Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP6321
Authors: Bruno Van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie; Nicolas Van Zeebroeck
Abstract: The renewal of patents and their geographical scope for protection constitute two essential dimensions in a patent?s life, and probably the most frequently used patent value indicators. The intertwining of these dimensions (the geographical scope of protection may vary over time) makes their analysis complex, as any measure along one dimension requires an arbitrary choice on the second. This paper proposes a new indicator of patent value, the Scope-Year index, combining the two dimensions. The index is computed for patents filed at the EPO from 1980 to 1996 and validated in its member states. It shows that the average value of patent filings has increased in the early eighties but has constantly decreased from the mid-eighties until the mid nineties, despite the institutional expansion of the EPO. This result sheds a new and worrying light on the worldwide boom in patent filings.
Keywords: geographical scope; patent families; patent statistics; patent value; renewals
JEL Codes: K1; L1; O34; O38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| increased patent filings (O34) | decline in average patent value (O34) |
| geographical scope of protection (O34) | average patent value (O34) |
| duration of patent renewals (O34) | average patent value (O34) |
| institutional expansion of EPO (F55) | geographical scope of protection (O34) |
| patent filings (O34) | significant economic value (D46) |