Abstract
This study provides a comprehensive analysis of patent family characteristics of triadic patents. We test specific features of triadic patent families to highlight common correlation patterns between patent value, as measured by patent forward citation data, and the structure of triadic patent families that cover the same invention at the international level. Our results suggest that the share of USPTO, EPO and JPO patents in the patent family, and the time span between the earliest priority application and latest priority application, are positively associated with the value of inventions in the triadic patent families.




Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
,OECD Triadic Patent Families database, March 2017.
“To account for this, the TPF database uses consolidated patent families. Any patents that are directly or indirectly linked to other patents are counted as a single patent family. For example, if patent A shares priorities 1 and 2, and patent B shares priorities 2 and 3, priorities 1 and 2 are directly linked, as are priorities 2 and 3. As they both share a direct link with priority 2, priorities 1 and 3 are indirectly linked. All patents sharing one of these three priorities are assembled in a single patent family in the OECD TPF database.” Popp (2005).
OECD Citations database, March 2017.
We only accessed the data of citations from USPTO patents.
We used the minimum and mean values of the number of USPTO patents within the family to plot the graph.
References
Albert, M. B., Avery, D., Narin, F., & McAllister, P. (1991). Direct validation of citation counts as indicators of industrially important patents. Research Policy, 20(3), 251–259.
Archontopoulos, E., Guellec, D., Stevnsborg, N., de la Potterie, B. V. P., & Van Zeebroeck, N. (2007). When small is beautiful: Measuring the evolution and consequences of the voluminosity of patent applications at the EPO. Information Economics and Policy, 19(2), 103–132.
Banerjee, A., Bakshi, R., & Sanyal, M. K. (2017). Valuation of patent: A classification of methodologies. Research Bulletin, 42(4), 158–174.
Bessen, J. (2008). The value of US patents by owner and patent characteristics. Research Policy, 37(5), 932–945.
Callaert, J., Van Looy, B., Verbeek, A., Debackere, K., & Thijs, B. (2006). Traces of prior art: An analysis of non-patent references found in patent documents. Scientometrics, 69(1), 3–20.
Chanchetti, L. F., Diaz, S. M. O., Milanez, D. H., Leiva, D. R., de Faria, L. I. L., & Ishikawa, T. T. (2016). Technological forecasting of hydrogen storage materials using patent indicators. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 41(41), 18301–18310.
Criscuolo, P. (2006). The’home advantage’effect and patent families. A comparison of OECD triadic patents, the USPTO and the EPO. Scientometrics, 66(1), 23–41.
Crosby, M. (2000). Patents, innovation and growth. Economic Record, 76(234), 255–262.
De Rassenfosse, G., Dernis, H., Guellec, D., Picci, L., & de la Potterie, B. V. P. (2013). The worldwide count of priority patents: A new indicator of inventive activity. Research Policy, 42(3), 720–737.
Dechezleprêtre, A., Ménière, Y., & Mohnen, M. (2017). International patent families: from application strategies to statistical indicators. Scientometrics, 111(2), 793–828.
Dernis, H., Guellec, D., & de la Potterie van, B. V. P. (2001). Using patent counts for cross country comparisons of technology output. Science Technology Industry Review, 27, 128–146.
Frakes, M. D., & Wasserman, M. F. (2015). Does the US patent and trademark office grant too many bad patents: evidence from a quasi-experiment. Stanford Law Review, 67, 613.
Frietsch, R., Neuhäusler, P., Jung, T., & Van Looy, B. (2014). Patent indicators for macroeconomic growth—the value of patents estimated by export volume. Technovation, 34(9), 546–558.
Frietsch, R., & Schmoch, U. (2009). Transnational patents and international markets. Scientometrics, 82(1), 185–200.
Grimaldi, M., Cricelli, L., Di Giovanni, M., & Rogo, F. (2015). The patent portfolio value analysis: A new framework to leverage patent information for strategic technology planning. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 94, 286–302.
Grupp, H. (1998). Foundations of the economics of innovation. Theory, measurement and practice. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Guellec, D., & de la Potterie, B. V. P. (2000). Applications, grants and the value of patent. Economics Letters, 69(1), 109–114.
Guellec, D., & de la Potterie, B. V. P. (2002). The value of patents and patenting strategies: countries and technology areas patterns. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 11(2), 133–148.
