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on Intellectual Property Rights |
| By: | Billington, Stephen D. (Ulster University Business School, Ulster University); Colvin, Christopher L. (Queen’s Business School, Queen’s University Belfast); Coyle, Christopher (Queen’s Business School, Queen’s University Belfast) |
| Abstract: | We examine how the design of the patent system shapes firms’ access to finance. We exploit a UK reform that introduced substantive examination into the patent application process, improving the quality of information available to investors about the value of firms’ innovation. Using a newly compiled dataset of officially listed corporations, we find that firms with examined patents increased their borrowing, reflecting improved access to capital markets, which translated into firm growth. Our results highlight how patent examination can function as a screening mechanism that reduces information asymmetry, strengthens the signalling value of patents, and mitigates financial barriers to innovation. |
| Keywords: | firm finance, debt, innovation, patents, patent examination, signalling. JEL Classification: G32, N23, N43, O16, O31, O34 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:767 |
| By: | Bastian Silvester Bruestle; Patrick Lehnert; Erik Buunk; Uschi Backes-Gellner; Dietmar Harhoff |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes whether inventor teams composed of members with diverse educational backgrounds, both academic and vocational, exhibit higher performance than teams with the same educational backgrounds. To exploit the different educational backgrounds among patent inventors in Switzerland, we construct a unique dataset of 35, 486 inventors. This dataset links individual patenting activities from European Patent Office data from 1980-2021, with detailed biographical information obtained from LinkedIn. Using a supermodularity framework to assess complementarity, we find that inventor teams composed of members with academic and vocational backgrounds (as opposed to members with the same background) achieve higher team performance, measured by the quality of their jointly filed patents. This complementarity is even stronger in teams with at least one team member from a University of Applied Sciences. Further analysis reveals heterogeneous effects across technological fields. Overall, our findings show the importance of strategically combining different educational backgrounds in inventor teams, thereby highlighting the value of maintaining a balanced educational landscape. |
| Keywords: | team productivity, inventor biographies, vocational education, patent quality |
| JEL: | I23 I26 M54 O32 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:educat:0248 |
| By: | Akila Hariharan ((corresponding author) Madras School of Economics, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 600025); Megana Prabha (London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom); Naveen Srinivasan (Madras School of Economics, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 600025); Srikanth Pai (Madras School of Economics, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 600025) |
| Abstract: | In this note, we show how to solve for the fundamental (or bubble-free) value of a patent in continuous time using two methods: the method of integrating factor and the Laplace transform. Not only do these methods deliver a solution, they also provide conditions for when the solution is unique. |
| Keywords: | Patents; Differential Equations; Integrating factor; Laplace transform; Bubbles |
| JEL: | C65 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2025-288 |