The Value of Forward Citations of Patents—An Empirical Analysis Based on Invention Patent Data of Chinese Listed Companies
The assessment of patent value represents a perpetual topic of inquiry within the field of intellectual property.Among the indicators of patent value,the most commonly utilized is the number of forward citations.In empirical research on patent value,foreign scholars have demonstrated that forward citations of patents possess intrinsic value.The average value of a forward citation of a U.S.invention patent is estimated to be approximately 4,025,320 U.S.dollars.However,the regulations on patent citation in different countries are quite disparate,which renders cross-country comparisons of patent citation data in different countries challenging.Furthermore,there is no legal obligation for applicants to disclose patent citations in China's patent law,raising questions about the reliability of forward citations of China's patents as a basis for subsequent inventions and a measure of patent quality.In light of these considerations,it is pertinent to inquire whether the"number of forward citations"in China can serve as a reasonable indicator of patent value.Moreover,it is pertinent to inquire whether it is feasible to evaluate the value of each forward citation of a Chinese patent.These are not only significant theoretical matters,but also practical issues with practical implications.This paper represents the inaugural attempt to integrate the quality differential of patents into the theoretical analysis framework,with the objective of assigning corresponding weights to each patent in accordance with the number of forward citations.In accordance with the theoretical analysis framework,an empirical model was constructed and verified using the invention patent data of Chinese listed companies.The findings of this paper are as follows:(1)Patent forward citations have a significant positive impact on the Tobin's Q value of listed companies.For every increase in the number of patent forward citations,there is an 18.5％increase in the Tobin's Q value of listed companies,which corresponds to an increase in market value of listed companies of approximately 3.03 million yuan.(2)In contrast to the number of patents,the value of patents is more closely associated with their quality.In other words,the value of patents is concentrated among those of superior quality.(3)Furthermore,this paper examines the heterogeneity of the aforementioned results from two additional perspectives:the level of IPR protection in the region where the enterprises are located and the characteristics of technological development in the industries to which the enterprises belong.The study indicates that the value of patent forward citations is relatively higher in regions with higher levels of intellectual property rights(IPR)protection.This suggests that high-quality innovations in these regions can result in higher economic returns for enterprises.Furthermore,the value of forward citations is observed to be lower in technology areas with greater complexity,where the landscape of patents is denser.This suggests that the value of forward citations is less likely to enhance the future market value of firms.The findings of this paper offer both theoretical and empirical support for the use of forward citations as a means of measuring patent value.
Patent forward citationsPatent valueTobin's QIPR protectionThe density of patent thickets
万方数据
