Are there bias against foreign firms in patent examination decisions?
© 2020 EPFL
Further to the International Geneva (IG) Award by the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS) received by Prof. Gaétan de Rassenfosse back in December 2019, his paper “Are Foreigners Treated Equally under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement?” was recently published in the Journal of Law & Economics.
Abstract:
The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, administered by the World Trade Organization, ensures the smooth functioning of the international patent system. It promises among other things that local and foreign firms are treated in the same, nondiscriminatory manner. We test for whether the national treatment principle has been upheld in the five largest patent offices and document the existence of a systematic bias against foreign firms in patent examination decisions. We find that filing international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty can reduce some of the bias.