Cheaper patents

Tom Nicholas

Research Policy, 2011, vol. 40, issue 2, 325-339

Abstract: The 1883 Patents Act in Britain provides perspective for modern patent policy reforms because it radically changed incentives for inventors by reducing filing fees by 84 percent. Patents increased 2.5-fold after the reform, which was evenly distributed across the geography of inventors, the organization of invention and sectors. By realizing a large demand for cheaper patents the reform increased the propensity to patent and shifted inventive activity inside the patent system. It did not increase innovation as measured by changes in the distribution of high and low value patents and citations to English inventor patents in the United States.

Keywords: Patent; reform; Propensity; to; patent; Innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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