This note provides an update to the index of patent protection published in this journal in 1997. The original paper presented the index for 1960-1990 for 110 countries. The index has now been updated to 2005 and extended to 122 countries. The adoption of stronger patent laws and the composition...

This paper examines how the role of patents and utility models in innovation and economic growth varies by level of economic development. Using a panel dataset of over 70 countries, we find that patent protection is an important determinant of innovation and that patentable innovations...