TY  - JOUR
AU  - Popp,David
AU  - Juhl,Ted
AU  - Johnson,Daniel K.N.
TI  - Time in Purgatory: Determinants of the Grant Lag for U.S. Patent Applications
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 9518
PY  - 2003
Y2  - March 2003
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9518
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9518.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
David Popp
Department of Public Administration
and International Affairs
Syracuse University
The Maxwell School
426 Eggers Hall
Syracuse, NY 13244-1020
Tel: 315/443-2482
Fax: 315/443-1081
E-Mail: dcpopp@maxwell.syr.edu

Daniel K.N. Johnson
E-Mail: djohnson@coloradocollege.edu
AB  - The impacts of two recent changes in US patent policy depend on the length of time it takes for an invention to go through the examination process. Concerns over the distributional effects of these changes were expressed during policy debates. We use data on U.S. patent applications and grants to determine the factors influencing the length of the patent examination process. We augment this analysis with interviews of patent examiners, leading to a better understanding of the examination process. Our analysis finds that differences across technology are most important. Inventor characteristics have statistically significant effects, but the magnitudes are small.
ER  -