Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A spatial–temporal network analysis of patent transfers from U.S. universities to firms

  • Published:
Scientometrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Universities play an important role in innovation development and are being recognized as a critical element for the global competitiveness of firms. However, there have been very few large-scale empirical studies using public patent transfer datasets to examine patent transfers from universities to firms. This study proposes a workflow that maps and integrates U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued patent records with patent assignment datasets to result in the study data covering patents and their transfer transactions from 1990 to 2016. This study focuses on patent transfers from U.S. universities for a spatial–temporal analysis at three levels: institutional, state, and national. In addition, the study identifies a technology-oriented network among universities, firms, and technological areas and supports the notion that patent transfers coincide with the development and change of a local region and are affected and driven by policies, economic development, and cultural factors. This study reveals that the geographical distance of patent transfers has been shortened over time, suggesting more local and regional collaborations among universities and businesses. The results of the study can help identify emerging development fields in a given region, potentially leading to policy applications for research and development, strategic planning, and building effective collaboration networks between universities and businesses.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acs, Z. J., Anselin, L., & Varga, A. (2002). Patents and innovation counts as measures of regional production of new knowledge. Research Policy, 31(7), 1069–1085.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal, A. K. (2001). University-to‐industry knowledge transfer: Literature review and unanswered questions. International Journal of Management Reviews, 3(4), 285–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Algieri, B., Aquino, A., & Succurro, M. (2013). Technology transfer offices and academic spin-off creation: The case of Italy. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 38(4), 382–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, T. R., Daim, T. U., & Lavoie, F. F. (2007). Measuring the efficiency of university technology transfer. Technovation, 27(5), 306–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arqué-Castells, P., & Spulber, D. F. (2017). Firm matching in the market for technology: Harnessing creative destruction. Northwestern Law & Econ Research Paper No. 18–14. Available at https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3041558.

  • Audretsch, D. B., & Feldman, M. P. (1996). R&D spillovers and the geography of innovation and production. The American Economic Review, 86(3), 630–640.

    Google Scholar 

  • AUTM, U. S. (2012). Licensing Activity Survey, FY2012. with research assistance by Chrys Gwellem. Association of University Technology Managers. 2010a. AUMT. Net.

  • Balland, P., & Rigby, D. (2017). The geography of complex knowledge. Economic Geography, 93(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/00130095.2016.1205947.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldera, A., & Debande, O. (2010). Performance of Spanish universities in technology transfer: An empirical analysis. Research Policy, 39(9), 1160–1173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caniëls, M. C. J. (2000). Knowledge spillovers and economic growth: Regional growth differentials across Europe. Edward Elgar Publishing.

  • Carlsson, B., & Fridh, A. (2002). Technology transfer in United States universities. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 12(1–2), 199–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Center for Innovative Technology. (1985). Retrieved January 26, 2019, from http://www.cit.org/.

  • D3. (2018). Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://d3js.org/.

  • Downie, R. (2016). Texas’ economy: The 9 industries driving GDP growth. Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/011316/texas-economy-9-industries-driving-gdp-growth.asp.

  • Drivas, K., Economidou, C., Karkalakos, S., & Tsionas, E. G. (2016). Mobility of knowledge and local innovation activity. European Economic Review, 85, 39–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easter, R. (2013). The role of Illinois universities. In Paper presented at the building the Illinois innovation economy: Summary of a symposium.

  • Feng, J., & Jaravel, X. (2016). Who feeds the trolls? Patent trolls and the patent examination process. Working paper. Available at: http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jfeng/files/npe_draft.pdf.

  • Figueroa, N., & Serrano, C. J. (2013). Patent trading flows of small and large firms: National Bureau of economic research.

  • Frakes, M. D., & Wasserman, M. F. (2014). Is the time allocated to review patent applications inducing examiners to grant invalid patents? Evidence from microlevel application data. NBER working paper. https://www.nber.org/papers/w20337.

  • Friedman, J., & Silberman, J. (2003). University technology transfer: Do incentives, management, and location matter? The Journal of Technology Transfer, 28, 17. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021674618658.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galasso, A., Schankerman, M., & Serrano, C. J. (2013). Trading and enforcing patent rights. The RAND Journal of Economics, 44(2), 275–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gephi. (2018). Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://gephi.org/.

  • Geuna, A., & Muscio, A. (2009). The governance of university knowledge transfer: A critical review of the literature. Minerva, 47(1), 93–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • González-Pernía, J. L., Kuechle, G., & Peña-Legazkue, I. (2013). An assessment of the determinants of university technology transfer. Economic Development Quarterly, 27(1), 6–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimpe, C., & Fier, H. (2010). Informal university technology transfer: A comparison between the United States and Germany. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 35(6), 637–650.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, B. H. (2008). The Patent name-matching project. Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://eml.berkeley.edu/~bhhall/pat/namematch.html.

  • Hshieh, S. (2017). Profit windfalls and investments in innovation: Evidence from patent term extensions. SSRN. Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2794175.

  • Hsu, D. W. L., Shen, Y.-C. Y., Benjamin, J. C., & Chou, C. J. (2015). Toward successful commercialization of university technology: Performance drivers of university technology transfer in Taiwan. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 92, 25–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, J., & Zhang, Y. (2017). Discovering the interdisciplinary nature of Big Data research through social network analysis and visualization. Scientometrics, 112(1), 91–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huffman, D., & Quigley, J. M. (2002). The role of the university in attracting high tech entrepreneurship: A Silicon Valley tale. The Annals of Regional Science, 36(3), 403–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hülsbeck, M., Lehmann, E. E., & Starnecker, A. (2013). Performance of technology transfer offices in Germany. The Journal Of Technology Transfer, 38(3), 199–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, A. (2005). Demystifying the role of culture in innovative regional economies. Regional Studies, 39(9), 1197–1216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Y. (2013). The ivory tower approach to entrepreneurial linkage: Productivity changes in university technology transfer. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 38(2), 180–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, R., D’Amour, A., Yu, A., Sun, Y., & Fleming, L. (2011). Disambiguation and co-authorship networks of the US patent inventor database (1975–2010). Harvard Dataverse, 5, 2011. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/5F1RRI.

