Abstract
It is well known that not all innovations are patented, but the exact volume of innovative activities undertaken outside the coverage of patent protection and, relatedly, the actual propensity to patent an innovation in different contexts remain, to a major degree, a matter of speculation. This paper presents an exploratory study comparing systematically patented and unpatented innovations over the period 1977-2004 across industrial sectors. The main data source is the 'R&D 100 Awards' competition organized by the journal Research and Development. Since 1963, the magazine has been awarding this prize to the 100 most technologically significant new products available for sale or licensing in the year preceding the judgments. We match the products winners of the R&D 100 awards competition with USPTO patents and we examine the variation of patent propensity across different contexts (industries, geographical areas and organizations). Finally we compare our findings with previous assessments of patent propensity based on several sources of data.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1780-1792 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Research Policy |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 Jan 1 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Innovation
- Patent propensity
- R&D awards
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Strategy and Management
- Management Science and Operations Research
- Management of Technology and Innovation
Cite this
Reassessing patent propensity : Evidence from a dataset of R&D awards, 1977-2004. / Fontana, Roberto; Nuvolari, Alessandro; Shimizu, Hiroshi; Vezzulli, Andrea.
In: Research Policy, Vol. 42, No. 10, 01.01.2013, p. 1780-1792.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Reassessing patent propensity
T2 - Evidence from a dataset of R&D awards, 1977-2004
AU - Fontana, Roberto
AU - Nuvolari, Alessandro
AU - Shimizu, Hiroshi
AU - Vezzulli, Andrea
PY - 2013/1/1
Y1 - 2013/1/1
N2 - It is well known that not all innovations are patented, but the exact volume of innovative activities undertaken outside the coverage of patent protection and, relatedly, the actual propensity to patent an innovation in different contexts remain, to a major degree, a matter of speculation. This paper presents an exploratory study comparing systematically patented and unpatented innovations over the period 1977-2004 across industrial sectors. The main data source is the 'R&D 100 Awards' competition organized by the journal Research and Development. Since 1963, the magazine has been awarding this prize to the 100 most technologically significant new products available for sale or licensing in the year preceding the judgments. We match the products winners of the R&D 100 awards competition with USPTO patents and we examine the variation of patent propensity across different contexts (industries, geographical areas and organizations). Finally we compare our findings with previous assessments of patent propensity based on several sources of data.
AB - It is well known that not all innovations are patented, but the exact volume of innovative activities undertaken outside the coverage of patent protection and, relatedly, the actual propensity to patent an innovation in different contexts remain, to a major degree, a matter of speculation. This paper presents an exploratory study comparing systematically patented and unpatented innovations over the period 1977-2004 across industrial sectors. The main data source is the 'R&D 100 Awards' competition organized by the journal Research and Development. Since 1963, the magazine has been awarding this prize to the 100 most technologically significant new products available for sale or licensing in the year preceding the judgments. We match the products winners of the R&D 100 awards competition with USPTO patents and we examine the variation of patent propensity across different contexts (industries, geographical areas and organizations). Finally we compare our findings with previous assessments of patent propensity based on several sources of data.
KW - Innovation
KW - Patent propensity
KW - R&D awards
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84889887943&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84889887943&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.respol.2012.05.014
DO - 10.1016/j.respol.2012.05.014
M3 - Article
VL - 42
SP - 1780
EP - 1792
JO - Research Policy
JF - Research Policy
SN - 0048-7333
IS - 10
ER -