<scp>An Empirical Look at Software Patents</scp>

Bessen, James; Hunt, Robert M.

doi:10.1111/j.1530-9134.2007.00136.x

Cited by 265 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…This could explain why the economic literature has evidenced different patenting strategies in technological fields such as ICT or software than in other technologies (Cohen et al 2000). For instance, recent research highlights the importance of strategic patenting in these technological fields (Bessen and Hunt 2003;Noel and Schankerman 2006). It is a widely shared belief that an important share of the numerous patents filed in these fields is of questionable value (Jaffe and Lerner 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

The private and social value of patents in discrete and cumulative innovation

Baron

Delcamp

2011

Scientometrics

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This article analyzes the relationship between private and social value of patents, comparing discrete and cumulative innovation. Indicators of the social value of patents are known to be less correlated with measures of private value in technological fields where innovation is more cumulative. We test whether this is because the link between private and social value is weaker, or because the indicators are less informative of the underlying concepts of value. Furthermore we analyze whether these differences between technological fields are really due to cumulativeness. We observe cumulative innovation by making use of databases of patents declared essential for technological standards. Using factor analysis and a set of patent quality indicators, we test the relevance of social value for predicting the private value of a patent measured by renewal and litigation. Whereas we establish a robust and significant link for discrete technologies; neither common factors nor any indicator of social value allows predicting the private value of essential, very cumulative patents. Nevertheless, this result cannot be generalized to whole technological classes identified as ''complex'' by the literature.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

The private and social value of patents in discrete and cumulative innovation

Baron

Delcamp

2011

Scientometrics

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“…Interestingly, regarding the economic effects of software patents in the US, James Bessen and Robert Hunt found evidence that software patents substitute for R&D at the firm level and are associated with lower R&D intensity -arguably resulting in less innovation. They conclude that this result therefore makes reconciling with the 422 Scientometrics 70 (2007) traditional incentive theory of patents difficult (BESSEN & HUNT, 2004). Stuart Macdonald also worries about how "patents have become an end" instead of as a means to stimulate innovation (MACDONALD, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Exploring the “value” of academic patents: IP management practices in UK universities and their implications for Third-Stream indicators

Meyer

Tang

2007

Scientometrics

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Third-Stream activities have become increasingly important in the UK. However, valuing them in a meaningful way still poses a challenge to science and technology analysts and policy makers alike. This paper reviews the general literature on "patent value" and assesses the extent to which these established measures, including patent citation, patent family, renewal and litigation data, can be applied to the university context. Our study examines indicators of patent value for short and mid-term evaluation purposes, rather than indicators that suffer from long time lags. We also explore the extent to which differences in IP management practices at universities may have an impact on the validity and robustness of possible indicators. Our observations from four UK universities indicate that there are considerable differences between universities as to how they approach the IP management process, which in turn has implications for valuing patents and how they track activity in this area. In their current form, data as collected by universities are not sufficiently robust to serve as the basis for evaluation or resource allocation. IntroductionOver the past few years, many countries have taken measures to promote knowledge and technology transfer between universities and industry. In the UK, such an activity is widely regarded as a Third-Stream activity. Exploiting university research results and knowledge often involves setting up a technology and licensing infrastructure nationally M. S. MEYER, P. TANG: The "value" of academic patents 416 Scientometrics 70 (2007) as well as locally. However, in the UK, there remain a few universities that do not have any type of technology transfer function. Along with such an emphasis on Third-Stream activities goes a need for developing indicators that effectively capture the value generated by such activities, particularly for accountability purposes. As public funds are increasingly being dedicated to develop knowledge and technology transfer functions in universities, the UK Government is increasingly requiring measures to demonstrate some form of return on its investment. This paper reviews the progress that has been made regarding measuring the value of university patents, which continues to remain a key performance indicator.Estimating the value of patents has been a well-researched topic in the legaleconomic literature, in which various measures have been developed. These are based on patent citation, (foreign) application, licensing, and patent renewal data. Litigated patents are also increasingly associated with high value, namely because of the prohibitive costs involved. While some measures can be derived from patent data directly, others are more difficult to trace. Furthermore, much of the research has focused on corporate patents. On the other hand, studies exploring the value of university patents (e.g. by way of tracing patent citations) are rather "historical" in their orientation and tend to cover periods of patenting undertaken in the past and thus do not adeq...

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“…Indeed, as Boldrin and Levine (2008) argue, constraints on the circulation of socially useful ideas about software tend to inhibit innovation, not least because companies must expend resources to avail themselves of such protection. Patent-seeking appears to have substantially substituted for software research and development in the 1990s, with a corresponding reduction in innovation of roughly 15% (Bessen and Hunt 2004). As the example of Silicon Valley (discussed above) shows us, even the legal structures regulating non-disclosure and no-compete agreements affect viability: Silicon Valley has thrived in the absence of strong non-compete covenants.…”

Section: The Owners' Perspectivementioning

confidence: 94%

Free software and the economics of information justice

Chopra

Dexter

2010

Ethics Inf Technol

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Claims about the potential of free software to reform the production and distribution of software are routinely countered by skepticism that the free software community fails to engage the pragmatic and economic 'realities' of a software industry. We argue to the contrary that contemporary business and economic trends definitively demonstrate the financial viability of an economy based on free software. But the argument for free software derives its true normative weight from social justice considerations: the evaluation of the basis for a software economy should be guided by consideration of the social and cultural states which are the ultimate goals of any economic arrangement. That is, the software economy should be evaluated in light of its ability to provide justice. We conclude with a discussion of possible avenues for reform.

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An Empirical Look at Software Patents

Cited by 265 publications

References 48 publications

The private and social value of patents in discrete and cumulative innovation

The private and social value of patents in discrete and cumulative innovation

Exploring the “value” of academic patents: IP management practices in UK universities and their implications for Third-Stream indicators

Free software and the economics of information justice

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