Work

The role of patent protection in (clean/green) technology transfer

Year: 2010

Type: report

Abstract: Global climate change mitigation will require the development and diffusion of a large number and variety of new technologies.How will patent protection affect this process?In this paper we first review the evidence on the role of patents for innovation and international technology transfer in general.The literature suggests that patent protection in a host country encourages technology transfer to that country but that its impact on innovation and development is much more ambiguous.We then discuss the implications of these findings and other technology-specific evidence for the diffusion of climate change-related technologies.We conclude that the "double externality" problem, that is the presence of both environmental and knowledge externalities, implies that patent protection may not be the optimal instrument for encouraging innovation in this area, especially given the range and variety of green technologies as well as the need for local adaptation of technologies.

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research

DOI: 10.3386/w16323

Authors: Bronwyn Hall, Christian Helmers

Institutions: National Bureau of Economic Research, University of California, Berkeley, Santa Clara University

Language: English

Topic: Intellectual Property and Patents

Subfield: Management of Technology and Innovation

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: green

Funder: Economic and Social Research Council