Repeated examiner-attorney interaction and patent approval

Bibliographic Data

ID21442947
AuthorsElena M Tur (0000-0001-9634-0090, Eindhoven University of Technology, corresponding author), Arjan Markus (0000-0003-4131-6514, Eindhoven University of Technology)
Year2025
Volume130
Issue2
Pages619-639
Publication date2025-02-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScientometrics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0138-9130 • E-ISSN: 1588-2861
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s11192-025-05239-9
OpenAlexW4406925710
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited59

Can factors other than technical merit influence whether a patent application is approved and how long that approval takes? We posit that interactions between a given patent attorney-examiner pair related to former patenting procedures benefit subsequent application processes, increasing the likelihood and speed of an application being granted. Combining USPTO PatEx data with the PATSTAT database enabled us to study over 3 million applications dating from 2001 to 2014. This revealed that examiner-attorney interactions and the percentage of those leading to approval increased the probability of grant approval and reduced the length of the process. For an average patent, with a lag of 36.45 months, a one-standard deviation increase in the mean of previous examiner-attorney interaction speeds up future grant processes by around 11 days, and a one-standard deviation increase in successful interaction speeds them up by a further 65 days. We conclude that communication between examiners and attorneys enhances mutual understanding and reduces friction between applicants and granting institutions. Our findings have implications for diverse stakeholders in the patent process, including patent office examiners, patent attorneys, and companies applying for patents

Business · Political science · Innovation Policy and RD · Intellectual Property and Patents · Law · Law, AI, and Intellectual Property

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