Patent Examiner Specialization

Cesare Righi and Timothy Simcoe

No 23913, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We study the matching of patent applications to examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Using test statistics originally developed to identify industry agglomeration, we find strong evidence that examiners specialize in particular technologies, even within relatively homogeneous art units. Examiner specialization is more pronounced in the biotechnology and chemistry fields, and less in computers and software. Evidence of specialization becomes weaker, but does not completely disappear, if we condition on technology sub-classes. There is no evidence that certain examiners specialize in applications that have greater importance or broader claims. More specialized examiners have a lower grant rate and produce a larger narrowing of claim-scope during the examination process. We discuss implications for instrumental variables based on examiner characteristics.

JEL-codes: H83 K11 L98 O3 O34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cta, nep-ino, nep-ipr and nep-law
Note: PR
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published as Cesare Righi & Timothy Simcoe, 2018. "Patent examiner specialization," Research Policy, .

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