How to Measure and Draw Causal Inferences with Patent Scope

Abstract

This paper presents an easy-to-use measure of patent scope that is grounded both in patent law and in the practices of patent attorneys. We validate our measure by showing both that patent attorneys’ subjective assessments of scope agree with our estimates, and that the behavior of patenters is consistent with it. Using our validation exercise, we find that previous measures of patent scope (i.e., the number of patent classes, the number of citations made by future patents, and the number of claims in a patent) are uninformative or misleading. To facilitate drawing causal inferences with our measure, we show how it can be used to create an instrumental variable, patent examiner scope toughness, which we also validate. We then demonstrate the power of this instrument by examining standard-essential patents. We show that an (exogenous) diminishment of patent scope leads to patents being much less likely to be declared standard essential.     

基于专利分析国内食盐的研究进展

食盐是人类生活中的必需品,本文从近年来国内专利申请情况分析了食盐的研究进展,旨在为食盐的开发提供参考。     

MANAGING LOGISTICS OUTSOURCING RELATIONSHIPS: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION IN CHINA

While many companies outsource their logistics functions, creating a collaborative relationship with third‐party logistics service providers remains a challenge. The current study explores the effects of often overlooked human factors in this context. Data on buyer perspectives were collected in China. The analysis results suggest that buying firm's top management championship, supplier firm's designated employees, and the buyer‐seller personal relationships (i.e. Guanxi) at different levels, all have significant impacts on inter‐firm collaboration, which in turn enhances the buying firm's logistics performance.     

专利申请量与经济增长的实证分析——以深圳为例

2010年深圳专利申请49430件,其中含金量最高的发明专利申请23956件,占总量的48.46%。每万人发明专利申请连续7年蝉联全国第一。专利申请量是衡量一个地区实力的重要标志,以专利所代表的创新是经济长期增长的根本动力之一,且逐渐成为各地区经济增长的促进因素。本文试图通过相关性分析和计量分析,测算出近20年来专利申请量与GDP增长的相关系数和弹性系数,科学的论证专利是经济发展的推动力,以促进深圳科技创新的进一步发展。     

A survey of inventions aimed at preventing drowning

To identify, describe and compare injuries among three water sport activities: kite surfing (KS), personal watercraft (PWC) and towed water sports (TWS). The study was a cross sectional, online survey. The setting was on Perth, Western Australia's popular beaches and riverbanks. Main outcome measures were number of injuries and level of severity; level of exposure and protection measures. Overall, 43% reported at least one injury in the past 12 months, a rate of 22.3 injuries per 100 h. Kite surfers were more likely to report an injury than PWC or TWS. One-half of injuries occurred while on the water. Most injuries were caused by landing awkwardly (56%) and/or trying new tricks (41%). Despite 90% of respondents having used at least one personal protective equipment (PPE) item, half (49%) reported always using a personal floatation device. This study provided information on KS, PWC and TWS injuries as well as a range of safety behaviours. It is recommended that these results form the basis of further research to reduce injury rates and encourage the use of PPE items.     

THE ROLE OF FEES IN PATENT SYSTEMS: THEORY AND EVIDENCE

This paper reviews the economic literature on the role of fees in patent systems. Two main research questions are usually addressed: the impact of patent fees on the behavior of applicants and the question of optimal fees. Studies in the former group confirm that a range of fees affect the behavior of applicants and suggest that a patent is an inelastic good. Studies in the latter group provide grounds for both low and high application (or pre‐grant) fees and renewal (or post‐grant) fees, depending on the structural context and policy objectives. The paper also presents new stylized facts on patent fees of 30 patent offices worldwide. It is shown that application fees are generally lower than renewal fees, and renewal fees increase more than proportionally with patent age.     

New development: Reconnecting public service ethos and multi-agency collaboration. What are the possibilities and prospects for new local collaborative environments?

The public service ethos (PSE) is typically portrayed as the responsibility of public officers working for the public good, or described negatively as requiring intervention from the private sector. This article explores the relationship between the ethos and collaboration informed by findings from an empirical case study of public officers. It ends by identifying future avenues for research on the PSE by setting out possibilities and prospects for new local collaborative environments.     

The coincidence of patent thickets—A comparative analysis

The growth of patent thickets—technology fields that are characterized by a large overlap of rights between different right holders—poses a challenge for innovators. Patent thickets are argued to create strong friction in innovation due to a pronounced potential for holdup. So far, we do not know whether patent thickets coincide in all patent systems or if differences exist that policy makers and managers must take into account when aiming to disentangle and to navigate patent thickets, respectively. To address this gap, we measure patent density of technology fields in the patent systems of the United States, the German patent system governed by the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), and the European patent system governed by the European Patent Office (EPO). Our comparisons reveal both interesting differences and similarities between the analyzed patent systems. Although the United States and the EPO patent system show similar relative patent density patterns across technology fields, the German patent system strongly differs from the previous two. This implies that such deviations need to be taken into account by policy makers when considering regulatory measures as well as by companies in their intellectual property strategy.     

多元化还是专一性更好

高管职业路径多元化还是专一性更能促进企业创新？基于手工整理的CEO职业背景数据，通过静态面板回归、动态DID分析以及工具变量2SLS分析得出，CEO的多元化职业路径更有助于增加企业创新投资；从劳动力市场层面的CEO外部选择视角出发，研究发现，失败容忍机制是二者关系的影响渠道；根据企业特征，将其划分为行业主导者和跟随者后发现，信息学习机制是二者之间的影响渠道。最后，通过从创新投入到产出的全过程检验发现，CEO多元化职业路径通过影响创新投入，有助于提升滞后两年的专利产出数量与质量。     

我国专利默示许可制度构建

由于现有制度并不能解决司法实务中面临的所有问题，因此在我国进行专利默示许可制度构建势在必行。分析指出，我国应首先完善《民法总则》中与专利默示许可相关的基础性规定，并在《专利法》中对具有普遍意义的特定情形下的专利默示许可进行明文规定。同时，应明确专利默示许可规则的确立与TRIPS协议的基本要求并不冲突。