School of Public Policy Ph.D. candidate Elie Sung was recently awarded an NSF dissertation improvement grant (#1759991, co-PI John Walsh) awarded by the Science of Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP) program at NSF. Her research focuses on how firms and the courts jointly shape patent policy and how in turn these policies have heterogeneous impacts on firms’ innovation.  

In her research, Elie notes that the need to accommodate new technologies at an increasingly fast pace has led the judicial branch to become a key source of changes in patent policy. Over the last 30 years within a relatively static framework set by the two other branches of government, rulings by the courts on legal disputes have continuously changed the strength of patents in the US. In the meantime, there is still controversy regarding the impact of the patents’ strength on innovation.

Elie’s research offers a solution to advance our understanding of intellectual property policy. She examines firms’ influence on patent policymaking, given their central role in these legal disputes, while accounting for the various facets of patent strength (patentability, breadth and ability to exclude). In addition, she analyzes the impact of these court decisions on the rate and direction of firms' innovative activities.

Elie was awarded $31,472 to continue her dissertation research. The research is projected to be completed in May 2019.