Abstract: The technological characteristics of patents are important factors when considering patent value generation. Researchers often assume that innovations are independent from each other and neglect the connection between innovations in the same region. We analyze the relationship between patent value and several technical feature, especially regional technical differences. Strategic emerging industries patents issued by State Intellectual Property Office of China during the period of 1985-2009 are selected as the research object. Patent survival function is estimated using the patent renewal duration as the proxy variable of patent value. The results show that there is a strong connection between three countries’ patent value and its relatively superior (inferior) technical status in each technical sub-area, while the relationship between patent value and technology affiliation is not so obvious. Subsequently, we construct a COX risk regression model to determine the quantitative relationship between regional technological differences and patent value. It can be concluded that regional technological differences have more significant and stable influence on patent value than technology affiliation factor , and the revealed technological advantage will promote patent maintenance and ultimately enhance patent value.

Key words: patent quality, regional technological differences, regional technological advantage, survival analysis;  , patent renewal information