  • Laith, A., Bruce, M., Hurst, N., Williams, B., Yoon, D., & Zapata, J. C. (2016). Chicago biotech: A cluster analysis. Massachusetts, United States: Center for Economic Strategy and Competitiveness.

  • Lanjouw, J. O., & Schankerman, M. (2001). Characteristics of patent litigation: A window on competition. RAND Journal of Economics, 32(1), 129–151.

  • Lanjouw, J. O., & Schankerman, M. (2004). Protecting intellectual property rights: are small firms handicapped? The Journal of Law and Economics, 47(1), 45–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leydesdorff, L., Kushnir, D., & Rafols, I. (2014). Interactive overlay maps for US patent (USPTO) data based on International Patent Classification (IPC). Scientometrics, 98(3), 1583–1599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luan, C., Zhou, C., & Liu, A. (2010). Patent strategy in Chinese universities: A comparative perspective. Scientometrics, 84(1), 53–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marco, A. C., Myers, A. F., Graham, S. J. H., D.‘Agostino, P. A., & Apple, K. (2015). The USPTO patent assignment dataset: Descriptions and analysis.

  • Mehta, S. (2004). The emerging role of academia in commercializing innovation. Nature Biotechnology, 22(1), 21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melero, E., Palomeras, N., & Wehrheim, D. (2017). The effect of patent protection on inventor mobility.

  • Miller, D. (2013). Early-stage finance and support in Illinois. In Paper presented at the building the Illinois innovation economy: Summary of a symposium.

  • Miller, K., McAdam, R., Moffett, S., & Brennan, M. (2011). An exploratory study of retaining and maintaining knowledge in university technology transfer processes. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 17(6), 663–684. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552551111174729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mowery, D. C., & Sampat, B. N. (2004). The Bayh–Dole Act of 1980 and university–industry technology transfer: A model for other OECD governments? The Journal of Technology Transfer, 30(1–2), 115–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Office of the Texas Governor. (2018). Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/business/txadvantage.pdf.

  • O’Kane, C., Mangematin, V., Geoghegan, W., & Fitzgerald, C. (2015). University technology transfer offices: The search for identity to build legitimacy. Research Policy, 44(2), 421–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ortega, J. L. (2011). Collaboration patterns in patent networks and their relationship with the transfer of technology: The case study of the CSIC patents. Scientometrics, 87(3), 657–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purdue Center for Regional Development. (2011). South Central Illinois regional industry cluster analysis (pp. 89). Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://pcrd.purdue.edu/files/media/Project-Report-South-Central-Illinois-Regional-Industry-Cluster-Analysis.pdf.

  • Rigby, D. L. (2015). Technological relatedness and knowledge space: Entry and exit of US cities from patent classes. Regional Studies, 49(11), 1922–1937.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serrano, C. J. (2005). The market for intellectual property: Evidence from the transfer of patents. University of Minnesota and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Mimeo.

  • Serrano, C. J. (2010). The dynamics of the transfer and renewal of patents. The RAND Journal of Economics, 41(4), 686–708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serrano, C. J. (2018). Estimating the gains from trade in the market for patent rights. International Economic Review, 59(4), 1877–1904.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, D. S., Waldman, D., & Link, A. (2003). Assessing the impact of organizational practices on the relative productivity of university technology transfer offices: An exploratory study. Research Policy, 32(1), 27–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thursby, J. G., & Thursby, M. C. (2002). Who is selling the ivory tower? Sources of growth in university licensing. Management Science, 48, 90–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USPTO, United States Patent and Trademark Office. (2017). Patent counts by class by year January 1977–December 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/cbcby.htm.

  • UT-System. (2017). UT System among top 10 most innovative universities in the world. Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://www.utsystem.edu/news/2017/09/28/ut-system-among-top-10-most-innovative-universities-world.

  • Varga, A. (1999). Time-space patterns of US innovation: Stability or change? In Innovation, networks and localities (pp. 215–234): Springer.

  • Weckowska, D. M. (2015). Learning in university technology transfer offices: Transactions-focused and relations-focused approaches to commercialization of academic research. Technovation, 41, 62–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia. (2018). Economy of Texas. Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Texas.

  • WIPO, World Intellectual Property Organization. (2017). Guide to the international patent classification. Retrieved January 26, 2019, from http://www.wipo.int/portal/en/.

  • Youtie, J., & Shapira, P. (2008). Building an innovation hub: A case study of the transformation of university roles in regional technological and economic development. Research Policy, 37(8), 1188–1204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by (1) Kent State University Postdoctoral Seed Program and Research Seed Grant; and (2) NSF Grant #1841403.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Geographic Analysis, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Tao Hu

  2. Geocomputation Center for Social Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, Hubei, China

    Tao Hu

  3. School of Information, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA

    Yin Zhang

Authors
  1. Tao Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yin Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yin Zhang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hu, T., Zhang, Y. A spatial–temporal network analysis of patent transfers from U.S. universities to firms. Scientometrics 126, 27–54 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03745-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03745-6

Keywords

Mathematics Subject Classification

JEL Classification

Search

Navigation