Mosahid Khan

Triadic Patent Families Methodology

Patent indicators – within the science and technology (S&T) context – are used to measure inventive performance, diffusion of knowledge and internationalisation of innovative activities – across countries, firms, industries, technology areas, etc. A common approach is to calculate patent indicators based on information (filings, grants, etc.) from a particular patent office. While the richness and strength of those indicators are broadly recognised, they are affected by “home” advantage bias – where proportionate to their inventive activity, domestic applicants tend to file more patents in their home country compared to foreign applicants.Patents taken in various countries to protect inventions can be linked together to build triadic patent families: a set of patents taken at the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japanese Patent Office (JPO), and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that share one or more priorities. Patent families are derived from priority application ... Methodologie relative aux familles triadiques de brevets Les indicateurs sur les brevets sont utilises, dans le cadre de la science et de la technologie (S-T), pour mesurer les performances de l’innovation, la diffusion du savoir et la mondialisation des activites innovantes dans les pays, les entreprises, les industries ou les domaines technologiques. Une technique frequemment utilisee pour leur comptage consiste a s’appuyer sur les informations (nombres de demandes, de delivrances, etc.) d’un office de brevets specifique. Si la richesse et l’importance de ces indicateurs sont largement reconnues, leur fiabilite n’en est pas moins soumise a des biais lies a l’avantage national : proportionnellement a leurs activites de decouverte, les demandeurs nationaux deposent generalement davantage de brevets dans leur pays d’origine que les demandeurs etrangers.Les brevets deposes dans divers pays pour proteger des inventions peuvent etre regroupes en familles triadiques de brevets : un groupe de brevets deposes aupres de l’Office europeen des ...

Are International R&D Spillovers Costly for the United States?

Coe and Helpman, among others, report positive and equivalent R&D spillovers across groups of countries. However, the nature of their econometric tests does not address the heterogeneity of knowledge diffusion across countries. We empirically examine these issues in a sample of 10 OECD countries by extending both the time span and the coverage of R&D activities in the data set. We find that the elasticity of total factor productivity with respect to domestic and foreign R&D stocks is extremely heterogeneous across countries and that data cannot be pooled. Thus, panel estimates conceal important cross-country differences. The United States appears to be a net loser in international R&D spillovers. Our interpretation is that when competitors catch up technologically, they challenge U.S. market shares and investments worldwide.

Heterogeneous ideas production and endogenous growth: an empirical investigation

We examine the dynamics of ideas production and knowledge-productivity relationship in a panel of 19 OECD countries. A new data set of triadic patents is used. We rigorously address the issues of cross-country heterogeneity and endogeneity. Domestic and foreign ideas stocks exert positive but heterogeneous effects on ideas production. We find evidence of duplicate RD however, this effect is modest for countries with sizeable ideas bases. An implication is that country-specific R&D policy appears potentially more effective than the one-size-fits-all approach.

Exploring the worldwide patent surge

Worldwide patent filings are at historically unprecedented levels. In 2011, the total number of patent applications for the first time exceeded two million – double the approximately 1.05 million patents filed in 1995. Understanding what is behind this growth is important, as it may indicate faster technological progress, new innovation models and strategic shifts in how companies use the patent system. Policy-makers need to understand what drives the growth in patenting worldwide, not least to evaluate how the patent system can cope with the increasing flow of applications. A number of studies have looked at the growth in patent filings in individual countries, but have not focused on the world as a whole. This paper seeks to fill this gap by providing an analysis of global patenting trends using the most comprehensive data currently available. Among other things, it finds that subsequent patent filings – additional filings of the same invention, mostly in additional countries – contributed considerably to the growth in filings worldwide, pointing to globalization as one important driver of filing growth. However, no single factor can fully explain the marked increase in the use of the patent system.

An Empirical Contribution to Knowledge Production and Economic Growth

We examine the dynamics of knowledge production for a panel of 19 OECD countries. A new and unique data set is used to proxy the domestic flows of “new-to-the-world” knowledge and ideas. We rigorously address the cross-country heterogeneity in the production of knowledge and the endogeneous nature of this process. The parameters of the knowledge production function point to large cross-country differences. Domestic and foreign stocks of knowledge and ideas have a net positive effect on the production (flows) of new ideas. Countries with a low domestic knowledge base appear to improve their TFP considerably through the accumulation of knowledge. This effect is very modest for countries that already have a sizeable domestic knowledge base. We find ample evidence of duplicate RD a one-size-fits-all approach will not be effective. Production de connaissances et croissance economique: Une contribution empririque Cet article examine la dynamique de la production de connaissances dans un echantillon de 19 pays de l’OCDE, au moyen d’un ensemble nouveau et original de donnees servant a representer les flux interieurs de connaissances et donnees « nouvelles pour le monde entier ». L’heterogeneite entre pays de la production de connaissances et le caractere endogene du processus sont examines a la loupe. Les parametres de la fonction de production de connaissances font ressortir de grandes differences entre les pays. Les stocks interieurs et etrangers de connaissances et d’idees ont un effet positif net sur la production (les flux) de nouvelles idees. Les pays dotes d’une base de connaissances nationale modeste semblent ameliorer considerablement leur PTF par l’accumulation de connaissances. Cet effet est tres limite pour les pays qui disposent deja d’une base de connaissances nationale d’une certaine importance. Les auteurs observent de nombreux elements montrant une duplication de la R-D, mais aucun signe de croissance endogene. Etant donne le caractere heterogene de la production de connaissances parmi les pays de l’OCDE, la politique de R-D devra etre adaptee aux specificites de chaque pays ; Il n’existe de formule unique applicable a tous.