BPP Innovation

In Hall 2004 there is a table of 'exogenous' events that have affected patenting:

Year    Event or case                          Result
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980    Diamond v Chakrabarty                  patentability of artificially engineered genetic organisms
1980    Bayh-Dole legislation                  increase in university patenting
1981    Diamond v Diehr                        patentability of software
1982    legislation                            Creation of CAFC; patent validity more likely to be upheld
1984    Hatch-Waxman Act                       increased importance of patents for drug firms 
                                               vis a vis generic producers
1985/6  TI sues Japanese semiconductor firms   wins suits; turns to suing U.S. semiconductor firms,
                                               funding R&D from licensing royalties
1986    Kodak-Polaroid Decision                on instant camera patent; 
                                               final injunction against Kodak leading to $1B judgment
1994    TRIPS agreement                        harmonization drive begins
1998    State Street and ATT vs. Excel         patentability of business methods

References

• Hall, B.H. (2004), "Exploring the Patent Explosion", NBER working paper #10605. pdf