marshall & Michael J. Meurer, Patents and Price Fixing by Serial Colluders 11 New York University Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law (2021)
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  • Michael J. Meurer & Ben Depoorter, Price Discrimination & Intellectual Property, in Research Handbook on the Economics of Intellectual Property Law Vol 1: Theory Vol 2: Analytical Methods (2019)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, William Kovacic & Robert Marshall, Serial Collusion by Multi-Product Firms No. 18-18 Boston University School of Law, Law and Economics Research Paper (2018)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Allocating Patent Litigation Risk Across the Supply Chain 25 Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal (2018)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Bargaining Failure and Failure to Bargain 96 Boston University Law Review (2016)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Current Issues in Patent Law and Policy 39 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy (2016)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Patent Search and Cumulative Innovation, in Perspectives on Patentable Subject Matter (Michael B. Abramowicz, James E. Daily, F. Scott Kieff,2014)
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  • Michael J. Meurer & James Bessen, The Direct Costs from NPE Disputes 99 Cornell Law Review (2014)
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  • Peter Menell & Michael J. Meurer, Notice Failure and Notice Externalities 5 Journal of Legal Analysis (2013)
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  • James Bessen & Michael J. Meurer, The Patent Litigation Explosion 45 Loyola University Chicago Law Journal (2013)
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  • James Bessen & Michael J. Meurer, The Private Costs of Patent Litigation 9 Journal of Law, Economics & Policy (2012)
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  • James Bessen, Jennifer Ford & Michael J. Meurer, The Private and Social Costs of Patent Trolls 34 Regulation (2012)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Patent Litigation, Licensing, Nonobviousness, and Antitrust, in 4 Encyclopedia of Law and Economics (Keith N. Hylton,2010)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Patent Examination Priorities 51 William and Mary Law Review (2009)
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  • Nonpatentability of Business Methods: Legal and Economic Analysis
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  • Michael J. Meurer & James Bessen, Patent Failure: How Judges, Bureaucrats, and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk (2009)
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  • James Bessen & Michael J. Meurer, Of Patents and Property 31 Regulation (2009)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Patent Carrots and Sticks: A Model of Nonobviousness 12 Lewis & Clark Law Review (2008)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Inventors, Entrepreneurs, and Intellectual Property Law 45 Houston Law Review (2008)
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  • James Bessen & Michael J. Meurer, What's Wrong with the Patent System? Fuzzy Boundaries and the Patent Tax 12 First Monday (2007)
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  • James Bessen & Michael J. Meurer, Patent Litigation with Endogenous Disputes 96 American Economic Review (2006)
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  • Michael J. Meurer & Craig Allen Nard, Patent Policy Adrift in a Sea of Anecdote: A Reply to Lichtman 93 Geeorgetown Law Journal (2005)
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  • James Bessen & Michael J. Meurer, Lessons for Patent Policy from Empirical Research on Patent Litigation 9 Lewis and Clark Law Review (2005)
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  • Michael J. Meurer & Craig Allen Nard, Invention, Refinement and Patent Claim Scope: A New Perspective on the Doctrine of Equivalents 93 Georgetown Law Journal (2005)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Law, Economics, and the Theory of the Firm 52 Buffalo Law Review (2004)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Too Many Markets or Too Few? Copyright Policy Toward Shared Works 77 Southern California law review (2004)
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  • Robert C. Marshall & Michael J. Meurer, Bidder Collusion and Antitrust Law: Refining the Analysis of Price Fixing to Account for the Special Features of Auction Markets 72 Antitrust Law Journal (2004)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Vertical Restraints and Intellectual Property Law: Beyond Antitrust 87 Minnesota Law Review (2003)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Controlling Opportunistic and Anti-Competitive Intellectual Property Litigation 44 Boston College Law Review (2003)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Business Method Patents and Patent Floods 8 Washington University Journal of Law and Policy (2002)
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  • Robert Marshall & Michael J. Meurer, The Economics of Auctions and Bidder Collusion, in Game Theory and Business Applications (Kalyan Chatterjee, William F. Samuelson,2001)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Copyright Law and Price Discrimination 23 Cardozo Law Review (2001)
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  • Michael S. Baram, Ashley Stevens, Thomas Meyers & Michael J. Meurer, Patent Rights and Licensing 6 Boston University Journal of Science & Technology Law (2000)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Fair Division 47 Buffalo Law Review (1999) (book review)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Digital Technology and Copyright: A Threat or a Promise - Introduction 39 IDEA: The Journal of Law and Technology (1999)
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  • Robert Marshall, Michael J. Meurer, Jean-Francois Richard & Stromquist Walter, Numerical Analysis of Asymmetric First Price Auctions 7 Games and Economic Behavior (1994)
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  • Robert Marshall, Michael J. Meurer & Jean-Francois Richard, Curbing Agency Problems in the Procurement Process by Protest Oversight 25 The RAND Journal of Economics (1994)
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  • Michael J. Meurer & Dale Stahl, Informative Advertising and Product Match 12 International Journal of Industrial Organization (1994)
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  • Robert Marshall, Michael J. Meurer & Jean-Francois Richard, Litigation Settlement and Collusion 109 The Quarterly Journal of Economics (1994)
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  • Robert C. Marshall, Michael J. Meurer & Jean-Francois Richard, Multiple Litigants with a Public Good Remedy 16 Research in Law and Economics (1994)
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  • Robert Marshall, Michael J. Meurer & Jean-Francois Richard, Incentive-Based Procurement Oversight by Protest, in Incentives in Procurement Contracting (Jim Leitzel; Jean Tirole,1993)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, The Gains from Faith in an Unfaithful Agent: Settlement Conflicts Between Defendants and Liability Insurers 8 Journal of Law, Economics and Organization (1992)
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  • Robert C. Marshall, Michael J. Meurer & Jean-Francois Richard, The Private Attorney General Meets Public Contract Law: Procurement Oversight by Protest 20 Hofstra Law Review (1991)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, The Settlement of Patent Litigation 20 The RAND Journal of Economics (1989)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, Foreword: The Economics of Contract Law 52 Law and Contemporary Problems (1989)
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  • Kenneth Chapman & Michael J. Meurer, Efficient Remedies for Breach of Warranty 52 Law and Contemporary Problems (1989)
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  • Michael J. Meurer, An Economic Analysis of Royalty Terms in Patent Licenses 67 Minnesota Law Review (1983)
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In the Media

