Abstract
Changes in a firm's backward-dispersion patent-citation score are a useful, non-financial indicator of patent value that is positively-related to Tobin's q. V-scores, which analyze content patterns between patents' technological-class codes and those of their antecedents, provide contemporaneous information for investors to assess firms' economic prospects that is more time-sensitive than forward-looking information such as forward citations. V-score analysis offers useful insights about the nature of post-acquisition learning within technologically-tumultuous industries like media-services.