TY - JOUR
T1 - Do Patents Enable Disclosure?
T2 - Evidence from the Invention Secrecy Act
AU - de Rassenfosse, Gaétan
AU - Pellegrino, Gabriele
AU - Raiteri, Emilio
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - This paper provides empirical evidence suggesting that patents may facilitate knowledge disclosure. The analysis exploits the Invention Secrecy Act, which grants the U.S. Commissioner for Patents the right to prevent the disclosure of new inventions that represent a threat to national security. Using a two-level matching approach, we document a negative and large relationship between the enforcement of a secrecy order and follow-on inventions, as captured with patent citations and text-based measures of invention similarity. The effect carries over to after the lift of the secrecy period, suggesting a lost generation of inventions. The results bear implications for innovation and intellectual property policy.
AB - This paper provides empirical evidence suggesting that patents may facilitate knowledge disclosure. The analysis exploits the Invention Secrecy Act, which grants the U.S. Commissioner for Patents the right to prevent the disclosure of new inventions that represent a threat to national security. Using a two-level matching approach, we document a negative and large relationship between the enforcement of a secrecy order and follow-on inventions, as captured with patent citations and text-based measures of invention similarity. The effect carries over to after the lift of the secrecy period, suggesting a lost generation of inventions. The results bear implications for innovation and intellectual property policy.
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2023.103044
DO - 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2023.103044
M3 - Article
SN - 0167-7187
VL - 92
JO - International Journal of Industrial Organization
JF - International Journal of Industrial Organization
M1 - 103044
ER -