(2026). Patent Management and Licensing in China: New Evidence from Field SurveysMax Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper No. 26-04.
This paper presents results from the first field-based survey of patent management and licensing in China: the Shanghai Patent Survey. We provide new insights into characteristics of patent managers, incentive mechanisms, and firms’ willingness and established practices in patent licensing. Patent managers demonstrate strong technical credentials, notable gender equity, and substantial international experience, yet face constrained incentives and capability in business and legal domains. The main barriers to licensing are strategic, including concerns about technology leakage and market share loss, rather than transactional frictions over pricing or contract terms. These findings yield several policy implications. Beyond documenting these patterns, the Shanghai Patent Survey provides a novel, micro-level empirical foundation for further analysis of IP governance in China.
