Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • February 2018
  • Article
  • Management Science

Patent Publication and the Market for Ideas

By: Deepak Hegde and Hong Luo
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

In this paper, we study the effect of invention disclosure through patent publication on the market for ideas. We do so by analyzing the effects of the American Inventor's Protection Act of 1999 (AIPA)—which required U.S. patent applications to be published 18 months after their filing date rather than at patent grant—on the timing of licensing deals in the biomedical industry. We find that post-AIPA U.S. patent applications are significantly more likely to be licensed before patent grant and shortly after 18-month publication. Licensing delays are reduced by about 10 months, on average, after AIPA's enactment. These findings suggest a hitherto unexplored benefit of the patent system: by requiring inventions to be published through a credible, standardized, and centralized repository, it mitigates information costs for buyers and sellers and, thus, facilitates transactions in the market for ideas.

Keywords

Licensing; Patent Publication; Invention Disclosure; Patents; Information Publishing; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge Dissemination

Citation

Hegde, Deepak, and Hong Luo. "Patent Publication and the Market for Ideas." Management Science 64, no. 2 (February 2018): 652–672.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now
  • Purchase

About The Author

Hong Luo

Strategy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Laboratory Safety and Research Productivity

    By: Alberto Galasso, Hong Luo and Brooklynn Zhu
    • May 2022
    • American Economic Journal: Economic Policy

    When Does Product Liability Risk Chill Innovation? Evidence from Medical Implants

    By: Alberto Galasso and Hong Luo
    • March 2022 (Revised April 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Spotify's Audio-First Strategy: Leading the Podcasting Market

    By: Hong Luo and Carol Lin
More from the Authors
  • Laboratory Safety and Research Productivity By: Alberto Galasso, Hong Luo and Brooklynn Zhu
  • When Does Product Liability Risk Chill Innovation? Evidence from Medical Implants By: Alberto Galasso and Hong Luo
  • Spotify's Audio-First Strategy: Leading the Podcasting Market By: Hong Luo and Carol Lin
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College