Unclear patent boundaries and patent litigation – insights from chemistry
利用化学产业的独特数据，研究专利权利要求清晰度如何影响侵权诉讼的可能性和原告胜诉率，并开发了基于文本分析的清晰度衡量方法。
Clear patent claims are pivotal for properly delineating a patents’ boundaries. This study makes use of a unique setting in the chemical industry to explore how claim clarity affects the likelihood of patent litigation for infringement and of winning the lawsuit. Moreover, we develop and validate a measure of claim clarity in chemistry using textual analysis. Our findings suggest that clearer patent claims reduce the likelihood of patent litigation and increase the odds of a plaintiff winning (rather than settling or losing) a lawsuit. Broader legal patent scope decreases the win-rate-enhancing effect of claim clarity. The study contributes to the literatures on patent litigation and follow-on innovation by illuminating, theoretically and empirically, the role of claim clarity, per se and in interaction with legal patent scope.