1 Entry and Patenting in the Software Industry
نویسندگان
چکیده
To what extent are firms kept out of a market by patents covering related technologies? Do patents held by potential entrants make it easier to enter markets? We estimate the empirical relationship between market entry and patents for 27 narrowly defined categories of software products during the period 1990-2004. Controlling for demand, market structure, patent quality, and other factors, we find that a 10% increase in the number of patents relevant to market reduces the rate of entry by 3-8%, and this relationship intensified following expansions in the patentability of software in the mid1990s. However, potential entrants with patent applications relevant to a market are 2-3 times more likely to enter it. Finally, patents appear to substitute for complementary assets in the entry process, as patents have both greater entry-deterring and entrypromoting effects for firms without prior experience in other markets.
منابع مشابه
The patent paradox revisited: an empirical study of patenting in the U.S. semiconductor industry, 1979–1995
We examine the patenting behavior of firms in an industry characterized by rapid technological change and cumulative innovation. Recent survey evidence suggests that semiconductor firms do not rely heavily on patents to appropriate returns to R&D. Yet the propensity of semiconductor firms to patent has risen dramatically since the mid1980s. We explore this apparent paradox by conducting intervi...
متن کاملThe Patent Paradox Revisited : An Empirical Study of Patenting in the US Semiconductor Industry , 1979 - 95 Bronwyn
This paper examines the patenting behavior of firms in an industry characterized by rapid technological change and cumulative innovation. Recent survey evidence suggests that semiconductor firms do not rely heavily on patents to appropriate the returns to R&D, despite the strengthening of US patent rights in the early 1980s. Yet the propensity of semiconductor firms to patent has risen dramatic...
متن کاملStrategic Patenting and Software Innovation
Strategic patenting is widely believed to raise the costs of innovating, especially in industries characterised by cumulative innovation. This paper studies the effects of strategic patenting on R&D, patenting and market value in the computer software industry. We focus on two key aspects: patent portfolio size which affects bargaining power in patent disputes, and the fragmentation of patent r...
متن کاملPatents, Thickets and the Financing of Early-Stage Firms: Evidence from the Software Industry
The impact of stronger intellectual property rights in the software industry is controversial. One means by which patents can affect technical change, industry dynamics, and ultimately welfare, is through their role in stimulating or stifling entry by new ventures. Patents can block entry, or raise entrants’ costs in variety of ways, while at the same time they may stimulate entry by improving ...
متن کاملPatents, Venture Capital, and Software Start-ups
This paper analyzes the relation between the patenting behavior of startup firms and the progress of those firms through the venture capital cycle. Linking data relating to venture capital financing of software startup firms with data concerning the patents obtained by those firms, we find significant and robust positive correlations between patenting and several variables measuring the firm’s ...
متن کامل