American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Investing in Ex Ante Regulation: Evidence from Pharmaceutical Patent Examination
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 15,
no. 3, August 2023
(pp. 151–83)
Abstract
We explore how the US Patent and Trademark Office may improve the quality of issued patents on "secondary" drug features by giving examiners more time to review drug patent applications. Our findings suggest that current time allocations are causing examiners to issue low-quality secondary patents on the margin. To assess the merits of expanding ex ante scrutiny of drug patent applications at the agency, we set forth estimates of the various gains and losses associated with giving examiners more time, including reduced downstream litigation costs and added personnel expenses, along with both the static gains and dynamic innovation losses associated with earlier generic entry.Citation
Frakes, Michael D., and Melissa F. Wasserman. 2023. "Investing in Ex Ante Regulation: Evidence from Pharmaceutical Patent Examination." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 15 (3): 151–83. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200703Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- K11 Property Law
- L65 Chemicals; Plastics; Rubber; Drugs; Biotechnology
- O31 Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
- O34 Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
- O38 Technological Change: Government Policy
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