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on Intellectual Property Rights |
| By: | Jesse LaBelle; Fernando M. Martin; Ana Maria Santacreu |
| Abstract: | We study how international tax regimes and intellectual property (IP) rights shape the global allocation of intangible assets. Using a new dataset of cross-border patent transactions, we find that tax differentials are a key determinant of intra-firm transfers within multinational companies. Stronger IP rights play a bigger role in inter-firm transactions. To interpret these patterns, we develop a model in which firms choose to license, sell, or profit-shift patents depending on tax wedges and differences in IP protection. The theory rationalizes these findings and highlights how differences in global taxation and IP rights jointly determine the movement of intangible assets across borders. |
| Keywords: | intangibles; cross-border patent sales; licensing; profit shifting; taxation; intellectual property rights |
| JEL: | F12 O33 O41 O47 |
| Date: | 2025–09–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:101822 |
| By: | Alberto Galasso; El Hadi Caoui |
| Abstract: | Creative content is often the product of collaboration, which may lead to fractional ownership of intellectual property. We study the effect of fractional ownership on the licensing of copyrighted material and its reuse. To do so, we compile new data on the copyright ownership structure of songs and their licensing for use in movies. We document that fractional song ownership has increased substantially: the mean number of songwriters and publishers per song has tripled between 1958 and 2021. We show that, conditional on a rich set of controls, greater fractionalization is associated with lower likelihood of licensing. We leverage the Sony-led acquisition of EMI Music Publishing in 2012 to obtain within-song variation in ownership and find that consolidating ownership rights significantly increases licensing, beyond any standalone effects of the merger. |
| JEL: | K11 L8 O32 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34336 |
| By: | Boeing, Philipp; Brandt, Loren; Dai, Ruochen; Lim, Kevin; Peters, Bettina |
| Abstract: | China's patenting activity has surged over the past two decades, yet questions remain about the quality and sources of innovation. We develop a new method to measure the importance of a patent for innovation, based on the use of a Large Language Model to process patent text data and a new theory of the innovation process. We apply this method to study the evolution of patenting in China from 1985 until recently, and also classify patent ownership using a comprehensive business registry. Our method and data yield several novel facts about Chinese patenting. Among these are that the patents which are important for innovation have become less important on average; that knowledge within China has become more important than knowledge outside of China for directing innovation in China; and that knowledge produced by Chinese entities has been more important than knowledge produced by foreign entities in China. These findings have implications for China's growth trajectory and reflect both global trends in the decline of innovativeness and potential effects of domestic policy. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewpbs:328016 |
| By: | Jianwei DANG; Kazuyuki MOTOHASHI; Quihan ZHAO |
| Abstract: | We examine how financial markets value patented innovation across disclosure stages in the pharmaceutical sector. Using U.S. patents from publicly listed firms, we construct text-based measures of technological novelty and early diffusion impact. Event-study regressions based on KPSS returns reveal that market reactions are already sizable at the stage of scientific publication for patent–paper pairs (PPPs) and are nearly as large at pre-grant publication as at the patent granting stage—challenging the grant-centric view of patent valuation. Stage-specific regressions show a marked shift in valuation logic: novelty is priced early, especially when peer-reviewed science certifies the invention, while impact becomes salient only once technical content and downstream reuse become observable at the patent publication or granting stage. In PPPs, novelty is strongly rewarded in early stages, but impact is not, suggesting that science-linked inventions follow a distinct valuation channel. These patterns are robust to stricter PPP-matching thresholds and alternative impact metrics. Our findings highlight that both when and what gets disclosed jointly shape the financial value of innovation. |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25097 |