Semiconductor Industry Ranks High in Patent Quality

by Semiconductor Industry Association

Patent quality in the semiconductor industry has been determined to be high as compared with other technology fields, according to a recent analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD assessed patent quality based on the technological and economic value of patented inventions and the possible impact that these inventions could have on subsequent innovations. By these measures, the semiconductor industry ranked among the top technology sectors.

The table below is from the OECD working paper, titled “Measuring Patent Quality” (Squicciarini, Dernis, and Criscuolo, 2013, p. 60). The sub-table on the left measures patent quality for high technology fields using an index developed by the authors. I have circled in red the results for semiconductors, as well as micro and nano-technology.

It should not come as a surprise to those familiar with the semiconductor industry that patent quality ranks very high, as does micro and nano-technology on which semiconductor technology relies so heavily. Through its work at the World Semiconductor Council, SIA has long recognized that to maximize the beneficial effect that intellectual property protection has on stimulating and sustaining innovation, patent offices around the world should implement examination procedures that result in granting the highest quality patents possible consistent with the statutory requirements of patentability. As the OECD findings suggest, this is of paramount importance to the semiconductor industry, because it is one of the most innovative and patent-intensive sectors in the global economy.