Legal Monopoly: Patents and Antitrust Litigation in U.S. Manufacturing, 1970-1998

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between patenting, innovation, and federal antitrust enforcement towards firms in the manufacturing sector. I examine whether the likelihood of antitrust litigation is influenced by patent histories and R&D expenditures, after controlling for other firm-specific variables including size and likelihood of antitrust charges for medium and large firms. Smaller firms with faster sales growth are also more likely to be charged with antitrust violations.