Quality of Patenting in the UK Scientific Instruments Industry: Database Construction

Abstract

This paper explains how a database of patent quality in the UK scientific instruments industry was constructed for the period 1981-90. A new and detailed decomposition of total patenting activity for the decade is reported upon for over ninety firms in the industry for this decade. This involves constructing patent families by exhaustively tracing all patent activity for the same invention over all patent regimes. The database is analysed in four ways: (i) differences between patenting and non-patenting firms; (ii) concentration and demand fragmentation; (iii) patenting and financial performance in 1986-87; (iv) optimal patenting firm size.patent quality, database, scientific instruments