We investigate the causal effect of patent rights on cumulative innovation, using large-scale data that approximate the … patent universe in its technological and economic variety. We introduce a novel instrumental variable for patent invalidation … that exploits personnel scarcity in post-grant opposition at the European Patent Office. We find that patent invalidation …

consumer goods sector. We find that patent filings are positively associated with subsequent product innovation by firms, but … at least half of product innovation and growth comes from firms that never patent. We also find that market leaders use … innovation decisions. We show that the private value of a patent is particularly high for large firms as patents protect large …