The Patent Paradox Revisited: An Empirical Study of Patenting in the U.S. Semiconductor Industry, 1979-1995
通过访谈和95家美国半导体公司1979-1995年的专利数据，解释了为何半导体公司专利数量激增但专利并非其主要获利手段，发现专利制度强化引发了资本密集型公司的“专利组合竞赛”，同时促进了专业设计公司的进入。
We examine the patenting behavior of firms in an industry characterized by rapid technological change and cumulative innovation. Recent survey evidence suggests that semiconductor firms do not rely heavily on patents to appropriate returns to R&D. Yet the propensity of semiconductor firms to patent has risen dramatically since the mid1980s. We explore this apparent paradox by conducting interviews with industry representatives and analyzing the patenting behavior of 95 U.S. semiconductor firms during 1979‐1995. The results suggest that the 1980s strengthening of U.S. patent rights spawned ‘‘patent portfolio races’’ among capital-intensive firms, but it also facilitated entry by specialized design firms.