OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers
The OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) leads OECD research on the contribution of science, technology and industry to well-being and economic growth. STI Working Papers cover a broad range of topics including definition and measurement of science and technology indicators, global value chains, and research on policies to promote innovation. These technical or analytical working papers are prepared by staff or outside consultants to share early insights and elicit feedback.
- Forthcoming titles
- ISSN: 18151965 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/18151965
Who Licenses out Patents and Why?
Lessons from a Business Survey
The increasing importance of licensing for innovation is supported by ample anecdotal evidence.
However, statistics on this topic are scarce. The OECD, together with the European Patent Office and the
University of Tokyo, carried out a business survey on the licensing-out of patents. The goal was to
investigate the intensity of licensing to affiliated and non-affiliated companies, its evolution, the
characteristics, motivations and obstacles met by companies doing or willing to license. The target
population was patent holders: 600 European firms and 1 600 Japanese firms responded to the survey, in
the second half of 2007. The results show that patent licensing is widespread among patenting firms:
around one company in five in Europe licenses patents to non-affiliated partners, whereas more than one in
four does so in Japan. The relationship between size of the firm and probability to license out is U-shaped:
small firms and large firms are more likely to license out their patented inventions. In Europe, SMEs have
more difficulties to license out their patents than large firms. The major barrier to licensing out patent
markets is informational (identifying partners). Finally, we also find that more than one third of young
European firms (born after 2000) deem patents as quite or very important to convince private investors and
venture capitalists to provide them with funds.
JEL:
O32: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights / Management of Technological Innovation and R&D;
O34: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights / Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital;
D45: Microeconomics / Market Structure, Pricing, and Design / Rationing; Licensing
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