International Patenting Strategies in Developing Countries: Understanding Patent Flows into the Patent Periphery

University Of California-Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project examines the factors that shape where firms decide to seek and maintain patent protection in the developing countries (the patent periphery). It does so using a database of international patent applications organized by patent family (multiple national patent applications for a single invention). This database, compiled by the World International Property Organization (WIPO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) and augmented by the research team's own data contributions, enables the analysis of international patenting strategies at an unprecedented level of resolution and thereby set the stage for other researchers to address related important and policy-relevant questions. Intellectual Merit: The research examines three key questions: 1. What factors shape international patent application strategies in the patent periphery? 2. How do patenting strategies evolve as the patent process unfolds? 3. How have innovations in patent institutions shaped strategies in developing countries? Patenting strategies matter to developing countries because they can directly influence important forms of technology transfer - and thereby economic growth. Yet, relatively little is known about international patenting decisions on this periphery. This project advances understanding in this area by using a patent family data that includes technology classifications for each of millions of patent applications. The construction of this dataset permits rigorous empirical analysis with clear statistical identification, including in-depth regional or sectoral analyses. Broader Impacts: The direct involvement of the World International Property Organization (WIPO) on the research team facilitates frequent interaction with patent policy makers and institutions. The project team is building an international network of researchers interested in patent strategies in developing countries and their role in the development process more broadly. Importantly, the project refines a concordance that bridges high resolution patent and trade data which creates new ways to leverage patent families and reveals spatial patenting strategies. This permits an examination of the impact of policy and other factors on these strategies. These data and modeling contributions are available to other researchers.