Trademark Office Research Articles

The Tenuous Relationship Between Working From Home and Job Performance

The COVID-19 crisis has led to massive increases in working from home (WFH), compelling many individuals to telecommute in challenging circumstances. Further, the strong emphasis on WFH is likely to continue after the pandemic. In this study, we examine the impact of WFH on job performance before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Using longitudinal data on patent examiners at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, we assess the WFH efficacy under various conditions, such as self-selection into WFH, degree of WFH, transition to a WFH mandate, and the passage of time during that mandate. Results show an overall detrimental impact of the WFH mandate on job performance. Even individuals who initially opted into WFH can suffer job performance reduction when circumstances worsen and presumably due to prior expectations for the WFH setting being unmet. However, we also find that such performance decline begins to recover over time, suggesting individual and organizational learning. Although the pandemic is an extreme example of unfavorable circumstances, our study suggests a more tenuous relationship between WFH and job performance than emerges in literature generally focused on voluntary WFH and favorable context.

Managing Strategic Flexibility Under Multiple Technological Standards

Upon market entry, firms often need to choose what to do with multiple incompatible technological standards. The extant literature provides robust justifications for specialization (e.g., focus on the most promising standard) as well as for diversification (e.g., pursue multiple standards simultaneously). However, how firms can combine both approaches effectively is less understood. Drawing on insights from extant literatures on real options, organizational design, and technological innovation, we contend that the most effective way to manage multiple technological standards can be found in certain business group structures. Specifically, we argue and find that best innovation performance can be achieved when business groups grant sufficient autonomy to subunits specializing in each standard while coordinating these subunits with an effective control and balancing mechanism. We find empirical support for our hypotheses using data on 200,000+ flat panel display-related patent families from ten major patent trademark offices from 1970 to 2010.

Market Entry, Capability Development, and Innovation: External Technology and Complementary Assets

Should firms reconfigure their complementary assets to capture value from innovation? And, if so, which firms stand to gain most from altering complementary assets? Combining fine-grained data from the Division of Innovative Labor Survey with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data, we study innovator firms’ strategic choices in three distinct categories of complementary assets: equipment and employee skills, sales and distribution, and trademarks. We correlate changes in specific complementary assets with market entry, external sourcing, and innovation outcome. The results suggest that when entrants commercialize external technology, they are more likely to reconfigure their complementary assets and, in turn, have better innovation outcomes. The relationship is more robust for younger firms.

Disruptive innovation and spatial inequality

ABSTRACT Although technological change is widely credited as driving the last 200 years of economic growth, its role in shaping patterns of inequality remains under-explored. Drawing parallels across two industrial revolutions in the United States, this paper provides new evidence of a relationship between highly disruptive forms of innovation and spatial inequality. Using the universe of patents granted between 1920 and 2010 by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), we identify disruptive innovations through their rapid growth, complementarity with other innovations and widespread use. We then assign more and less disruptive innovations to subnational regions in the geography of the United States. We document three findings that are new to the literature. First, disruptive innovations exhibit distinctive spatial clustering in phases understood to be those in which industrial revolutions reshape the economy; they are increasingly dispersed in other periods. Second, we discover that the ranks of locations that capture the most disruptive innovation are relatively unstable across industrial revolutions. Third, regression estimates suggest a role for disruptive innovation in regulating overall patterns of spatial output and income inequality.

Notes on the use of trademark registrations as an innovation metric for the creative and cultural industries: an analysis based on USPTO data

The creative and cultural industries have been gaining importance in the generation and diffusion of value in economies over the last decades. However, there is still a gap regarding the definition of variables that could be used as production and innovation indicators for this sector. As such, we propose the use of trademark registers as indicators of the production and introduction of new goods and services in segments related to this sector. First, we provide a descriptive analysis of United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) trademark registration data throughout the twentieth century. This analysis allows us to see that the trademarks registered in segments aligned with the creative and cultural industries have shown strong expansion, especially since the 1980s, which can be related to the technological and economic changes observed in the global market in this period. This movement is observable especially among the most technology-intensive segments, such as the production of software, digital games and music. Second, we analyse the factors associated with trademark registration in the period covered using ordinary least square estimates. The main results show that patent registration and revenue (a proxy for size) are strongly associated with trademark registration for companies in the creative economy. On the other hand, location in a developed country is not a determinant of the registration of trademarks in the sector, in contrast to the results obtained for the whole set of firms. In the case of low-tech firms in the creative economy, only revenue explains the registration of trademarks.

