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Institute of Business and Economic Research
Competition Policy Center
University of California, Berkeley
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Patent Paradox Revisited: Determinants of Patenting in the U.S. Semiconductor Industry, 1980-94
Bronwyn H. Hall, Economics Department, University of California, Berkeley
Marie Ham, University of California, Berkeley

Download the Paper (290 K, PDF file) - May 1, 1999 Tell a colleague about it.
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ABSTRACT:
This paper examines the patenting behavior of firms in an industry characterized by rapid technological change and cumulative innovation. Recent evidence suggests that semiconductor firms do not rely heavily on patents, despite the strengthening of US patent rights in the early 1980s. Yet the propensity of semiconductor firms to patent has risen dramatically over the past decade. This paper explores this apparent paradox by analyzing the patenting activities of almost 100 US semiconductor firms during 1980-94. The results suggest that stronger patents may have facilitated entry by firms in niche product markets, while spawning "patent portfolio races" among capital-intensive firms.

SUGGESTED CITATION:
Bronwyn H. Hall and Marie Ham, "Patent Paradox Revisited: Determinants of Patenting in the U.S. Semiconductor Industry, 1980-94" (May 1, 1999). Competition Policy Center. Paper CPC99-005.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/iber/cpc/CPC99-005

 
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