de Rassenfosse, G. & Jaffe, A., forthcoming. "Are patent fees effective at weeding out low-quality patents?". Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 27(1), 134-148.

Abstract
The paper investigates whether patent fees are an effective mechanism to deter the filing of low-quality patent applications. The study analyzes the effect on patent quality of the Patent Law Amendment Act of 1982, which resulted in a substantial increase in patenting fees at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Results from a series of difference-in-differences regressions suggest that the increase in fees led to a weeding out of low-quality patents. About 10 per cent of patents in the lowest quality decile were filtered out, with the effect concentrated in the patents of firms whose overall patent portfolio was medium to large (more than 20 patents). The study has strong policy implications in the current context of concerns about declines in patent quality.

Keywords: intellectual property policy, patent fees, patent quality, patent reform, screening
JEL classification: K2; O31; O34; O38

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This article:

• Shows that patent fees filters out low-quality patents;
• Exploits in a difference-in-differences framework a drastic increase in patent fees at the USPTO following the Patent Law Amendment Act of 1982;
• Proposes a two-factor non-linear latent variable model to disantangle patent quality from patent value;
• Recommends using patent fees as a policy tool to improve patent quality.

• The replication data on Harvard's Dataverse.

• On the price elasticity of demand for patents
• The role of fees in patent systems: Theory and evidence
• Per un pugno di dollari: A first look at the price elasticity of patents

• Are patent fees effective at weeding out low-quality patents, Motu Working Paper No. 15-01
• Are patent fees effective at weeding out low-quality patents, NBER Working Paper No. w20785