A study on the time-dependent changes of the intensities of factors determining patent lifespan from a biological perspective

The lifespan of a human is determined by inborn factors including genetic factors and acquired factors, such as social-environmental factors and individual-behavior. From this point of view, this study classified factors determining the economic lifespan of patents into inborn “genetic factors,” acquired “social-environmental factors,” as well as “individual-behavioral factors,” and analyzed the change in the influence intensity of factors with patent age along with application year. The results showed that the intensities of factors determining patent lifespan differed by industry and changed with the maintenance period and application year. Moreover, while “social-environmental factors” (such as a patent litigation), together with “individual-behavioral factors” (such as the number of patent family) had a stronger influence on patent lifespan than “genetic factors” (such as the number of claim), patents maintained longer period had stronger influence of behavioral and environmental factors rather than genetic factors. Furthermore, recently applied patents had a stronger influence due to the external environments than patents applied a relatively long time ago.