Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP15713
Authors: Markus Nagler; Monika Schnitzer; Martin Watzinger
Abstract: How do patents influence the spread of General Purpose Technologies? To answer this question, we analyze the diffusion of the transistor, one of the most important technologies of our time. We show that the transistor diffusion and cross-technology spillovers increased dramatically after AT&T began licensing its transistor patents on standardized terms in 1952. This suggests that standardized licensing of the transistor patents helped jumpstart the positive feedback loop between innovations upstream and in applications. A subsequent reduction in royalties did not lead to a further increase, suggesting that standardized licensing in itself is more important than the specific royalty rates.
Keywords: innovation; intellectual property; standardized licensing; general purpose technologies; transistor
JEL Codes: O3; O33; O34
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Standardized licensing of transistor patents (D45) | Number of follow-on patents citing these transistor patents (O36) |
| Standardized licensing of transistor patents (D45) | Knowledge transfer through transistor symposia (O36) |
| Knowledge transfer through transistor symposia (O36) | Number of follow-on patents citing these transistor patents (O36) |
| Standardized licensing of transistor patents (D45) | Follow-on innovations among inventors that did not participate in training sessions (O36) |