Impact of national university patenting on innovation: Researcher analysis in Japan

This study addresses the impact of national university ownership of patents on the quantity and quality of university patents. We constructed researcher-level patent data with detailed information on their affiliations, and the difference-in-differences (DID) model was applied to determine the change in patent characteristics of national university researchers when the institutional ownership of intellectual property rights at national universities was allowed in 2004. An increase in university patenting has a significant impact on subsequent innovation, as observed by its forward citation, particularly by firms without prior university collaborations. • This paper addresses the impact of national university ownership of patents on the quantity and quality of university patents. • It is found that an increases in university patenting after national university reform in 2004 has a significant impact on subsequent innovation, as is observed by its forward citation. • Such trend is stronger for firms without prior university collaborations.