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Visualizing knowledge space: a case study of Chinese licensed technology, 2000–2012

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Abstract

To explore the rules of knowledge transfer and application activities in knowledge space, defined at both temporal and spatial scales, the present study employs a unique dataset of Chinese patent licensing during the period of 2000–2012, with a total of 91,551 patents. Our results indicate that 70 % of patents were licensed out in the first 3 years. As time elapses, the annual average technology age decreases. There is a moderate difference among different types of licensors and patent types but not technology domains. With regards to the spatial dimension, 86 % of patents were licensed out within 1,000 km. The annual average geographical distance exhibits the same trend as technology age. Except for technology domains, a moderate difference among licensors and patent types is observed. Moreover, the interaction between geographical distance and technology age shows that as the technology age increases, this technology appears to be transferred and applied over greater distances.

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Notes

  1. In total, foreign licenses account for only 9 %.

  2. The patent classification system in SIPO is exactly as same as that in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In this study, the first two-digit was adopted.

  3. According to Chinese Patent Law (1984), when applying for a patent, the applicant has to pay a certain amount of money to cover fees incurred in the application process and the first three years of maintenance fees (see Fig. 11). After that, for utility models and design patents, patent holders have to pay maintenance fees three times, in the third, fifth, and eighth years, if they want to maintain the validity of their patents during the 10 years of protection. For invention patents, the payment times are different, see Fig. 11.

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Acknowledgment

This research is funded by national Science Foundation of China (grant no.71302133, 71272171, 71172111), Youth Project of Ministry of education, Humanities and Social Sciences Planning Funding (grant no. 13YJC790154), and funding of Sichuan University (skyb201302).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Sichuan University, Wangjiang Road 29, Chengdu, 610064, China

    Yuandi Wang

  2. School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Wangjiang Road 29, Chengdu, 610064, China

    Xin Pan

  3. School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Daxue Road 1, Xuzhou, 221000, China

    Xinyu Wang

  4. School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Qinghuayuan 1, Beijing, 100084, China

    Jin Chen

  5. School of Business and Management, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK

    Lutao Ning

  6. Science and Technology Promotion and Development Research Center in Sichuan Province, Rinmin South Road 11, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Ying Qin

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  1. Yuandi Wang
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  2. Xin Pan
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  3. Xinyu Wang
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  4. Jin Chen
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Correspondence to Xinyu Wang.

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Wang, Y., Pan, X., Wang, X. et al. Visualizing knowledge space: a case study of Chinese licensed technology, 2000–2012. Scientometrics 98, 1935–1954 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-013-1135-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-013-1135-0

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