Lessons from Variations in Internal Structures and Dynamics About Behaviors of Government Bodies in the Fields of Innovation and Finance

Abstract: This paper will explore particular institutional and organizational differences among agencies, commissions, and courts that oversee the fields of intellectual property, antitrust, and finance. During the life of a patent, for example, a patent can pass from its birth at the PTO, to review at the PTO, DoJ, FTC, ITC, District Court, or Federal Circuit, and on to enforcement at the ITC, District Court, or Federal Circuit. Similarly, investor protection and capital formation in the U.S are shaped in various ways as SEC rules pass through the stages of drafting, promulgation, administration, and enforcement. There is, of course, no single way to structure a government body; and different government bodies behave differently because of different institutional characteristics and decision-making dynamics. This paper will elucidate some key variations in the internal structures and dynamics that determine how decisions are made at agencies, commissions, and courts. In so doing, it will focus on responsiveness to various inputs, such as established views of economic science, the factual record, and governing law, as well as prevailing political and social currents. Our goal is to offer insight into how regulation and adjudication work in practice with policy implications for how to structure government bodies with rule-making and adjudicatory roles.