Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
5047215 China Economic Review 2017 13 Pages PDF
Abstract

•We investigate the value of Chinese patents using a novel measure (citation lag)•We show that Chinese patents have a lower patent value than patents from the US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea•Our empirical analysis comprises a unique data set of 60,000 patents with priority years between 2000 and 2010.•Value is moderated by the number of patent references, the number of patent claims, and for more recent patents.•The gap between Chinese patents and international patents might narrow down in the near future.

China has been experiencing a substantial growth in patent applications. But is this increase accompanied by a similar increase in patent value? To assess this question, we examine the citation lag of Chinese patents as a proxy of patent value in comparison with patents from the US, Europe, Japan, and Korea. Our empirical analysis comprises a unique data set of 60,000 patents with priority years between 2000 and 2010. Utilizing Cox regressions, our results show that Chinese patents suffer from a large citation lag in comparison to international patents, indicating a lower value. This is especially true for patents filed domestically. However, we find empirical support for an increasing patent value in more recent patents. China shows a strong dynamic in the field of patenting and our results suggest that the gap between Chinese patents and international patents might narrow down in the near future.

Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities Economics, Econometrics and Finance Economics and Econometrics
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