erc/metu
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN ECONOMICS  IV
September 13-16, 2000, Ankara

Patent Applicatıons In Turkey: Some Prelimınary Evidence

Ummuhan Gökovalı (Middle East Technical University)
Burhan Medettin (Middle East Technical University)

Abstract  

Technology is one of the main determinants of long-run economic growth for any country and hence, technology acquisition is very important for sustained economic growth. In the technology acquisition process, domestic patenting is an indicator of inventive activity and technological change of a given country. Foreign patenting, on the other hand, may also be a technological acquisition vehicle if the patent is licensed to domestic firms. Even if foreign patents are not licensed, they may show foreign firms’ intention to produce their technology or product in the domestic market. In addition, foreign patenting may also have some implications for embodied technology transfer. In trying to protect their market for their product thruough patent application in other countries, foreign firms may lead to embodied technology transfer . Although there are some problems related to the use of patent data, patents are ‘unique’ source for studying the process of technical change. Since patent data is publicly available, accessible and contain detailed information. Turkey signed Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification (IPC) in 1996 and hence started to use IPC system in assigning patent applications into the technical fields. Since patent applications are not classified according to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), the first task will be to classify patent data according to ISIC system using. Yale-Technology Concordance (YTC). YTC translates IPCs codes into industry of manufacture (IOM) and sector of use (SOU). Since YTC assigns IPCs into Standart Industrial Classification (SIC) sectors, and Turkey uses ISIC system, the second task would be to make ISIC and SIC concordance. In the second part of the study, the relationship between patenting behaviour and volume of Turkish trade will be explored at the sectorel level. In addition, domestic patenting and output growth in the manufacturing sector will be analysed.

Economic Research Center
Middle East Technical University
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e-mail: metuerc@metu.edu.tr