Patent Trolls and Small Business Employment

Authors: Ian Appel, Joan Farre-Mensa, Elena Simintzi Abstract: We analyze how frivolous patent-infringement claims made by “patent trolls” affect small firms’ ability to create jobs, raise capital, and survive. Our identification strategy exploits the staggered passage of anti-patent-troll laws at the state level. We find that the passage of this legislation leads to a 1.8% [...]