FIRM STRATEGIES AND TRENDS IN PATENT LITIGATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

Patent litigation has been rising rapidly in the United States since the mid-1980s, and particularly so in high-technology industries. The strategies pursued by firms with their patents have a significant influence on their decisions to file suit, and on the outcomes within litigation. The influence of strategic motivations on settlement outcomes is studied in two illustratively different industries – computers and research medicines. Evidence is found for two types of influences – the use of patents (as isolating mechanisms) to protect valuable strategic stakes, and their “defensive” role in obtaining access to external technologies (through mutual hold-up).

Citation

Somaya, D. (2004), "FIRM STRATEGIES AND TRENDS IN PATENT LITIGATION IN THE UNITED STATES", Libecap, G.D. (Ed.) Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship (Advances in the Study of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth, Vol. 15), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 103-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-4736(04)01504-8