Close together or far apart? The geography of host-country knowledge sourcing and MNCs’ innovation performance

ABSTRACT We investigate the influence of different host-country knowledge sources on the quality and generality of multinational corporation (MNC) innovation. We suggest that the quality of MNC innovation increases with the geographical distance from local industrial organizations. We also argue that the generality of MNC innovation increases with the distance from local research institutions, but decreases after a certain threshold. We explain these relationships based on the different cognitive and geographical distances separating MNC innovation activities from industrial organizations and research institutions. We test our arguments on a sample of US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patents developed in the United States by foreign semiconductor MNCs.

Biological patent thickets and delayed access to biosimilars, an American problem.

Our study seeks to determine whether patent thickets covering biologic drugs are responsible for delayed biosimilar market entry. We compare patent assertions against the same biosimilar drugs across three countries. On average nine to twelve times more patents were asserted against biosimilars in the United States than in Canada and the United Kingdom. Biosimilars also enter the Canadian and UK markets more quickly than they do in the United States following regulatory approval. Later market entry is not a problem when the brand name drug company is asserting high quality patents (i.e. patents covering significant advances). Consequently, we drilled down into the U.S. patent portfolio of one major biologic, Abbvie's Humira drug, and found that it was made up of roughly 80% non-patentably distinct (duplicative) patents linked together by terminal disclaimers, which is permitted under United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rules. In contrast, there were far less non-duplicative European patents that covered Humira. Patent thickets can allow brand name drug companies to delay biosimilar entry by relying on the high cost of challenging many duplicative patents instead of the quality of their underlying patents. Accordingly, we suggest several policy interventions that may thin these biologic patent thickets.

WHO invents what? Women’s participation in patenting activity in Spain

PurposeRecent years have seen increased participation by women in Science and Technology activities, but parity with men remains a distant goal. This paper provides a framework for improving knowledge on the dynamics of women’s contributions to innovation, as measured through their contributions as inventors.Design/methodology/approachAnalysis was conducted using data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database, covering over 40 years from 1976 to 2019. The study provides a breakdown of women’s inventiveness/innovation by technology area, which permits analysis of whether female inventors tend to work individually or as part of a team, as well as analysis of the effects of international networks.FindingsSpecific data have been analyzed around innovative activity by women in Spain, providing new insights on gender gaps. Key findings include those recent increases in inventions by women (as measured through patents) have occurred mostly via participation in internationally connected mixed-gender teams. Furthermore, the inventive creativity of women is found to be sector-biased and framed mainly in the chemical sector.Originality/valueThere are no similar contributions using USPTO data for Spanish inventions. This is an original paper that emphasizes the potential of collaborative networks as key driving mechanisms for the reduction of gender gaps and for the larger integration of women into innovation activities, with potential implications for stakeholders at both firm and governmental levels.

Intellectual property and artificial intelligence: who is the author?

The economic and legal aspects of the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, their influence on scientific and inventive activity are studied. The role of protection of intellectual property (IP) - (patent and copyright) in different economies and jurisdictions in ensuring the balance of competing interests, identifies existing problems and identifies ways to solve them. AI is seen as one of the most important dual-use technologies, a new challenge for the economy and the legal system, a new phenomenon that has a multiplier effect, a legal phenomenon in the structure of legal relations, a new object for legal regulation. AI is able to generate and create various works - science, literature and art. These circumstances raise problems of recognition of authorship, the possibility of authors to dispose of their rights and their use of mechanisms for legal protection of IP objects. The main provisions of the Resolution of the European Parliament of October 20, 2020 on intellectual property rights in the development of artificial intelligence technologies (2020/2015 (INI)), the Resolution of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) 2020 on the inventory of inventions using AI. The analysis of the legislative and law enforcement practice of the European Patent Office (EPO), the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), regional and international documents on the regulation of AI and IP, provides an opportunity to form a unified approach to interpretation of the criteria of protection of the results of AI activities in different jurisdictions, to apply the mechanisms of legal protection of IP objects in the national legislation, emphasizes the importance of IP policy for national security

