The Patent Paradox Revisited: An Empirical Study of Patenting in the U.S. Semiconductor Industry, 1979-1995
Volume: Volume 32, No. 1
Issue: Spring 2001
Pages: pp. 101-128
Authors: Bronwyn H. Hall and Rosemarie Ham Ziedonis
Title: The Patent Paradox Revisited: An Empirical Study of Patenting in the U.S. Semiconductor Industry, 1979-1995
Abstract: We examine the patenting behavior of firms in an industry characterized by rapid technological change and cumulative innovation. Recent survey evidence suggests that semiconductor firms do not rely heavily on patents to appropriate returns to R&D. Yet the propensity of semiconductor firms to patent has risen dramatically since the mid-1980s. We explore this apparent paradox by conducting interviews with industry representatives and analyzing the patenting behavior of 95 U.S. semiconductor firms during 1979-1995. The results suggest that the 1980s' strengthening of U.S. patent rights spawned "patent portfolio races" among capital-intensive firms, but it also facilitated entry by specialized design firms.
JEL Classification
Intellectual Property Rights: National and International Issues patents, copyrights (O340 )
Microelectronics Computers Communications Equipment (L630 )
Semiconductor