In this paper, we offer a novel explanation to the surge in patenting observed during the last few years. When PTOs (Patent and Trademark Offices) award bad patents, not only do “false innovators” have the incentive to file applications but also, and more interestingly, “true innovators” are forced to patent more intensively in an attempt to signal their type. However, if they are liquidity con...

Patents are the main source of data on innovation. Since most of the innovative activity happens outside of the patenting system, and since patents −and innovationshave different quality, complexity, and impact on each market, unweighted sums of patents and proxies are an imperfect indicator of a country’s innovative activity. I generate two very simple indices of innovation (one dependent on t...

Using the 138,751 patents filed in 2006 under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, coclassification analysis is pursued on the basis of threeand four-digit codes in the International Patent Classification (IPC, 8 edition). The co-classifications among the patents enable us to analyze and visualize the relations among technologies at different levels of aggregation. The hypothesis that classifications...

How to measure R&D capabilities is a key concern for policymakers and practitioners alike. This paper examines the changing role of patents and firm publications as a signal of scientific and technical competence. We argue that recent patent reforms might have reduced the informational value of USPTO patents relative to EPO patents. Moreover, the global trend toward stronger patent enforcement ...