The Hidden Costs of Securing Innovation: The Manifold Impacts of Compulsory Invention Secrecy

One of the most commanding powers of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is to compel inventions into secrecy, withholding patent rights and prohibiting disclosure, to prevent technology from leaking to foreign competitors. This paper studies the impacts of compulsory secrecy on firm invention and the wider innovation system. In World War II, USPTO issued secrecy orders to more than 11,000 patent applications, which it rescinded en masse at the end of the war. Compulsory secrecy caused implicated firms to shift their patenting away from treated classes, with effects persisting through at least 1960. It also restricted commercialization and impeded follow-on innovation. Yet it appears it was effective at keeping sensitive technology out of public view. The results provide insight into the effectiveness of compulsory secrecy as a regulatory strategy and into the roles, and impacts, of formal intellectual property in the innovation system. This paper was accepted by Toby Stuart, entrepreneurship and innovation. Funding: This work was supported by Harvard Business School (Division of Research and Faculty Development) and the National Bureau of Economic Research (Innovation Policy Grant). This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation [Grant 1951470]. Supplemental Material: Data and the online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4457 .

Nippon Shinyaku Co. v. Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.

Nippon Shinyaku Co. v. Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.

Moo-re Gene-edited Animals Get Regulatory Clearance: U.S. FDA Approves Genetically Engineered Cattle for Human Consumption

Moo-re Gene-edited Animals Get Regulatory Clearance: U.S. FDA Approves Genetically Engineered Cattle for Human Consumption

The Broad Institute Scores Another Victory in Its Battle with the University of California over the Patenting of CRIPSR

The Broad Institute Scores Another Victory in Its Battle with the University of California over the Patenting of CRIPSR

The Race to Replace PDE5i: Recent Advances and Interventions to Treat or Manage Erectile Dysfunction: Evidence from Patent Landscape (2016-2021).

For a few decades, globally, erectile dysfunction (ED) has become more prominent even in young adults and represents a mounting health concern causing a significant effect on men’s quality of life. There is an expectation that by the end of 2025, the number of ED cases can rise to 322 million. We aimed to comprehensively analyze the scientific output of scholarly articles and studies in the field of ED (2016–2021). Data from scholarly articles were collected using Pubmed, and clinical trials-related information was accessed from the clinical trials website. An extensive patent search was conducted using databases such as USPTO (United States patent and trademark office) and EPO (European patent office), WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), etc. Owing to the high market value of ED drugs, considerable interest was attained to grab the opportunities. The race to replace the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5 inhibitor-PDE5i) can be identified as evident from the significant number of patents filed and the inventions cleared with clinical trials. Some other intriguing interventions are identified for ED treatment but have yet to gain public acceptance. The current analysis confirms the overall evolution and unexplored corners of research on ED treatment strategies with a current global projection.

Analysis of Patent and Regulatory Exclusivity for Novel Agents in China and the United States: A Cohort Study of Drugs Approved Between 2018 and 2021

