Are Patents Conducive to Innovation? Evidence from German Reunification
Abstract:
We analyze what happens to innovation when existing, freely available knowledge becomes enforceable intellectual property. Under normal circumstances, this question cannot be answered empirically because such knowledge no longer satisfies the statutory patentability requirements. We exploit a unique historical event, German reunification in 1990, where patents that had been granted by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) became fully enforceable patent rights in all of Germany post-reunification. Prior to reunification, these GDR patents were published and hence visible in West Germany but not legally enforceable. Our results show that West German companies filed significantly fewer patents in technology classes that were more affected by the conversion of free into proprietary technology.
About Fabian Gaessler:
Fabian Gaessler is Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and Business at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. He is further Affiliated Professor at the Barcelona School of Economics and an Affiliated Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition. His research interests center around the drivers and consequences of innovation. In his research, he works at the intersection of applied microeconomics and strategic management, with a particular focus on intellectual property rights, knowledge production, and technology strategy. Fabian has published his work in The Review of Economics and Statistics, Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of Public Economics, and others.
Language: English