Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Gaetan de Rassenfosse
Author-Workplace-Name: Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne
Author-Homepage: http://www.gder.info
Author-Name: Reza Hosseini 
Author-Workplace-Name: Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne
Title: Discrimination against foreigners in the U.S. patent system
Abstract: Inventions of foreign origin are about ten percentage points less likely to be granted a U.S. patent than domestic inventions. An empirical analysis of 1.5 million U.S. patent applications identifies three systematic differences between foreign and domestic patent applications that partly explain this bias. They include differences in patent agents, the financial resources of the applicants, and the level of effort that applicants put into the prosecution process. We find no evidence of disparate treatment (‘intentional discrimination’) of foreigners. Instead, our evidence points to a disparate impact (‘unintentional discrimination’) of the U.S. patent system on foreign inventors. Our results suggest unequal access to the patent system for foreigners compared to locals (but also for small U.S. firms). Giving examiners the power of (truly) rejecting a patent application may be one solution to level the playing field between foreigners and locals, but also between large and small firms.
Classification-JEL: O34, K11, F52
Keywords: foreign bias; discrimination; disparate impact; national treatment principle; patent system
Length: 69 pages
Creation-Date: 2020-09
File-URL:  https://cdm-repec.epfl.ch/iip-wpaper/WP12.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
Handle:  RePEc:iip:wpaper:12