| Abstract: | Patent litigation in the United States has increased dramaticallyin the last 20 years. Understanding this increase, and the concomitantincrease in patent grants, can help us to better understandthe sources of technological innovation and productivity. Theapproach described here provides a means to simultaneously examineboth the "friendly court" hypothesis and the hypothesis of anincrease in research productivity associated with the informationage. The results support the notion that both hypothesized factors,changes in court outcomes and increased research productivityand the associated increase in patenting activity, have playeda role in the growth of patent litigation. |
