Determinants of patent survival in emerging economies: Evidence from residential patents in India

Abstract

Over the period of time, patent filing in India has gone up significantly. However, no enough evidence is found in the literature about the quality or value of patented invention in the Indian context. To assess this question, we examine the patent renewal length (survival of patent) as a proxy of patent value for five different technology classes. This study uses the renewal information of firm‐level patents applied during January 1, 1995, and December 31, 2005, which were eventually granted. The data provided by Indian Patent Office consists of 2,025 resident patents assigned to 266 firms (foreign subsidiary firms and domestic firms). The survival analysis is carried out via Kaplan–Meier estimation and Cox proportional hazard regression. The outcomes of this study suggest that the survival length of patents significantly depends on their technological scope and inventor size. Moreover, the patents of the firms taking tax credit benefits exhibit lower survival rates as compared with patents of remaining firms. The study also finds that the patents filed by foreign firms with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research affiliation survive longer. Among different technological categories, electrical and mechanical patents are found to be more valuable compared with instrument patents.