Performance Gap Between Valid and Invalid Patents in Six Technology Fields

In past studies, it has often been assumed that valid patents are related to the quality of patents. However, whether the quality of valid patents is higher than that of invalid patents is yet to be verified. This study uses three indicators, namely the citations per patent, science linkage, and patent breadth, to explore whether a performance gap exists between valid and invalid patents. First, valid and invalid patents from the whole United States Patent and Trademark Office data are analyzed. Then, we further examine whether a performance gap exists between valid and invalid patents in six technical fields. The results indicate that a performance gap exists between valid and invalid patents. The detailed reasons for this gap should be studied in the future.