protect the environment, counts of patents related to flue gas desulfurization units ('scrubbers') peaked before trading of … sulfur dioxide (SO2) permits began. This paper uses plant level data to study the effect of these patents on pollution … would lower the costs of operating scrubbers. There is little evidence that the new patents created before 1990 improved the …

This paper explores the characteristics of 238 patents on 94 "inventions" contributed by major multinational innovators … to the "Eco-Patent Commons", which provides royalty-free access to third parties to patented climate change related … innovations. By comparing the pledged patents to other patents in the same technologies or held by the same multinationals, we …

Using patent data from the United States, Japan, and Germany, this paper examines both the innovation and diffusion of …) standards, both Japan and Germany introduced stringent nitrogen dioxide (NOX) standards much earlier than the US. Nonetheless …, the data suggest that inventors respond to environmental regulatory pressure in their own country, but not to foreign …

significantly expanded the scope of patent rights in Japan, but that the average response in terms of additional R&D effort and …Does an expansion of patent scope induce more innovative effort by firms? This article provides evidence on this … question by examining firm responses to the Japanese patent reforms of 1988. Interviews with practitioners suggest the reforms …

system. We show that the creation/diffusion tradeoff of patents can be influenced not only by the scope and length of patent … Japanese patent systems. Under the Japanese system it is possible for a firm to apply for a patent knowing the exact … specifications of a rival's patent application. In contrast, in the U.S. the only way a firm learns about a rival's innovation is …

engage in less green R&D investment, patent applications, and research staff. Industries that are heavy emitters and those … focused on environmental technologies are more affected. The results suggest that policy uncertainty may originate not only …

this question using a unique database of artificial intelligence patents publicly shared by the USPTO. Our identification … strategy leverages China's WTO TRIPs accession, which led to stronger intellectual property rights in 2002. We find a … significant rise in the number of female inventors and an increase in the number of patents with females on inventor teams vis …

This paper surveys the major changes in patent policy and practice that have occurred in the last two decades in the U … effects of changes in patent policy. Despite the significance of the policy changes and the wide availability of detailed data … patent policy are few. Possible reasons for these limited results are discussed, and possible avenues for future research are …

cumulative innovation. Recent evidence suggests that semiconductor firms do not rely heavily on patents, despite the … strengthening of US patent rights in the early 1980s. Yet the propensity of semiconductor firms to patent has risen dramatically … semiconductor firms during 1980-94. The results suggest that stronger patents may have facilitated entry by firms in niche product …