Guellec, D., & de La Potterie, B. V. P. (2007). The economics of the European patent system: IP policy for innovation and competition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hagedoorn, J., & Cloodt, M. (2003). Measuring innovative performance: is there an advantage in using multiple indicators? Research Policy, 32(8), 1365–1379.
Hall, B. H., Jaffe, A. B., & Trajtenberg, M. (2005). Market value and patent citations. RAND Journal of Economics, 36, 16–38.
Harhoff, D., Narin, F., Scherer, F., & Vopel, K. (1999). Citation frequency and the value of patented inventions. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 81(3), 511–515.
Harhoff, D., Scherer, F. M., & Vopel, K. (2003). Citations, family size, opposition and the value of patent rights. Research Policy, 32(8), 1343–1363.
Hikkerova, L., Kammoun, N., & Lantz, J. S. (2014). Patent life cycle: new evidence. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 88, 313–324.
Jaffe, A. B., & De Rassenfosse, G. (2017). Patent citation data in social science research: Overview and best practices. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 68(6), 1360–1374.
Jaffe, A. B., & Trajtenberg, M. (2002). Patents, citations, and innovations: A window on the knowledge economy. Cambridge: MIT press.
Jeong, Y., & Yoon, B. (2015). Development of patent roadmap based on technology roadmap by analyzing patterns of patent development. Technovation, 39, 37–52.
Lanjouw, J. O., Pakes, A., & Putnam, J. (1998). How to count patents and value intellectual property: The uses of patent renewal and application data. The Journal of Industrial Economics, 46(4), 405–432.
Lanjouw, J. O., & Schankerman, M. (2004). Patent quality and research productivity: Measuring innovation with multiple indicators. The Economic Journal, 114(495), 441–465.
Lee, Y. G. (2009). What affects a patent’s value? An analysis of variables that affect technological, direct economic, and indirect economic value: An exploratory conceptual approach. Scientometrics, 79(3), 623–633.
Lerner, J. (1994). The Importance of Patent Scope: An Empirical Analysis. The RAND Journal of Economics, 25(2), 319.
Martínez, C. (2010). Patent families: When do different definitions really matter? Scientometrics, 86(1), 39–63.
Messinis, G. (2011). Triadic citations, country biases and patent value: The case of pharmaceuticals. Scientometrics, 89(3), 813–833.
Meyer, M. (2000). Does science push technology? Patents citing scientific literature. Research Policy, 29(3), 409–434.
Moser, P., Ohmstedt, J., & Rhode, P. W. (2017). Patent citations—an analysis of quality differences and citing practices in hybrid corn. Management Science, 64(4), 1926–1940.
Narin, F., & Noma, E. (1985). Is technology becoming science? Scientometrics, 7, 369–381.
Narin, F., Noma, E., & Perry, R. (1987). Patents as indicators of corporate technological strength. Research Policy, 16(2–4), 143–155.
Pakes, A., & Schankerman, M. (1984). The rate of obsolescence of patents, research gestation lags, and the private rate of return to research resources. In R&D, patents, and productivity (pp. 73-88). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Pavitt, K. (1985). Patent statistics as indicators of innovative activities: possibilities and problems. Scientometrics, 7(1–2), 77–99.
Popp, D. (2005). Using the triadic patent family database to study environmental innovation. Environment Directorate Working Paper ENV/EPOC/WPNEP/RD (p. 2).
Sapsalis, E., & van de la Potterie, B. V. P. (2007). The institutional sources of knowledge and the value of academic patents. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 16(2), 139–157.
Scherer, F. M., & Harhoff, D. (2000). Technology policy for a world of skew-distributed outcomes. Research Policy, 29(4–5), 559–566.
Tong, X., & Frame, J. (1994). Measuring national technological performance with patent claims data. Research Policy, 23(2), 133–141.
Trajtenberg, M. (1990). A penny for your quotes: patent citations and the value of innovations. RAND Journal of Economics, 21(1), 172–187.
Trajtenberg, M., Henderson, R., & Jaffe, A. (1997). University versus corporate patents: A window on the basicness of invention. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 5(1), 19–50.
Van Zeebroeck, N. (2011). The puzzle of patent value indicators. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 20(1), 33–62.
Van Zeebroeck, N., de la Potterie, B. V. P., & Guellec, D. (2009). Claiming more: the increased voluminosity of patent applications and its determinants. Research Policy, 38(6), 1006–1020.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendices
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tahmooresnejad, L., Beaudry, C. Capturing the economic value of triadic patents. Scientometrics 118, 127–157 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-2959-4
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-2959-4