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  • Retraction Watch July 30, 2026

    Just over 400 U.S. Patents Contain Citations to Retracted Scientific Papers

    Janet Freilich and Michael Meurer are quoted.
    read more

  • HR Dive November 10, 2025

    Salary history bans shrink gender- and race-based pay gaps, researchers find

    James E. Bessen and Michael J. Meurer's work is featured.
    read more

  • IP Watchdog September 19, 2022

    GSK Argues Unusual Facts of Case Behind Teva’s SCOTUS Petition Limits CAFC’s Skinny Label Holding

    Michael J. Meurer signs amicus brief regarding patent laws.
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  • Marketplace June 16, 2022

    Delays Skew Patent System in Favor of Big Corporations, Some Inventors Say

    Mike Meurer is quoted.
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  • Longview News-Journal February 10, 2022

    Famed Alzheimer’s Researcher John Hardy Is a Knight … but Not in Shining Armor

    James Bessen and Michael Meurer are quoted.
    read more

  • LLM Guide November 12, 2021

    Thriving Patent Law Expands Post-LL.M. Career Opportunities

    Michael Meurer
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  • Competition Policy International June 9, 2021

    Patents and Price Fixing by Serial Colluders

    A piece co-authored by Michael J. Meurer.
    read more

  • The Conversation March 18, 2021

    Patent System Often Stifles the Innovation It was Designed to Encourage

    A piece co-authored by Michael Meurer.
    read more

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Activities & Engagements

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Courses

LAW JD 857

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

4 credits


FALL 2026: LAW JD 857 A1, Aug 31st to Dec 3rd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 8:30 am 10:30 am 4 Michael J. Meurer LAW 414
SPRG 2027: LAW JD 857 B1, Jan 11th to Apr 21st 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 4 Keith N. Hylton
LAW JD 776

Intellectual Property Workshop

3 credits


SPRG 2027: LAW JD 776 A1, Jan 11th to Apr 21st 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Thu 4:20 pm 6:20 pm 3 Michael J. Meurer
LAW JD 780

Trademark and Unfair Competition

3 credits


SPRG 2027: LAW JD 780 A1, Jan 11th to Apr 21st 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 10:45 am 12:10 pm 3 Michael J. Meurer