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Firm Size and the Use of Intellectual Property Rights

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  • PAUL H. JENSEN
  • ELIZABETH WEBSTER

Abstract

Innovation markets are often characterised by market failure because inventions typically incur high fixed costs relative to marginal costs and their intellectual capital is non‐excludable. Intellectual property (IP) rights may attenuate this problem by providing legal recourse for firms to stop imitation by rivals. As IP rights are costly to acquire and enforce, it is often argued that SMEs are disadvantaged in their ability to utilise IP rights. This paper examines the intensity of IP usage by firm size and finds that SMEs actually have higher rates of patent, trade mark and design usage once industry effects are controlled for.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul H. Jensen & Elizabeth Webster, 2006. "Firm Size and the Use of Intellectual Property Rights," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 82(256), pages 44-55, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:82:y:2006:i:256:p:44-55
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4932.2006.00292.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Crown, Daniel & Faggian, Alessandra & Corcoran, Jonathan, 2020. "Foreign-Born graduates and innovation: Evidence from an Australian skilled visa program✰,✰✰,★,★★," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(9).
    2. Stephen Petrie & Mitchell Adams & Ben Mitra‐Kahn & Matthew Johnson & Russell Thomson & Paul Jensen & Alfons Palangkaraya & Elizabeth Webster, 2020. "TM‐Link: An Internationally Linked Trademark Database," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 53(2), pages 254-269, June.
    3. Jan-Bart Vervenne & Julie Callaert & Machteld Hoskens & Bart Looy, 2022. "To what extent do SMEs contribute to Europe’s patent stock? A methodological outline for creating a Europe-wide SME technology indicator," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(6), pages 3049-3082, June.
    4. Adel Ben Khalifa, 2019. "Direct and Complementary Effects of Investment in Knowledge-Based Economy on Innovation Performance in Tunisian Firms," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 10(2), pages 561-589, June.
    5. Paul H. Jensen & Elizabeth Webster, 2009. "Another Look At The Relationship Between Innovation Proxies," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 252-269, September.
    6. Marcel Seip & Carolina Castaldi & Meindert Flikkema & Ard-Pieter de Man, 2019. "A taxonomy of firm-level IPR application practices to inform policy debates," LEM Papers Series 2019/03, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    7. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2022. "Effect of the duration of membership in the World Trade Organization on Trademark Applications," EconStor Preprints 253266, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    8. Alfons PALANGKARAYA, 2012. "The Link between Innovation and Export: Evidence from Australia 's Small and Medium Enterprises," Working Papers DP-2012-08, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    9. Emin M. Dinlersoz & Nathan Goldschlag & Amanda Myers & Nikolas Zolas, 2018. "An Anatomy of US Firms Seeking Trademark Registration," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring and Accounting for Innovation in the Twenty-First Century, pages 183-228, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Chen, Min-Nan & Wu, Chia-Hung, 2020. "Complementary-in use appropriability in innovative service firms: An empirical study in Taiwan," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(7).
    11. Gonzalo Maldonado-Guzman & Sandra Yesenia Pinzón-Castro & José Trinidad Marín-Aguilar, 2017. "Intellectual Property in Mexican Small Business: An Empirical Research," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(5), pages 107-115, May.
    12. Hsueh, Chao-Chih & Chen, Dar-Zen, 2015. "A taxonomy of patent strategies in Taiwan's small and medium innovative enterprises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 84-98.
    13. Alfons Palangkaraya, 2010. "Patent Application Databases," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 43(1), pages 77-87, March.
    14. Thomä, Jörg & Bizer, Kilian, 2013. "To protect or not to protect? Modes of appropriability in the small enterprise sector," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 35-49.
    15. Hai Wu & Anne-Maree Thomas & Sue Wright, 2020. "Using the R&D capitalisation choice to explain the scale benefits of R&D investment," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 45(4), pages 579-606, November.
    16. Masatoshi Kato & Koichiro Onishi & Yuji Honjo, 2022. "Does patenting always help new firm survival? Understanding heterogeneity among exit routes," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 449-475, August.
    17. Searle, Nicola & Reid, Gavin C, 2012. "Firm size and trade secret intensity: evidence from the Economic Espionage Act," SIRE Discussion Papers 2012-60, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
    18. Nicola C Searle & Gavin C Reid, "undated". "Firm size and trade secret intensity: evidence from the Economic Espionage Act," CRIEFF Discussion Papers 1203, Centre for Research into Industry, Enterprise, Finance and the Firm.
    19. Alfons Palangkaraya, 2013. "On the Relationship between Innovation and Export: The Case of Australian SMEs," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2013n04, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.

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