A recent study by Iain Cockburn and Megan MacGarvie regarding the effects of software patents on the software industry (200,000 software patents were issued in the in US in 2006 alone!) analyzes the changes in the number of issued patents in the different software fields, and the relation between holding patents and success in large firms and in start-ups. The study shows that the more patents are issued in a software field, the harder it is for small firms to enter the market (i.e. larger firms have it easier holding away competition), yet small firms that actually hold patents have larger chances to enter the market. The study thus underlines the importance of investing in patents at an early stage, even in the software industry.

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