International Journal of
Innovation, Management and Technology

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of the breadth of patent protection on the Japanese university patenting after the implementation of the act on Special Measures for Industrial Revitalization (Japanese Bayh-Dole act) in 1999. Using a panel data on the fifteen most productive Japanese universities in terms of the number of patent applications based on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) between 1999 and 2009, the number of IPC classes and the number of claims are observed as determinants to determine the patent’s value. In this paper, a comparison analysis using regression between the patent with university assignee and the patent of university with co-assignee (university industry collaboration) has been proved based on the notion of the valuation of patent scope. The evidence suggests that the patent scope significantly affects valuations and there is a difference in terms of the nature of patents between patents with university assignee and university co-assignee. In light of the findings of this study, considering the breadth of patent protection is one of the key elements of science and technology policy.