How to measure patent thickets – a novel approach

The existing literature identifies patent thickets indirectly. In this paper we propose a novel measure based on patent citations which allows us to measure the density of patent thickets directly. We discuss the algorithm which generates the measure and present descriptive results validating it. Moreover, we identify technology areas which are particularly impacted by patent thickets

Trade Mark Cluttering: An Exploratory Report

This report explores the problem of “cluttering” of trade mark registers. The report consists of two parts: the first presents a conceptual discussion of “clutte ring” of trade mark registers. The second part provides an exploratory empirical analysis of trade mark applications at the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and the European trade mark office (OHIM). This part contains results of a descriptive and an econometric analysis. According to our definition, cluttering arises where firms hold trade marks that are overly broad or unused raising search costs for later applicants. The report distinguishes between three mechanisms that can lead to cluttering. It also considers a series of mechanisms that work against cluttering. This discussion is based on a review of the previous literature. The tentative empirical evidence provided in the second part of the report suggests that trade marks are more frequently registered in several classes at the same time and also that firms in pharmaceuticals increasingly resort to multiple simultaneous applications to ensure that they will register at least one trade mark. There is also some evidence that firms seek to avoid mechanisms such as relative grounds examination which can prevent cluttering. Finally, we report direct survey-based evidence that applicants perceive cluttering to be a problem in specific fields and countries. However, our exploratory analysis does not provide strong evidence that cluttering has already become a systemic problem for the trade mark systems that is comparable to the effect of patent thickets for patent systems

The European Patent System: A Descriptive Analysis

The European Patent System consists of national patent offices (NPOs) and the supranational European Patent Office (EPO). EPO and the NPOs have granted patents in Europe side-by-side since 1980. The resulting patent system is complicated and less coordinated than might be expected. Firms must consider a number of variables when selecting the route of patenting they take within this system: price, rigour of examination, duration of examination, quality of legal redress. To date there is little descriptive evidence on how firms choose between EPO and national offices. This paper provides a rich descriptive analysis of patenting in Europe. We analyze how origin, size and technological focus of companies, affect how they choose among patent offices within the EPS and report differences in examination durations and grant rates across patent offices

Turicella otitidis and Corynebacterium auris: 20years on

Turicella otitidis and Corynebacterium auris, described as new species 20years ago, have been isolated mainly from the external ear canal and middle ear fluid. While their taxonomic position has been clearly established, their diagnosis in the routine laboratory is difficult. The question of their pathogenic potential in otitis is still open but might be elucidated better if corynebacteria are speciated more often

Diversity of coryneforms found in infections following prosthetic joint insertion and open fractures

Summary: In a 5-year period, 73 coryneform isolates from prosthetic joint and open fracture infections in 60 patients treated in a hospital specialized in orthopedic surgery were speciated. The most frequent species wereCorynebacterium amycolatum, Corynebacterium striatum, Corynebacterium diphtheriae biotypemitis, andCorynebacterium jeikeium. At least 14 isolates were deemed clinically significant as sole agents of infectio

Distance (Still) Hampers Diffusion of Innovations

This paper introduces a new innovation data source to re-examine how spatial distance affects the diffusion of ideas and innovations in an economy. We exploit the descriptions of products and services contained in U.S. trademark registrations during 1980-2012 to identify terms (tokens) not previously used by firms to describe products and services. From these we select tokens frequently re-used by follower firms. By linking the new tokens to the business addresses of innovator and follower firms, our data encompass all instances in which innovations captured by trademark tokens arise within and diffuse across the United States. We aggregate innovations at the year and ZIP code level and estimate Poisson models of the likelihood and intensity of diffusion between locations. After endogenising the creation of new diffusion links between ZIP codes, our results show that spatial distance no longer affects the creation of diffusion links within the US after 1996. However, contingent on previous diffusion from a sending to a receiving ZIP code, we find persistent, strong and negative effects of greater spatial distance on the intensity (extent) of diffusion for existing transfer links between locations within the US

Cluttering and Non-Use of Trade Marks in Europe

You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence.The 2011 “Study on the Overall Functioning of the European Trade Mark System” by the Max Planck Institute was commissioned by the European Commission and presented survey-based evidence that UK trade mark attorneys/agents perceive the existence of marks on registers that are partly or wholly unused by their owners – so called “cluttering” - to be a problem. Following on from that study, the UK’s IPO was keen to better understand the extent of cluttering within the UK and European register. IPO therefore commissioned this report on cluttering and non-use of trade marks in Europe in late 2013 with the objective of building evidence to inform debate on the prevalence of trade marks that are partially or wholly unused by their owners. It is equally important to note what this study does not purport to do. This study does not investigate causal relationships to explain how non-use arises. It does not examine the monetised economic impacts (the costs and benefits) of the current systems for participants. Nor does this study aim to determine whether an ex officio requirement for submission of proof of use is cost-effective. Rather, it shows that there are noticeable differences between US and European registers in the number of goods claimed for the same mark. Further research would be needed to examine whether unused trade mark registrations can increase search costs, and whether imposition of proof of use tests ex officio may be useful or unacceptably burdensome

The strategic use of patents and its implications for enterprise and competition policies

This report was commissioned as a study into the strategic use of patents. In the course of its case investigations and legislative reviews the European Commission became aware of changes in the use of intellectual property, in particular the use of patents. It was noted that firms’ uses of intellectual property are becoming increasingly strategic. This raised concerns about the implications of firms’ patenting behaviour for enterprise and competition policy. The following report contains a comprehensive review of patenting behaviour, the extent to which patenting is becoming more strategic and the implications this has for competition and enterprise policies

Does Online Search Predict Sales? Evidence from Big Data for Car Markets in Germany and the UK

We use online search data to predict car sales in the German and UK automobile industries. Search data subsume several distinct search motives, which are not separately observable. We develop a model linking search motives to observable search data and sales. The model shows that predictions of sales relying on observable search data as a proxy for prepurchase search will be biased. We show how to remove the biases and estimate the effect of prepurchase search on sales. To assist identification of this effect, we use the introduction of scrappage subsidies for cars in 2008/2009 as a quasi-natural experiment. We also show that online search data are (i) highly persistent over time, (ii) potentially subject to permanent shocks, and (iii) correlated across products, but to different extent. We address these challenges to estimation and inference by using recent econometric methods for large N, large T panels.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), grant number ES/K007807/1

How to Educate Entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurship education has two purposes: To improve students’ entrepreneurial skills and to provide impetus to those suited to entrepreneurship while discouraging the rest. While entrepreneurship education helps students to make a vocational decision its effects may conflict for those not suited to entrepreneurship. This study shows that vocational and the skill formation effects of entrepreneurship education can be identified empirically by drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior. This is embedded in a structural equation model which we estimate and test using a robust 2SLS estimator. We find that the attitudinal factors posited by the Theory of Planned Behavior are positively correlated with students’ entrepreneurial intentions. While conflicting effects of vocational and skill directed course content are observed in some individuals, overall these types of content are complements. This finding contradicts previous results in the literature. We reconcile the conflicting findings and discuss implications for the design of entrepreneurship courses