Improving the patent system
A patent can be defined as a temporary government-granted monopoly right on something made by an inventor. There are actually various kinds of patents, the most well-known type being the utility patent. The purpose of the patent system, as described in the project, is to incentivise innovation. The resulting three papers of this project, funded by the European Commission, examine patent examiner salaries and incentives schemes, and the behaviour of patent applicants. This project, titled 'Incentives in the patent system' (INCPATSYS), and the conclusions drawn are important findings for the patent office and legislators governing the court. More specifically, the project infers relevant action for compensation of patent examiners, for the structure of application fees, and for the optimal patent examination intensity. One of INCPATSYS' papers is titled 'Inventors and imposters: An analysis of patent examination with self-selection of firms into R&D'. It provides evidence that renewal rates and fee-adjusted renewal rates of patents issued to large firms increased relative to those of small firms. This is consistent with the predictions of the model. Another of the research project's papers is titled 'Patent screening, renewal fees and the courts'. It examines the current system of how a patent is challenged and develops a different model exploring other ways a system might work. Findings and ideas explored in this project can help refine the current patent system. With the European Union's UPC at the centre of innovation, this research challenges the current establishment and new efficiencies with new standards.