.S. startups applying for patent protection in the 24 months following their first round of venture capital funding. I observe both … successful and unsuccessful patent applications and use a measure of patent examiner leniency as an instrument for getting …

.S. Patent Office since 2001, we find that startups that win the patent “lottery” by drawing lenient examiners have, on average …, 55% higher employment growth and 80% higher sales growth five years later. Patent winners also pursue more, and higher … quality, follow-on innovation. Winning a first patent boosts a startup’s subsequent growth and innovation by facilitating …

This paper investigates how patent applications and grants held by new ventures improve their ability to attract … British biotechnology companies we have identified all patents filed at the European Patent Office (EPO). Applying hazard rate … analysis, we find that in the presence of patent applications, VC financing occurs earlier. Our results also show that VCs pay …

British and German companies that seek venture capital (VC). We find that patent applications – as signals from ventures – are … positively related to VC-financing. Moreover, applications trigger institutionalized processes at the patent office, which can …