Competition, Innovation and Racing for Priority at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Linda Cohen () and Jun Ishii
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Linda Cohen: Department of Economics, University of California-Irvine

No 50604, Working Papers from University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics

Abstract: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office resolves patent priority disputes in patent interference cases. Using a random sample of cases declared between 1988 and 1994, we establish a connection between patent interferences and patent races, and then use the data to consider some key issues in dynamic competition and innovation. We look at the incidence and distribution of patent races by technology, evidence for strategic delay of innovation by incumbent firms, and evidence that patent races moderate incentives to delay. Our results have implications for patent policy in general and for evaluating the U.S. "first to invent" patent priority rule.

Keywords: Patent race, Patent interference, US Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, Patent litigation; Innovation; Research and development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K41 L20 O31 O34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46 pages
Date: 2005-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-ino, nep-law, nep-mic and nep-tid
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:irv:wpaper:050604

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