The Value of European Patents

44 Pages Posted: 17 Jun 2008

See all articles by Alfonso Gambardella

Alfonso Gambardella

Bocconi University - Department of Management and Technology

Dietmar Harhoff

Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Bart Verspagen

University of Maastricht and UNU-MERIT

Date Written: June 2008

Abstract

This paper employs data from an extensive European survey to produce one of the first systematic assessments of the private economic value of patents. The estimated mean of our patent value distribution is higher than 3 million Euros, the median is about one-tenth, and the mode is around a few thousand Euros. This is in line with previous findings about the skewed distribution of patent values. Our measure is significantly correlated with the number of patent citations, references, claims, and countries in which the patent is applied. Citations explain value as much as the other three indicators combined, and the right tail of citations is correlated with the right tail of our value measure. Yet, the four indicators only explain 2.7% of the variance of patent value. Thus, while the use of these indicators as proxies for value, particularly citations, may be justified, predictions based on these indicators carry significant noise. After using country, technology, and patent class fixed effects, we only explain 11.3% of the variation in patent value. The measure of our ignorance about patent value is still sizable, which calls for additional research to fill the gap.

Keywords: Intellectual property rights, patent citations, patent claims, patent references, patent value, patent value indicators, patents

JEL Classification: L20, O31, O32, O34

Suggested Citation

Gambardella, Alfonso and Harhoff, Dietmar and Verspagen, Bart, The Value of European Patents (June 2008). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP6848, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1146774

Alfonso Gambardella (Contact Author)

Bocconi University - Department of Management and Technology ( email )

Via Roentgen 1
Milan, MI 20136
Italy

Dietmar Harhoff

Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition ( email )

Marstallplatz 1
Munich, Bayern 80539
Germany
+49 89 24246 550 (Phone)
+49 89 24246 599 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.ip.mpg.de

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München ( email )

Munich, 80539
Germany

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Bart Verspagen

University of Maastricht and UNU-MERIT ( email )

P.O. Box 616
Maastricht, Limburg 6200MD
Netherlands

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