Patent and regulatory exclusivity shall constitute incentives for pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs. This study aims to investigate the differences in the patent term extension (PTE) and regulatory exclusivity between China and the United States, and to evaluate their potential impact on the market exclusivity period of novel drugs. Small-molecule novel drugs with their first indication approved in China and the United States between 2018 and 2021 were evaluated regarding their PTE and regulatory exclusivity. The PTE length of the China-approved drugs was calculated by simulation, whereas that of the US-approved drugs was extracted from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Thirty-two and 107 novel drugs approved in China and the United States, respectively, were included in the study. The PTE length of the US-approved drugs calculated by the China-PTE method was significantly longer than that calculated by the US-PTE method. Patent extensions should be granted for 91% of new drugs in China and 82% in the United States. The simulated median PTE length of novel drugs approved in China was significantly higher than that of the United States (5.0 vs. 2.9years, P<0.05). It can be expected that the implementation of the PTE policy in China would significantly extend the period of market exclusivity for novel drugs similar to that of the United States. China should fully evaluate the potential impact of the PTE policy on the market exclusivity of novel drugs and provide better incentives to the development of novel drugs in addressing unmet clinical needs when developing its regulatory exclusivity policy.

Submarine trademarks

AbstractCompanies use trademarks to protect their brands from outright imitation or competition by confusingly similar brands. However, publication of trademark applications by the trademark office discloses strategic information about a firm's future products and planned market entry. This creates a trade‐off between legal protection for new brands and inadvertent information disclosure. We analyze the trade‐off through the lens of “submarine trademarks” in the United States—submarine trademarks are trademarks whose publication and hence disclosure to the public are strategically delayed. We provide the first systematic evidence of submarine trademarks and explore their effectiveness in reducing the disclosure of information, their determinants, and their blocking effect on third‐party trademark filings. We also provide evidence on the effect of trademark disclosure on third‐party trademark filings.

Increasing diversity in inventorship and innovation

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields lag behind the total US workforce in terms of gender, racial, and ethnic diversity, something the American Chemical Society aims to address through goal 5 of its strategic plan. Many people have assumed that the lack of diversity among inventors was related to this underrepresentation. Until recent years, such assumptions could not be validated because patent offices did not collect demographic information from inventors. However, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) investigated the percentage of women inventors among all inventors using a name-based attribution algorithm and found that the percentage of women inventors is substantially lower than women’s education and employment as scientists and engineers. The USPTO reports that within chemistry-related patents, women made up approximately 18% of inventors from 2007 to 2016. While an increase in the pipeline of women scientists and engineers can enable excellence,

Talents and Cultures: Immigrant Inventors and Ethnic Diversity in the Age of Mass Migration

Abstract We investigate the importance of co-ethnic networks and diversity in determining immigrant inventors’ settlements in the United States by following the location choices of thousands of them across counties during the Age of Mass Migration. To do so, we combine a unique United States Patent and Trademark Office historical patent dataset on immigrants who arrived as adults with Census data and exploit exogenous variation in both immigration flows and diversity induced by former settlements, WWI, and the 1920s Immigration Acts. We find that co-ethnic networks play an important role in attracting immigrant inventors. Yet, we also find that immigrant diversity acts as an additional significant pull factor. This is mainly due to externalities that foster immigrant inventors’ productivity.

The Role of Articles in Science–Technology Relationship: A Topic Analysis of Non-patent Literature (NPL) References

Patents with non-patent literature (NPL) references indicate how the link between science and technology interact. Using topic modeling, this paper investigated the thematic relationship between patents and their cited articles in the field of Nanotechnology. For this purpose, patents in the field of nanotechnology (IPC Class: B82) were obtained from the United States Patent and Trademark Office from 1985 to 2019. Then, NPL references listed in “Other References” section of the patents was extracted and abstract of the NPL references was retrieved from Scopus database. R software, topic modeling, and Latent Dirichlet Allocation algorithm were used to analyze the data. Results showed that most of the subclasses in Nanotechnology use few NPL references and are more dependent on patents. In total, NPL references account for only 36% of patent citations. The topics of the NPL references in this field (nanotechnology) belonged to six categories: Physics, Electricity, Chemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Medicine, and Nanotechnology. Consequently, it seems that nanotechnology patents are more technology-driven, and a medium to low relationship exists between science and nanotechnology. The topic modeling of NPL references uncovered that nanotechnology patents have been more influenced by non-nano scientific.

White Whale, Black Swan

White Whale, Black Swan