Working Paper: NBER ID: w14714
Authors: Bronwyn H. Hall; Grid Thoma; Salvatore Torrisi
Abstract: We take a first look at financial patents at the European Patent Office (EPO). As is the case at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the number of financial patents in Europe has increased significantly in parallel with significant changes in payment and financial systems. Scholars have argued that financial patents, like other business methods patents, have low value and are owned for strategic reasons rather than for protecting real inventions. We find that established firms in non-financial sectors with diversified patent portfolios own a large share of financial patents at the EPO. However, new specialized technology providers in the financial area also hold a number of such patents. Decisions on the financial patent applications take longer and they are more likely to be refused by the patent office, suggesting greater uncertainty over validity than for other patents. They are also more likely to be opposed, which is consistent with the fact that their other economic value indicators are higher.
Keywords: financial patents; European Patent Office; patenting strategy; innovation; intellectual property
JEL Codes: G20; L86; O31; O34
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| financial patents (O34) | longer decision lags (D91) |
| financial patents (O34) | lower probability of being granted (K35) |
| financial patents (O34) | greater probability of opposition (D79) |
| uncertainty surrounding financial patents (G29) | longer decision lags (D91) |
| uncertainty surrounding financial patents (G29) | lower probability of being granted (K35) |
| uncertainty surrounding financial patents (G29) | greater probability of opposition (D79) |
| quality indicators (C43) | likelihood of grant (I28) |
| quality indicators (C43) | likelihood of opposition (D72) |