Home > IPLJ > Vol. XXXV > No. 4 (2025)
Abstract
Picture an inventor. Anyone at all. We bet you imagined a man, is that right? If you did, that’s not surprising—our study of over 140,000 patent applications reveals that three out of four patents name all-male inventors, and only three percent of patents represent the inventions of women-only teams. But this massive gender gap is not just about who chooses to invent—it’s about who gets to protect their innovations through the patent system.
This Article presents groundbreaking evidence that women face systemic barriers in securing patents, even when they clear the hurdles to become inventors. Drawing on an unprecedented dataset spanning four major patent offices (USPTO, EPO, WIPO, and IPO), we find that patent applications from teams with female inventors are significantly less likely to be granted than those from all-male teams—even when controlling for technology field, team size, and filing location. Moreover, when women secure patents, their innovations receive fewer citations from future inventors, suggesting their contributions are routinely undervalued.
These findings challenge the conventional wisdom that gender gaps in patenting reflect the underrepresentation of women in technical fields. Instead, our data reveal how the patent system itself, through high costs, complex procedures, and human discretion in examination, creates additional barriers for women inventors. This matters because patents are more than mere pieces of paper—they’re crucial tools for attracting investment, building companies, and shaping technological progress.
Previous studies have offered glimpses of these disparities by looking at single patent offices or global averages. Our multi-jurisdictional analysis provides the first comprehensive picture of how patent systems worldwide may be stifling women’s innovations. The implications are stark: when patent systems disproportionately exclude women inventors, we all lose out on potential breakthroughs and economic growth.
To address these systemic barriers, we propose specific reforms to make patent systems more accessible and equitable. These include procedural changes to reduce examiner bias, expanded support for underrepresented inventors, and—most ambitiously—a new “unregistered patent” system that could provide baseline protection while reducing entry barriers. At stake is not just fairness in innovation, but the future of technological progress itself.
Recommended Citation
Miriam Marcowitz-Bitton and Ori Sharon,
Registry Systems as Gatekeepers: How Patent Registries Create Systemic Barriers to Innovation,
35 Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J. 867
(2025).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/iplj/vol35/iss4/1
