Academic Career
Ben-Atar is a noted expert on intellectual property piracy, "where he has "rocked the current patent debate by saying that piracy is not only inevitable, it may even be beneficial." He claims U.S. economic development was founded on the illegal misappropriation of intellectual property.
Business World India calls him "a genial giant from the world of academia" who has undermined conventional arguments in the hotly debated question of who owns intellectual property by looking at the issue through the prism of the past. Ben-Atar maintains that "it is impossible to contain the abuse of technology without undermining the free flow of knowledge that is the prerequisite for innovation." Christine MacLeod of Bristol University wrote "Doron S. Ben-Atar wears his heart on his sleeve. It's a good heart, but historically the wrong sleeve."
His work on intellectual policy builds on his earlier work on Thomas Jefferson. He criticized Jefferson for vacillating between viewing commerce as a threat to republican virtue and recognizing the necessity of promoting prosperity. As a result, Jefferson "failed to recognize America's larger stake in defeating Napoleonic France."
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