Abstract
"Do Patents Facilitate Financing in the Software Industry?" by Ronald J. Mann contributes empirical evidence to our understanding of how software startups use patents. However, a close examination of the actual empirical findings in this paper points to rather different conclusions than those that Mann draws, namely: few software startups benefit from software patents and patents are not widely used by software firms to obtain venture financing. Indeed, among other things, the paper reports that 80% of venture-financed software startups had no acquired any patents within four years of receiving financing.

Keywords: Software, Patents, Startups, Innovation, Venture Capital

JEL Classifications: 034, M13, L86

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James Bessen Contact Information:

jbessen@researchoninnovation.org

Boston University School of Law
765 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215
USA
(617) 353-5817

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Presentation and Publication Information:

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