| Abstract: |
Patent examination is not merely a process where examiners determine the
patentability of applications; it is also a collaborative process in which
applicants and examiners work together to create rights that contribute to
business and innovation activities. This paper focuses on interviews conducted
during the examination process and analyzes their impact on the scope and
stability of patent rights. In 2014, Japan revised its guidelines regarding
interviews, stipulating that, in principle, at least one interview should be
conducted if requested by the applicant. This paper employs an instrumental
variable estimation using this policy change to address endogeneity issues,
highlighting that significant inventions are more likely to involve interview
requests, which, in turn, correlate with broader patent scopes and potentially
lower stability. We find that the revision of the guidelines led to an
increase in face-to-face interviews. Furthermore, the results show that these
interviews mitigated the reduction in the scope of rights, as measured by
changes in the number of words stipulated in claims. Additionally, the
probability of post-grant invalidation trials was shown to decrease due to
interviews, indicating enhanced stability of the rights. This suggests that
the process of incorporating applicants’ requests during interviews does not
result in excessively broad patent scopes. In other words, interviews promote
mutual understanding between applicants and examiners, contributing to the
creation of appropriately scoped patent rights by preventing undue narrowing
or broadening of claims. Therefore, promoting interviews while managing
associated costs, through measures such as the development of online interview
environments, is expected to enhance the innovation-promoting effect of the
patent system. |