nep-tid New Economics Papers
on Technology and Industrial Dynamics
Issue of 2006‒10‒21
four papers chosen by
Roberto Fontana
Universita Bocconi
  1. When small is beautiful: measuring the evolution and consequences of the voluminosity of patent applications at the EPO By Eugenio Archontopoulos; Dominique Guellec; Niels Stevnsborg; Bruno van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie; Nicolas van Zeebroeck
  2. Claiming more: the increased voluminosity of patent applications and its determinants. By Nicolas van Zeebroeck; Bruno van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie; Dominique Guellec
  3. Understanding Why Universal Service Obligations May Be Unnecessary: The Private Development of Local Internet Access Markets By Thomas Downes; Shane Greenstein
  4. From the ivory tower to the market place? The changing role of knowledge organisations in spurring the development of biotechnology clusters in Austria By Michaela Trippl; Franz Tödtling
  1. By: Eugenio Archontopoulos (European Patent Office, The Netherlands); Dominique Guellec (OECD -DSTI, Paris); Niels Stevnsborg (European Patent Office, The Netherlands); Bruno van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie (Centre Emile Bernheim, Solvay Business School, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels); Nicolas van Zeebroeck (Centre Emile Bernheim, Solvay Business School, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels)
    Abstract: The joint increase in the number and size of patents filed around the world puts patent systems under pressure.This paper addresses issues in measuring the voluminosity of patent applications and highlights patterns in its evolution. The results – based on a 2 million EPO applications database – show that the average size of applications has doubled over the past 20 years and that it is mainly associated with PCT applications having a US priority. Voluminosity indicators are also influenced by geographical origins and technological areas and strongly impact the workload of the EPO, justifying the need for regulatory and policy actions.
    Keywords: Patent drafting, patent voluminosity, patent applications, patent statistics, patent systems, workload
    JEL: O31 O34 O50
    Date: 2006–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:06-019&r=tid
  2. By: Nicolas van Zeebroeck (Centre Emile Bernheim, Solvay Business School, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels.); Bruno van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie (Centre Emile Bernheim, Solvay Business School, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels); Dominique Guellec (OECD-DSTI, Paris.)
    Abstract: The joint increase in the number and size of patents filed around the world puts the patent system under pressure. This paper analyses the sources of this surge in number of claims and pages of patent applications at the EPO. Four hypotheses are scrutinized: the diffusion of national drafting practices, the increasing complexity of inventions, the emergence of new sectors, and new patenting strategies. The results show that the increasing voluminosity is explained by all these hypotheses and suggest that the diffusion of the US model through the PCT is one of the major factors driving the size of EPO patent applications.
    Keywords: Patent voluminosity, Patent applications, IP strategy, Claim drafting, Patent systems.
    JEL: O31 O34 O50
    Date: 2006–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:06-018&r=tid
  3. By: Thomas Downes; Shane Greenstein
    Abstract: This study analyzes the geographic spread of commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the leading suppliers of Internet access. The geographic spread of ISPs is a key consideration in U.S. policy for universal access. We examine the Fall of 1998, a time of minimal government subsidy, when inexpensive access was synonymous with a local telephone call to an ISP. Population size and location in a metropolitan statistical area were the single most important determinants of entry, but their effects on national, regional and local firms differed, especially on the margin. The thresholds for entry were remarkably low for local firms. Universal service in less densely-populated areas was largely a function of investment decisions by ISPs with local focus. There was little trace of the early imprint of government subsidies for Internet access at major U.S. universities.
    Keywords: Internet; Universal service; Geographic diffusion; Telecommunications
    JEL: L10 L86 L96 R11
    Date: 2006
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tuf:tuftec:0615&r=tid
  4. By: Michaela Trippl; Franz Tödtling
    Date: 2006
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwsre:sre-disc-2006_07&r=tid
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