|
on Intellectual Property Rights |
| By: | Michael D. Frakes; Melissa F. Wasserman |
| Abstract: | Biological drugs account for just two percent of prescriptions filled in the U.S. but fifty percent of prescription-drug spending. To explore the role patents play in explaining high biologics prices, we build the first comprehensive database of patents associated with all FDA-approved biologics. We first establish that much of what drives biologic patenting is the desire to block entry by competing biosimilars. For these purposes, we estimate the response to a 2010 Act that created an abbreviated pathway for biosimilars to receive FDA approval. We then document robust evidence consistent with two patenting strategies that may block biosimilar competition: thicketing and evergreening, whereby firms supplement primary patents with a dense web of later-expiring patents on secondary drug features. We conduct various exercises to suggest that these behaviors are undertaken with exclusionary purposes that go beyond the traditional justifications of the patent system. We then set forth various descriptive statistics surrounding biosimilar entry to suggest that these patenting strategies are, in fact, effective at delaying biosimilar entry. Finally, we simulate the degree to which biologics patent portfolios are impacted by policy proposals currently under consideration to address thicketing and evergreening. |
| JEL: | K0 L50 L65 O34 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34024 |
| By: | Hussinger, Katrin; Issah, Wunnam Basit |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether family ownership is associated with a preference for patents or trade secrets. Using a sample of S&P 500 firms, we show that family ownership is negatively associated with patenting and positively associated with the usage of trade secrets. We further show that both relationships are moderated by firm performance below the aspiration level, i.e. the performance benchmark level that an organization sets. These results can be explained with a mixed gambles behavioral agency framework. When family firms perform below their aspiration level, prospective financial gains become relatively more important as compared to current socioemotional wealth so that patents become more and trade secrets less attractive. |
| Keywords: | Family firms, patents, trade secrets, mixed gambles, aspiration gap |
| JEL: | O34 O32 G32 M14 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:319899 |
| By: | Makoto KADOWAKI; Sadao NAGAOKA; Takahiro MAEDA |
| Abstract: | The identification of relevant prior art is a key step in assessing an invention's contribution; however, it remains unclear whether and how applicants can contribute to this process through prior art disclosure. This study investigates how applicant disclosures causally affect patent examination performance using the Japanese Patent Office's 2002 policy reform requiring applicant disclosure as a natural experiment. We find that this reform has significantly improved the quality of applicant disclosure (as measured by its coverage of examiner citations of prior art), especially for high-quality inventions. The reform led to faster grant processing, a narrower initial patent scope, and fewer amendments between applications and grants, primarily through higher-quality disclosure. While the reform also led to a greater number of disclosures not used by examiners, which had the effect of slowing the grant process, this effect was dominated by the effect of higher quality. The reform also increased the total amount of prior art used by examiners and reduced both invalidation and rejection appeal trials through higher disclosure quality. Applicant disclosures complemented examiner search efforts, thereby enhancing the overall prior art base used in patent examinations. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25071 |
| By: | Victor (Xucheng); CHEN |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the relationship between innovation activities and firm-level productivity among early-stage high-tech startups in China. Using a proprietary dataset encompassing patent records, R&D expenditures, capital valuation, and firm performance from 2020 to 2024, we examine whether and how innovation, measured by patents and R&D input, translates into economic output. Contrary to established literature, we find that patent output does not significantly contribute to either income or profit among the sampled firms. Further investigation reveals that patents may primarily serve a signaling function to external investors and policymakers, rather than reflecting true innovative productivity. In contrast, R&D expenditure shows a consistent and positive association with firm performance. Through mechanism analysis, we explore three channels (organizational environment, employee quality, and policy-driven incentives) to explain the impact of R&D, identifying capital inflow and valuation as key drivers of R&D investment. Finally, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the effects of R&D are more pronounced in sub-industries such as smart terminals and digital creativity, and for firms based in Shenzhen. Our findings challenge the prevailing assumption that patent output is a universal indicator of innovation success and underscore the context-dependent nature of innovation-performance linkages in emerging markets. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2507.18227 |
| By: | Jan Malek; Jo Seldeslachts; Reinhilde Veugelers |
| Abstract: | This paper provides empirical evidence on which M&A deals spur innovation, and which stifle it. To do so, we consider not only the product market position of the acquiring firm, but also the position of both target and acquirer in the technology space. Focusing on the antidiabetic drugs market, our dataset tracks the lifecycle and patenting of all individual antidiabetic projects in development between 1997 and 2017. We show that most terminations of acquired projects occur while the projects are still far from product market entry. Nevertheless, a number of these early-stage acquisitions have a positive impact on innovation. These cases arise when incumbents acquire projects close to their own projects in product markets, but only if these projects are also close in technology markets. Those deals are associated with increased subsequent patenting, which is consistent with the exploitation of technological synergies. Our results point to the crucial role of combining both product market and technology market positions in assessing the innovation effects of pharmaceutical M&As. |
| Keywords: | M&As, innovation, R&D, pharmaceutics, technology, novelty, patents |
| Date: | 2025–07–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:msiper:768578 |
| By: | Abdenour-Karim Khelifi (Esthua Faculté de Tourisme, Culture et Hospitalité) |
| Abstract: | This conceptual study aims to investigate the impact of denied boarding (a direct consequence of overbooking policies) in air transport on airline customer loyalty. Drawing on the work of Bejou and Palmer (1998), Wangenheim and Bayon (2007) and Dalalah, Ojiako & Chipulu's (2020), the author develops a conceptual model for measuring the impact of sdenied boarding on airline loyalty, based on two distinct behavioural responses. Specifically, the research problem investigated is to understand the extent to which denied boarding impacts customer loyalty to the airline, according to the two scenarios of voluntary denied boarding (1) and involuntary denied boarding (2). The overall aim of this study is to provide academic researchers and practitioners with a better understanding of the determinants of loyalty in the airline industry, and to help airlines better manage reputational damage and improve brand loyalty. |
| Abstract: | Cette étude conceptuelle vise à analyser l'impact du refus d'embarquement (conséquence directe des politiques de surréservation) dans le transport aérien sur la fidélité des clients des compagnies aériennes. S'appuyant sur les travaux de Bejou et Palmer (1998), Wangenheim et Bayon (2007) et Dalalah, Ojiako et Chipulu (2020), l'auteur développe un modèle conceptuel permettant de mesurer l'impact du refus d'embarquement sur la fidélité des clients à la compagnie aérienne, en s'appuyant sur deux réponses comportementales distinctes. Plus précisément, la problématique de recherche étudiée est de comprendre dans quelle mesure le refus d'embarquement impacte la fidélité des clients à la compagnie aérienne, selon les deux scénarios de refus d'embarquement volontaire (1) et de refus d'embarquement involontaire (2). L'objectif global de cette étude est de fournir aux chercheurs universitaires et aux praticiens une meilleure compréhension des déterminants de la fidélité dans le secteur aérien, et d'aider les compagnies aériennes à mieux gérer les atteintes à leur réputation et à améliorer la fidélité à la marque. |
| Keywords: | Overbooking, Airlines, Denied boarding, Brand loyalty, brand loyalty, brand trust, service failure, overbooking involuntary denied boarding brand loyalty brand trust service failure, overbooking, involuntary, denied boarding |
| Date: | 2024–04–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05129492 |