Patent network analysis in agriculture: a case study of the development and protection of biotechnologies

Vinícius Eduardo Ferrari, José Maria Ferreira Jardim da Silveira and Maria Ester Soares Dal-Poz

Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 2021, vol. 30, issue 2, 111-133

Abstract: Plant biotechnology has consolidated itself as a radical agricultural innovation, boosting the patenting activities of universities, biotechnology firms, and seed & agrochemicals corporations. We use patent citations networks to study the appropriability efforts that affected the emergence and dynamics of the technological trajectories (TTs) of the genetically modified organisms. Our methodological contribution consists of combining new procedures to identify TTs with the study of the characteristics of scale-free networks. This paper also proposes legal enforcement indicators that attempt to assess the economic importance of patents that make up citation networks. We identify two TTs that include patents on biotech traits and enabling technologies. These patents were both effective in collecting royalties from farmers and deterring potential entrants, particularly through intellectual property (IP) litigation. The results also show that these litigated patents have impacted merger and acquisition activity in seed industry. We conclude that IP lawsuits may have contributed to delaying the R&D investments of new entrants, thus preserving the monopolistic position enjoyed by the pioneering company and restricting the scope of crop innovations.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1080/10438599.2019.1684645

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