Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Winter 2013
ISSN
0024-7081
Publisher
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Language
en-US
Abstract
This Article provides the first look at patent litigation hazards for public firms during the 1980s and 1990s. Litigation is more likely when prospective plaintiffs acquire more patents, when firms are larger and technologically close and when prospective defendants spend more on research and development ("R&D"). The latter suggests inadvertent infringement may be more important than piracy. Public firms face dramatically increased hazards of litigation as plaintiffs and even more rapidly increasing hazards as defendants, especially for small public firms. The increase cannot be explained by patenting rates, R&D, firm value or industry composition. Legal changes are the most likely explanation
Recommended Citation
James Bessen & Michael J. Meurer,
The Patent Litigation Explosion
,
in
45
Loyola University Chicago Law Journal
401
(2013).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/1391
Working paper available on SSRN
Included in
Banking and Finance Law Commons, Business Organizations Law Commons, Intellectual Property Law Commons, Law and Economics Commons, Litigation Commons
Comments
Updated with published version of paper on 10/13/22
Working paper available on SSRN