Introduction Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a hot topic, and its potential to boost productivity has captured the attention of economists, computer scientists, and managers. A groundbreaking study conducted by economists from Stanford and MIT sheds light on the impact of generative AI (GAI) on worker productivity.1 In this article, I explore the study’s primary […]
Factors Influencing the Legal Quality of Patents
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, different aspects of patent quality are affected by different actors in the patent system. Improving patent quality requires careful examination of the various policy levers available to different actors. For instance, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is bound by the statutes set forth by Congress. […]
Exploring the Policy Levers that Impact Patent Quality
During my tenure at the US Patent and Trademark Office, the agency engaged in its Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative. To effectively improve patent quality, it was important to understand the various policy “levers” that might influence quality (and of course to understand what we mean by quality, as I discussed here). What levers are available […]
Insights from Ocean Tomo, a part of J.S. Held Chief Economist on Intellectual Property Economics
The Ocean Tomo Intellectual Property Economics™ resource center supports business decision-making focused on creating, managing, and monetizing company intangible assets. By understanding the factors that impact the economics of IP, companies can manage risk and make more informed decisions around whether to develop in-house, in-license, or acquire via M&A technologies important to the commercial success […]
Understanding Patent Value and Patent Quality
In the last decade and a half patent quality has been at the forefront of debates about patent policy. Industry professionals of all sorts (patent holders, legal practitioners, implementers, policymakers, and academics) seem to agree about the importance of patent quality, but often the consensus stops there. It’s no wonder, because the term ”patent quality” […]
Patent Value, Uncertainty, and the Debate about Patent Quality
When I was the Chief Economist at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), I sometimes encountered people who were surprised to know that I existed. Well, not me as an individual, but the role of Chief Economist. Why does the USPTO have economists? Now, many of these individuals were Congressional staffer-types on their fourth […]
The World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index, 10 years later
10 years ago, Ocean Tomo shared insights on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) publishing its 2012 Global Innovation Index (GII). The index uses over 80 indicators to measure a wide array of characteristics related to the innovation ecosystem. The indicators represent both “input” measures and “output” measures. Inputs relate to characteristics in an economy […]