Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP7631
Authors: jrme danguy; bruno van pottelsberghe de la potterie
Abstract: For more than 40 years, governments and professional associations have acted, voted or lobbied against the implementation of the Community Patent (COMPAT). The econometric results and simulations presented in this paper suggest that, thanks to its attractiveness in terms of market size and a sound renewal fee structure, the COMPAT would drastically reduce the relative patenting costs for applicants while generating more income for the European Patent Office and most National Patent Offices. The loss of economic rents (?400 million would be lost by patent attorneys, translators and lawyers) and the drop of controlling power by national patent offices elucidate further the observed resistance to the Community Patent.
Keywords: community patent; maintenance rate; patent cost; patent systems; renewal fees
JEL Codes: O34; O38; P14
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| implementation of the community patent (compat) (O34) | patenting costs (O34) |
| implementation of the community patent (compat) (O34) | income for the European Patent Office (EPO) and national patent offices (NPOs) (O34) |
| renewal fee structure (D49) | maintenance rates (R42) |
| implementation of the community patent (compat) (O34) | overall patenting environment (O34) |
| implementation of the community patent (compat) (O34) | barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (L53) |
| current fragmented system (F12) | high costs and inefficiencies (D61) |