We investigate whether standard indicators can distinguish between “wacky” patents and a control group. Forward citations are good predictors of importance. However, “wacky” patents have higher originality, generality and citation lags, suggesting that these indicators should be...

This paper shows that firms engage in horizontal mergers and acquisitions to pre-empt competition in technology markets. Making use of the patent application procedure at the European Patent Office we introduce a measure for potential entry barriers in technology markets.

Many studies investigate the relationship between R&D and patents applying knowledge production functions. Using aggregated R&D may underestimate the productivity of 'R', as mainly 'R' but not 'D' leads to patents. Disaggregating 'R' and 'D' shows a significant premium of 'R' towards patenting.