Study confirms patent approvals for start-ups have substantial and long-term benefits

September 15, 2016 - Republished from STC.UNM

USPTO seal on patent award document

A recent study published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO’s) Office of Chief Economist, as part of its Economic Working Paper Series, examined whether patents helped start-up companies grow and succeed.

The Bright Side of Patents by Joan Farre-Mensa (Harvard Business School), Deepak Hegde (Stern School of Business, New York University), and Alexander Ljungqvist (Stern School of Business and NBER) (Working Paper No. 2015- 5, January 2016) used detailed micro data on all patent applications filed by start-ups at the USPTO since 2001 and approved or rejected before 2014.

The researchers found that patent approvals for start-ups “have a substantial and long-lasting impact” because they helped companies to create jobs, grow sales, continue to innovate and attract investors. Conversely, delays in the patent examination process significantly reduce these benefits, even when the patent application is eventually approved.

The study results suggest that patents are catalysts for start-up growth because they open the door to capital, which is absolutely essential to start-up success. The study’s authors emphasize that these patent benefits should be considered when patent “reform” is being proposed. As the authors note: “Reforms of the patent system that do not take this role of patents into account run the risk of negatively impacting the availability of capital for innovative startups.”

View / download the study (PDF):  The Bright Side of Patents

Republished from:
Study Confirms Benefits of Patents for Start-Ups, STC.UNM

CHTM plays a key role in UNM's worldwide leadership as a research university:

  • 180 US patents awarded for CHTM research
  • Cumulative h-Index for citations of papers and patents by CHTM faculty = 90
  • CHTM patents are about 35% of the STC.UNM total
  • 38% of CHTM patents have been licensed
  • Over $10 million in royalty income has been generated
  • 13 companies have been started by CHTM faculty and students
  • Many more small companies have been assisted

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