Law360, New York (May 13, 2016, 12:15 PM ET) -Obviousness-type double patenting (ODP) is a judicially created doctrine intended to prevent an improper timewise extension of patent rights by prohibiting the issuance to a single entity of claims in a second patent which are not "patentably distinct" from the claims of a first patent.[1] Claims are not patentably distinct from each other if one cl...

A special characteristic of the patent system is that it features multiple patent-policy levers that can be employed by policymakers. In this study, we develop a quality-ladder model to analyze the optimal mix of patent instruments. Speci…cally, we consider (a) patent breadth and (b) the division of pro…t in research joint ventures. We analytically derive optimal patent policies and then calibr...

When firms can protect their innovations by secrecy or lead-time, the additional effect of patent protection is not obvious. This paper shows that when firms compete for a single innovation, patent protection still increases R&D investment but decreases social welfare due to over-investment. However, when firms compete for multiple complementary patents (called a patent portfolio), patent prote...

Patent specifications consist of patent claims and detailed descriptions. While patent claims are the most important part of patent specifications, they are compositionally or combinationally described and difficult to read. By aligning patent claims with detailed description, the readability of patent claims can be improved because paraphrases for the claims can be found. In this paper, we pro...

This paper examines the administrative practices of the patent offices in sixty countries over a 150-year period, a little-explored arena where government bodies and private firms interact. Larger and wealthier countries where international trade is more important give patent applicants more options. In these nations, patent office administrators’ flexibility is often restricted and the respons...