R&D dynamics of creating patents in the Japanese industry

Abstract

The paper quantitatively analyzes the dynamic mechanism of an R&D-patent function of the Japanese industry from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s. It shows that R&D investment created patent applications with a time-lag of about a year and a half, directly and through accumulated technology stock. An analysis by industry sector clarifies that the cost to create a patent application is high and the time required is long in the chemical products industry including the pharmaceutical sector. A time trend analysis reveals that the R&D expenditure required to create a patent application appears to have decreased over time during the period of the analysis.