RT Generic
T1 The effect of patent protection on inventor mobility
A1 Melero, Eduardo
A1 Palomeras, Neus
A1 Wehrheim, David Alexander
A2 Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía de la Empresa, 
AB This paper investigates the effect of obtaining a patent on the mobility of employee inventors who are at the beginning of their careers. We suggest that patents make human capital more specific to the employer. As a result, we expect that patenting leads to lower levels of mobility. We draw on U.S. patent application data for the period 2001-2012 to analyze this issue. Using average examiner leniency as an exogenous source of variation in granted patents, we find that one additional patent granted decreases inventor mobility by approximately 25 percent. The estimated negative effect is nearly twice as large for discrete technologies (chemicals and pharmaceuticals) for which patent effectiveness is greater. The effect is also more pronounced in cases where the inventor's knowledge can be independently transferred (e.g., inventors with few coauthors) and for moves concerning technologically similar employers. The results have implications for the effect of patents on knowledge diffusion.
SN 2387-175X
YR 2017
FD 2017-05-03
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10016/24529
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10016/24529
LA eng
DS e-Archivo
RD 23 jun. 2024