Patent Paradox Revisited: Determinants of Patenting in the Us Semiconductor Industry, 1980-94

Hall, Bronwyn H.; Ziedonis, Rosemarie Ham

doi:10.2139/ssrn.506262

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Patent Paradox Revisited: Determinants of Patenting in the Us Semiconductor Industry, 1980-94

U of California, Berkeley, Center for Competition Policy Working Paper No. CPC99-05

44 Pages Posted: 26 Feb 2004

See all articles by Bronwyn H. Hall

Bronwyn H. Hall

University of California at Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS); Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition

Rosemarie Ham Ziedonis

Boston University - Questrom School of Business

Date Written: May 1999

Abstract

This paper examines the patenting behavior of firms in an industry characterized by rapid technological change and cumulative innovation. Recent evidence suggests that semiconductor firms do not rely heavily on patents, despite the strengthening of US patent rights in the early 1980s. Yet the propensity of semiconductor firms to patent has risen dramatically over the past decade. This paper explores this apparent paradox by analyzing the patenting activities of almost 100 US semiconductor firms during 1980-94. The results suggest that stronger patents may have facilitated entry by firms in niche product markets, while spawning "patent portfolio races" among capital-intensive firms.

Keywords: Patents, intellectual property, cross-licensing, semiconductor industry

JEL Classification: O3, K2, L5, M3

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Hall, Bronwyn H. and Ziedonis, Rosemarie Ham, Patent Paradox Revisited: Determinants of Patenting in the Us Semiconductor Industry, 1980-94 (May 1999). U of California, Berkeley, Center for Competition Policy Working Paper No. CPC99-05, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=506262 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.506262