Christensen, Jesper Lindgaard --- "Knowledge Spillovers from the Patenting Process" [2006] ELECD 370; in Andersen, Birgitte (ed), "Intellectual Property Rights" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

Book Title: Intellectual Property Rights

Editor(s): Andersen, Birgitte

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845422691

Section: Chapter 6

Section Title: Knowledge Spillovers from the Patenting Process

Author(s): Christensen, Jesper Lindgaard

Number of pages: 36

Extract:

6. Knowledge spillovers from the
patenting process
Jesper Lindgaard Christensen

ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights and investigates potential knowledge spillovers from
a patent office. It furthermore discusses if such spillovers are localized
within the nation. It researches if the interaction between the applicant firms
and the patent office, in this case the Danish Patent and Trademark Office
(DKPTO), adds to the general competence of both parties. In turn, this
may have positive long-term effects on the ability of the firms to innovate
and use the intellectual property rights (IPR) system.
Patent offices are often regarded as performing relatively standardized
processing of applications without much interaction with other parties
in the innovation system. On the contrary, the research reveals that the
DKPTO not only grants patents and sells business services, but also has a
complementary role as a knowledge-diffusing organization.
A survey was implemented to explore this role in the innovation system
further. The general impact of the DKPTO on knowledge diffusion is,
according to the survey, primarily to increase the awareness of IPR among
firms and to bring together the IPR branch by constituting a central focus
point for common interests. Additionally, the DKPTO serves a role in
facilitating easy access to the patent system for firms by lowering the cultural
and linguistic barriers of IPR protection. Moreover, the DKPTO educates
patent engineers who after a period in the DKPTO are employed in other
organizations. The role of the DKPTO in terms of stimulating innovation
directly is modest, but ...