Patent Publication and Innovation

TLDR

The study investigates how accelerated patent publication under the American Inventor's Protection Act of 1999 influences innovation. Causal effects are estimated by comparing US patents affected by AIPA with twin European patents that were not. After AIPA, US patents receive more and faster follow‑on citations, show greater technology diffusion, increased overlap between distant patents, reduced overlap among similar patents, lower abandonment rates, and firms experiencing longer grant delays increase R&D by 4 %.

Abstract

We measure how patent publication affects innovation by exploiting the American Inventor's Protection Act of 1999 (AIPA), which accelerated public disclosure of US patents by about 1.5 years. We obtain causal estimates by comparing US patents subject to AIPA with "twin" European patents that were not. Post-AIPA, US patents receive more and faster follow-on citations, indicating greater technology diffusion. Technological overlap increases between distant but related patents and decreases between highly similar patents, and patent applications are less likely to be abandoned, suggesting less duplicative R&D. Publicly listed firms exposed to 1 standard deviation longer patent grant delays increased R&D by 4% post-AIPA.