Abstract

This paper defines patenting patterns of 169 global IT firms and compares the types in terms of their patent activities. Based on a framework of multiple patenting indicators representing a firm’s patent quantity, patent quality, and patent technology concentration, four different types of patenting patterns are defined and analyzed the difference among the patterns in financial performances. The results show that these patterns classified by the firms’ patenting characteristics can be distinguished also by their business performance. There are significant differences among the patenting patterns in total revenue, R&D expenditure, annual revenue growth, and revenue per employee.

Key words: Patenting pattern, business performance, patent quality, patent quantity, technology concentration.