This paper studies the effect of R&D spillovers on R&D spending and productivity in a sample of German manufacturing firms. Using panel estimation techniques, the results suggest that spillovers affect industries in a heterogeneous manner. In terms of R&D investment, firms in high-technology...

On behalf of the Federal Government of Germany, the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation presents its third report.The format of the report has been revised this year. Part A of the EFI report 2010 discusses current developments and future challenges. Part B of the report then...

This paper discusses methods for the harmonization and combination of large-scale patent and trademark datasets with each other and other sources of data. Dictionary- and rule-based approaches to the consolidation of applicant names in patent data are presented and shown to have both benefits...

The existing literature identifies patent thickets indirectly. In this paper we propose a novel measure based on patent citations which allows us to measure the density of patent thickets directly. We discuss the algorithm which generates the measure and present descriptive results validating...

The recent surge in U.S. patenting and expansion of patentable subject matter has increased patent office backlogs and raised concerns that in some cases patents of insufficient quality or with inadequate search of prior art are being issued. At the same time patent litigation and its costs are...

Recent research on the economics of patents is surveyed. The topics covered include theoretical and empirical evidence on patents as an incentive for innovation, the effectiveness of patents for invention disclosure, patent valuation, and what we know about the design of patent systems. We also...