In the US continued and increased issuance of software and business method patents is criticized by many. Some argue that software and business method patents do not stimulate innovation but impede software development and encourage patent litigation. Beyond anecdotal evidence, no systematic study of the extent of patent litigation due to the new software and business method patents is availabl...

This paper explores the recent explosion in university patenting as a source of insight into the changing relationship between the university and the private sector. Before the mid-1980s, university patents were more highly cited, and were cited by more diverse patents, than a random sample of all patents. More recently several significant shifts in university patenting behavior have led to the...

There is a growing literature that aims at assessing the private value of knowledge assets and patents. It has been shown that patents and their quality as measured by citations received by future patents contribute significantly to the market value of firms beyond their R&D stocks. This paper goes one step further and distinguishes between different types of forward citations patents can recei...