Rui Austin Liu

Rui Austin Liu

Assistant Professor · Intellectual Property Management

Rui Austin Liu

Assistant Professor · Xiamen University

I study how intellectual property institutions shape firm behavior, technology markets, and the value of innovation.

I am an Assistant Professor at the Intellectual Property Research Institute, Xiamen University. I received my PhD in Management from the Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property at Tongji University in 2025 and was a jointly trained doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition from October 2024 to March 2025. I also hold a Juris Master from Xiamen University and a Bachelor of Engineering from Southwest University of Political Science and Law.

My current work combines intellectual property management, innovation economics, and patent policy. A central strand of my research examines patent disclosure: when earlier disclosure improves technology transactions and knowledge diffusion, and when it instead encourages strategic filing or erodes innovation value. I am also interested in the intersection of intellectual property and national security, and in intellectual property issues emerging in the age of AI.

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Research interests

01

Patent disclosure

Strategic disclosure, patent quality, knowledge spillovers, and innovation value.

02

Patent examination

Priority examination, rapid pre-examination, centralized examination, and their effects on patent quality and innovation in China.

03

IP & emerging challenges

National security, artificial intelligence, and new questions for intellectual property governance.

Teaching

Graduate / 研究生

  • Topics in Patent Law 专利法专题
  • Intellectual Property Search 知识产权检索

Undergraduate / 本科生

  • The Detective’s Handbook 侦探养成手册

Working papers

When Goals Align: Examiner–Applicant Interaction and the Speed–Quality Trade-off in Fast-Track Patent Applications

SSRN Working Paper, 2026 Working paperFirst author

Using China’s 2012 Fast-track Patent Applications policy as a quasi-natural experiment, this study examines how accelerated examination affects patent-grant decisions and claim scope. It identifies an “acceleration alignment”: examiners cite less prior art while applicants narrow claims more aggressively to secure faster grant.

PDF SSRN DOI

Selected publications

NSFC A国家自然科学基金管理科学部 A 类期刊

The Value and Realization Mechanisms of Negative-Result Data in the AI for Science Era

AI4S 背景下阴性结果数据的价值及实现机制

Zhizai Dai, Rui Liu, and Kui Cai

Studies in Science of Science, 2026 in Chinese NSFC A Online First Corresponding author

This study explains the distinctive value of negative-result data for AI for Science and proposes an implementation framework encompassing data collection, contribution incentives, and iterative data–model feedback.

PDF DOI

The Cost of Acceleration: How Early Patent Publication Erodes Innovation Value

加速的代价：专利提前公开如何侵蚀创新价值

Rui Liu and Xuezhong Zhu

Science Research Management, 2026 in Chinese NSFC A Online First First author

This study finds that early publication shortens patent maintenance duration, with knowledge spillovers and infringement risk serving as key mechanisms through which innovation value is eroded.

PDF CNKI

The Impact of Early Patent Application Publication on Technology Transactions

专利申请提前公开对技术交易的影响研究

Rui Liu and Xuezhong Zhu

Science Research Management, 46(7), 185–192, 2025 in Chinese NSFC A First author

Using an instrumental-variable approach and two-stage least squares, this study finds that early patent application publication reduces information asymmetry and significantly promotes technology transactions.

PDF DOI

Technological Path Dependence of Foreign Enterprises’ Patent Appropriability in China: Evidence from the Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Industry

外国企业在华专利独占性的技术路径依赖效应：来自集成电路制造业的证据

Qimeng Jiang, Xuezhong Zhu, and Rui Liu

China Soft Science, 2025(4), 41–52, 2025 in Chinese NSFC A Corresponding author

Using a patent dataset for China’s integrated circuit manufacturing industry, this study shows how foreign enterprises can use patent appropriability to create technological path dependence and lock-in.

PDF CNKI

Patent length and innovation: Novel evidence from China

Meiyang Zhang, Xuezhong Zhu, and Rui Liu

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 198, 123010, 2024 ABS 3JCR Q1 Corresponding author

Using fast-tracking patent applications as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that extending effective patent length stimulates corporate innovation and facilitates knowledge spillovers.

PDF DOI

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Contact

For research correspondence, please email forensicscience@foxmail.com. I publish under the name Rui Liu (刘睿).