An Investigation into Factors Affecting the Value of Patents Resulting from Small Business Research and Development (R&D): A Lesson from the Small Business Innovation Research Program

摘要

This praxis extends previous work regarding research and development (R&D), patent valuation, and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. In the United States the aggregate average annual investment in R&D is more than $400 billion, however the majority of R&D projects fail to commercialize an innovation successfully. The U.S. Department of Defense awards to small businesses approximately $1 billion each year to provide funding for R&D projects. Patents resulting from successful R&D can be a revenue source for the patent holder by selling the patent or by licensing the right to practice the patent. Unfortunately, stakeholders currently have no insight in the value of patents until after the patent is granted. The present study provides stakeholders with insight into the likelihood of patent value before performing the R&D. The present study explored the impact of organizational factors and business environmental factors on the value of patents resulting from R&D funded by Department of Defense (DoD) SBIR awards. A sample of 173 patents resulting from R&D funded by DoD SBIR awards was analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. The analysis of six independent variables identified a relationship between some of those variables and the value of patents resulting from R&D projects funded by those awards.