Turning Shield into Spear: The Mechanism and Characteristics of Patent Wars

化盾为矛:专利战的作用机制及特征分析

Abstract

In the knowledge economy, patents are no longer merely legal “shields” that protect inventions, but are increasingly wielded as strategic “spears” in competitive patent wars. This paper analyzes the mechanism and characteristics of patent wars from a multi-level perspective of firms, industries and national innovation systems. First, we clarify how portfolio construction, strategic patenting, and standard-essential patents create the structural conditions for conflict. Second, drawing on case evidence from information and communication technologies, biomedicine and advanced manufacturing, we unpack core tactics such as defensive aggregation, cross-licensing, injunction seeking, and “patent privateering”. Third, we explore how litigation hotspots and global value chains interact to shift patent wars from bilateral disputes to complex, multi-jurisdictional campaigns. Finally, we discuss the dual impact of patent wars on innovation: their potential to discipline free-riding and signal technological strength, but also their tendency to raise transaction costs, deter new entrants and distort resource allocation. The paper concludes with policy suggestions for balancing protection and competition through antitrust scrutiny, quality-oriented patent examination, and mechanisms that encourage licensing and dispute resolution over pure exclusion. By turning the “shield” of patents into a calibrated “spear”, firms and regulators can reshape patent warfare into a more transparent, innovation-friendly governance regime.