technological synthesis within the broader economy. Using data on patents and patent citations obtained from the PATSTAT …-CRIOS database, covering all patent applications made to the European Patent Office (EPO), we try to model the systemic nature of …

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 …

One feature of the European patent system that is heavily criticized nowadays is related to its complex fragmentation … and the induced cost burden for applicants. Once a patent is granted by the EPO, the assignee must validate (and often … validation behavior of applicants. We rely on a gravity model that aims at explaining patent flows between inventor and target …

This paper analyzes firms' choices regarding the geographic scope of patent protection within the European patent … system. We develop an econometric model at the patent level to quantify the impact of office fees and translation costs on … firms' decision to validate a patent in a particular country once it has been granted by the EPO. These costs have been …

forward citations patents can receive at the European Patent Office. While a patent can be cited as non-infringing state of … the art, it can also be cited because it threatens the novelty of patent applications ("blocking citations"). Empirical …. This finding adds to the patent value literature by showing that different types of patent citations carry different …

the current European patent system, one of the most advanced, complex, and contested economic systems in Europe. The … conclusions elaborate on some normative implications regarding the weaknesses of the European patent system, and underline the …