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Global Patent Systems: Revisiting the National Bias Hypothesis

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  • Elise Petit
  • Bruno Van Pottelsberghe
  • Lluís Gimeno Fabra

Abstract

This paper revisits the literature providing empirical evidence that patent offices are biased in favour of their national applicants. If true, this “national bias” would be proof of disrespect of several international patent-related treaties. Existing investigations are however subject to an important limitation: they focus only on grant rates – a potentially biased indicator of stringency, since it is influenced by economic forces. It is argued that including a deeper analysis of how the patent examination process is carried out provides a more robust approach. Relying on a unique database of 2400 patent families filed simultaneously in three patent offices (EPO, JPO & USPTO), the paper finds no evidence of national bias throughout the examination process of any of them.

Suggested Citation

  • Elise Petit & Bruno Van Pottelsberghe & Lluís Gimeno Fabra, 2021. "Global Patent Systems: Revisiting the National Bias Hypothesis," Working Papers TIMES² 2021-050, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:ict:wpaper:2013/330846
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gaétan de Rassenfosse & Emilio Raiteri, 2022. "Technology Protectionism and the Patent System: Evidence from China," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 1-43, March.
    2. Lluís Gimeno-Fabra & Bruno van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, 2021. "Decoding patent examination services," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(7), pages 707-730, October.
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    4. Masaaki Kotabe, 1992. "A Comparative Study of U.S. and Japanese Patent Systems," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(1), pages 147-168, March.
    5. Nicolas van Zeebroeck & Bruno van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, 2011. "Filing strategies and patent value," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(6), pages 539-561, February.
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    9. de Rassenfosse, Gaétan & Dernis, Hélène & Guellec, Dominique & Picci, Lucio & van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, Bruno, 2013. "The worldwide count of priority patents: A new indicator of inventive activity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 720-737.
    10. Liegsalz, Johannes & Wagner, Stefan, 2013. "Patent examination at the State Intellectual Property Office in China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 552-563.
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    12. Bruno Van Pottelsberghe, 2020. "Learning from 20 Years of Research on Innovation Economics," Working Papers TIMES² 2020-038, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    13. Elise Petit & Bruno Van Pottelsberghe & Lluís Gimeno Fabra, 2021. "Are Patent Offices Substitutes ?," Working Papers TIMES² 2021-049, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    14. Alfons Palangkaraya & Elizabeth Webster & Paul H. Jensen, 2011. "Misclassification between Patent Offices: Evidence from a Matched Sample of Patent Applications," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(3), pages 1063-1075, August.
    15. Bruno Van Pottelsberghe, 2020. "Learning from 20 Years of Research on Innovation Economics," iCite Working Papers 2020-32, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhao, Long, 2022. "On the grant rate of Patent Cooperation Treaty applications: Theory and evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    2. Elise Petit & Bruno Van Pottelsberghe & Lluís Gimeno Fabra, 2021. "Are Patent Offices Substitutes ?," Working Papers TIMES² 2021-049, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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    Keywords

    Patent systems; TRIPs; national bias; examination; international comparison;
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