The continuations procedure within the U.S. patent system has been criticized for enabling firms to manipulate the patent review process for strategic purposes. Changes during the 1990s in patent procedures affected the incentives of applicants to exploit the continuations process, and...

This paper discusses the construction of a new longitudinal database tracking inventors and patent-owning firms over time. We match granted patents between 2000 and 2011 to administrative databases of firms and workers housed at the U.S. Census Bureau. We use inventor information in addition to...

Attention has increasingly been shifted towards the long-run perspective on technological innovation, which suggests that progress comes in waves, each one originated by a major breakthrough or general purpose technology (GPT). This paper seeks to assess whether nanotechnology is likely to...

This paper explores how prominent VCs affect CEO replacement in startups. Defining prominence using eigenvector centrality, we employ matching methods and instrumental variables to show that startup CEO replacement occurs more often, and faster, when prominent VCs participate. We further explore...

Entrepreneurs often rely on intellectual property (IP) to earn a return on their innovations, and also compatibility standards, which allow them to supply specialized components for a shared technology platform. This paper compares the IP strategies of small entrepreneurs and large incumbents...

This article examines how closely nanotechnology resembles a general purpose technology (GPT). Using patented nanotechnology inventions during 1975-2006, we test for characteristics of GPTs identified in the prior literature, and find evidence that nanotechnology shows both “pervasive”...