Události

Po 29.04.2013

Prof. Dietmar Harhoff: “The Economic Value of Patent Portfolios”

Prof. Dietmar Harhoff

Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law and Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany

Authors: Alfonso Gambardella, Dietmar Harhoff, and Bart Verspagen

Abstract: Patent holders may choose to protect innovations with single patents or to develop portfolios of multiple, related inventions. We propose a simple decision-making model in which patent-holders may allocate resources to either expanding the number of related patents or investing in higher value of patents in the portfolio. We estimate the derived value equation using portfolio value data from an inventor survey. We find that investments in individual inventions exhibit diminishing returns, and that much of the value of a portfolio depends on adding new inventions. These effects are less pronounced in high-technology industries, when the inventions rely on external information, and when the inventor holds a doctorate. We also find higher returns to an increase of the number of inventions when firms perceive patent protection to be strong. Thus, a higher number of inventions in a portfolio may reflect both genuine creation of value or stronger appropriability via patents.

Full Text:  “The Economic Value of Patent Portfolios”