The aim of this paper is to test whether patent-based indicators are still reliable measures of innovativeness in light … already under way respectively at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO). For most … this purpose, we use a unique data set which collects balance sheet items and patent information from EPO and USPTO. After …

This paper develops a methodology to compare the quality of examination services in different patent offices. Quality … is defined as the extent to which patent offices comply with their patentability conditions in a transparent way. The … of patent offices in Europe (EPO), Japan (JPO) and the US (USPTO) shows that their operational designs differ …

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the determinants of patent litigation in Germany, based on information … analysis show that relatively valuable patents are more likely to be involved in litigation cases than the average patent … than patents which have not been opposed. Patent owner?s ability to trade patents with potential infringers and to interact …

This paper argues that the consequences of the 'fragmentation' of the European patent system are more dramatic than the … mere prohibitive costs of maintaining a patent in force in many jurisdictions. First, detailed analysis of judicial systems …-level competition policy and granting authority ultimately facing national jurisdictional primacy on patent issues. These high degrees …

Post-grant validity challenges at patent offices rely on the private initiative of third parties to correct mistakes … made by patent offices. We hypothesize that incentives to bring post-grant validity challenges are reduced when many firms … benefit from revocation of a patent and when firms are caught up in patent thickets. Using data on opposition against patents …

We investigate incidence and evolution of patent thickets. Our empirical analysis is based on a theoretical model of … patenting in complex and discrete technologies. The model captures how competition for patent portfolios and complementarity of … patent thickets is introduced. European patent citations are used to construct measures of fragmentation and technological …

Most econometric analyses of patent data rely on regression methods using a parametric form of the predictor for … techniques for estimation purposes. Using this methodology we reanalyze the determinants of patent oppositions in Europe for …

In our days, German machine tool makers accuse their Chinese competitors of violating patent rights and illegally … American technology. To understand the dynamics of this catching-up process we use patent statistics to analyze firms … this strategy by stipulating a patent law that discriminated against foreign patent holders and probably also by delaying …