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The Government Patent Register: A New Resource for Measuring U.S. Government-Funded Patenting

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  • Daniel P. Gross
  • Bhaven N. Sampat

Abstract

We introduce new historical administrative data identifying U.S. government-funded patents since the early twentieth century. In addition to the funding agency, the data report whether the government has title to the patent (“title” patents) or funded a patent assigned to a private organization (“license” patents). The data include a large number of “license” patents that cannot be linked to government funding from patent text or other sources. Combining the historical data with modern administrative sources, we present a public, consolidated data series measuring U.S. government-funded patents—including funding agencies—through 2020, and we provide code to extend this series in the future. We use the data to document long-run patterns in U.S. government-funded patents and federal patent policy, propose ways in which these data can be used in future research, and discuss limitations of the data.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel P. Gross & Bhaven N. Sampat, 2024. "The Government Patent Register: A New Resource for Measuring U.S. Government-Funded Patenting," NBER Working Papers 32136, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32136
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pierre Azoulay & Joshua S Graff Zivin & Danielle Li & Bhaven N Sampat, 2019. "Public R&D Investments and Private-sector Patenting: Evidence from NIH Funding Rules," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(1), pages 117-152.
    2. repec:fth:harver:1473 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Gaétan de Rassenfosse & Adam Jaffe & Emilio Raiteri, 2019. "The procurement of innovation by the U.S. government," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-11, August.
    4. Gross, Daniel P. & Sampat, Bhaven N., 2023. "The World War II crisis innovation model: What was it, and where does it apply?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    5. Stuart J. H. Graham & Alan C. Marco & Amanda F. Myers, 2018. "Patent transactions in the marketplace: Lessons from the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 343-371, September.
    6. Andrew J. Fieldhouse & Karel Mertens, 2023. "The Returns to Government R&D: Evidence from U.S. Appropriations Shocks," Working Papers 2305, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, revised 21 Nov 2024.
    7. Daniel P. Gross & Bhaven N. Sampat, 2023. "America, Jump-Started: World War II R&D and the Takeoff of the US Innovation System," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(12), pages 3323-3356, December.
    8. Andrew J. Fieldhouse & Karel Mertens, 2023. "A Narrative Analysis of Federal Appropriations for Research and Development," Working Papers 2316, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N42 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • N72 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

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