Working Paper: NBER ID: w9518
Authors: David Popp; Ted Juhl; Daniel K. N. Johnson
Abstract: The impacts of two recent changes in US patent policy depend on the length of time it takes for an invention to go through the examination process. Concerns over the distributional effects of these changes were expressed during policy debates. We use data on U.S. patent applications and grants to determine the factors influencing the length of the patent examination process. We augment this analysis with interviews of patent examiners, leading to a better understanding of the examination process. Our analysis finds that differences across technology are most important. Inventor characteristics have statistically significant effects, but the magnitudes are small.
Keywords: patent examination; grant lag; patent policy; technology; inventor characteristics
JEL Codes: O3; O32; O34
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| application characteristics (C88) | grant lag (Y60) |
| technology type (L63) | grant lag (Y60) |
| inventor characteristics (O31) | grant lag (Y60) |