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Inventorship and Authorship in Patent-Publication Pairs: an Enquiry into the Economics of Scientific Credit

Author

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  • Francesco Lissoni

    (Università degli Studi di Brescia and KITeS, Bocconi Univerity - Milan - Italy)

  • Fabio Montobbio

    (Università dell'Insubria, Varese and KITeS, Bocconi Univerity - Milan - Italy)

Abstract

Authorship and inventorship are attribution rights that contribute to the reputation of individual scientists, but have to be distributed across several individuals, due to the importance of teamwork in both science and technology. For academic teams that both publish and patent their research results, we can compare the social and legal norms that regulate the joint distribution of these two types of attribution rights. We use text-mining techniques to identify 681 “patent-publication pairs” (related sets of patents and publications), for a sample of Italian academic scientists. On average, the number of coauthors is larger than the number of co-inventors, especially in medical-related fields. First and last authors have a lower probability of being excluded from inventorship, as suggested by patent laws. However, the probability of exclusion also declines with seniority, as expected from social norms. Longlasting doubts on the reliability of authorship as a tool for allocating scientific credit are reinforced, and can be extended to inventorship.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Lissoni & Fabio Montobbio, 2008. "Inventorship and Authorship in Patent-Publication Pairs: an Enquiry into the Economics of Scientific Credit," KITeS Working Papers 224, KITeS, Centre for Knowledge, Internationalization and Technology Studies, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy, revised Nov 2008.
    • Handle: RePEc:cri:cespri:wp224
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Francesco Lissoni & Patrick Llerena & Maureen McKelvey & Bulat Sanditov, 2008. "Academic patenting in Europe: new evidence from the KEINS database," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 87-102, June.
    2. Azoulay, Pierre & Ding, Waverly & Stuart, Toby, 2007. "The determinants of faculty patenting behavior: Demographics or opportunities?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 599-623, August.
    3. Machlup, Fritz & Penrose, Edith, 1950. "The Patent Controversy in the Nineteenth Century," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 1-29, May.
    4. Audretsch, David B. & Bozeman, Barry & Combs, Kathryn L. & Feldman, Maryann & Link, Albert N. & Siegel, Donald S. & Stephan, Paula, 2002. "The Economics of Science and Technology," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 155-203, April.
    5. Pierre Azoulay & Waverly Ding & Toby Stuart, 2007. "The Determinants of Faculty Patenting Behavior: Demographics or Opportunities?," NBER Chapters, in: Academic Science and Entrepreneurship: Dual Engines of Growth, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Francesco Lissoni & Bulat Sanditov & Gianluca Tarasconi, 2006. "The Keins Database on Academic Inventors: Methodology and Contents," KITeS Working Papers 181, KITeS, Centre for Knowledge, Internationalization and Technology Studies, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy, revised Sep 2006.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mu-Hsuan Huang & Ssu-Han Chen & Chia-Ying Lin & Dar-Zen Chen, 2014. "Exploring temporal relationships between scientific and technical fronts: a case of biotechnology field," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(2), pages 1085-1100, February.
    2. Malwina Mejer, 2012. "The impact of knowledge diversity on inventive performance at European universities," Working Papers TIMES² 2013-004, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    3. Malva, Antonio Della & Hussinger, Katrin, 2012. "Corporate science in the patent system: An analysis of the semiconductor technology," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 118-135.
    4. Yu-Wei Chang & Mu-Hsuan Huang & Hsiao-Wen Yang, 2016. "Analysis of coactivity in the field of fuel cells at institutional and individual levels," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(1), pages 143-158, October.
    5. Franzoni, Chiara & Scellato, Giuseppe, 2010. "The grace period in international patent law and its effect on the timing of disclosure," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 200-213, March.
    6. Lissoni, Francesco, 2010. "Academic inventors as brokers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 843-857, September.
    7. Haeussler, Carolin & Sauermann, Henry, 2013. "Credit where credit is due? The impact of project contributions and social factors on authorship and inventorship," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 688-703.
    8. Mario A. Maggioni & Stefano Breschi & Pietro Panzarasa, 2013. "Multiplexity, Growth Mechanisms and Structural Variety in Scientific Collaboration Networks," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 185-194, April.
    9. Breschi, Stefano & Catalini, Christian, 2010. "Tracing the links between science and technology: An exploratory analysis of scientists' and inventors' networks," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 14-26, February.
    10. Shuo Xu & Ling Li & Xin An, 2023. "Do academic inventors have diverse interests?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(2), pages 1023-1053, February.
    11. Lana Bošnjak & Ana Marušić, 2012. "Prescribed practices of authorship: review of codes of ethics from professional bodies and journal guidelines across disciplines," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 93(3), pages 751-763, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • L30 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - General

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