Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Gaetan de Rassenfosse
Author-Workplace-Name: Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne
Author-Name: Paul Jensen
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Melbourne
Author-Name: T'Mir Julius
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Melbourne
Author-Name: Alfons Palangkaraya
Author-Workplace-Name: Swinburne University of Technology
Author-Name: Elizabeth Webster
Author-Workplace-Name: Swinburne University of Technology
Title: Are foreigners treated equally under the TRIPs Agreement?
Abstract: The TRIPS Agreement, administered by the World Trade Organisation, ensures the smooth functioning of the international patent system. It promises among others that local and foreign firms are treated in the same, non-discriminatory manner. We test for whether national treatment has been upheld in the five largest patent offices and document the existence of a systematic bias against foreign firms in patent examination decisions. We find that filing international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty can reduce some of the bias.
Classification-JEL: O34, F13, F23, K2, K4
Keywords: discrimination; global patent system; national treatment
Length: 40 pages
Creation-Date: 2019-11
File-URL: https://cdm-repec.epfl.ch/iip-wpaper/WP16.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
Handle:  RePEc:iip:wpaper:16