Working Paper: NBER ID: w14324
Authors: Josh Lerner
Abstract: This paper examines the litigation of patents relating to financial products and services. I show that these grants are being litigated at a rate 27 to 39 times greater than that of patents as a whole. The patents being litigated are disproportionately those issued to individuals and to smaller, private entities, as well as those whose features may proxy for higher quality. Larger entities are disproportionately targeted in litigation. I discuss how the findings are in large part consistent with the theoretical literature on the economics of litigation.
Keywords: financial patents; litigation; innovation; patentability
JEL Codes: G21; O34
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| type of patent holder (O34) | litigation rates (K41) |
| patent characteristics (O34) | litigation rates (K41) |
| number of claims (G22) | litigation rates (K41) |
| number of citations (A14) | litigation rates (K41) |
| size of the firm (L25) | litigation rates (K41) |