The impact of judicial protection of intellectual property on digital innovation: Evidence from China

Abstract

Using the patent data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2020 and the pilot of China's intellectual property (IP) courts in late 2014, we apply a triple difference (DDD) method to estimate the effect of judicial protection of IP on corporate digital innovation. Our findings suggest that enhanced judicial protection of IP has a positive impact on corporate digital innovation, and that it contributes more to underlying digital technology innovation. Moreover, small firms are more likely to be affected by judicial protection of IP in their digital innovation activities than large firms.