Patents, Freedom to Operate, and Follow-on Innovation: Evidence from Post-Grant Opposition
Blocking patents suppress follow-on innovation until invalidated, and the pattern of who benefits from invalidation depends sharply on the original invention's value.
Summary
Gaessler, Harhoff, Sorg and von Graevenitz study how patent invalidation at the European Patent Office affects innovation that builds on the original patent. They find invalidation raises follow-on innovation by 16% on average, but the effect differs by value: low-value patents free up niche innovation outside the original market, while high-value patents unlock competing innovation inside it, because patentees resist licensing valuable
Editor's opinion
Rigorous IP-economics finding, but a patent-invalidation mechanism isn't a firm-strategy lever.
Key concepts
Patent invalidation · freedom to operate · licensing failure