京都大学 大学院経済学研究科・経済学部

タイトル:

“Early Disclosure and Patent Value: How Do You Know You Are a Pioneer?”

Abstract:
While the patent system plays a dual role in promoting innovation through protection and disclosure, it is widely believed that early disclosure of a patent application weakens patent protection by enhancing knowledge spillovers. However, pre-grant publication enables early establishment of the priority of the invention, which may enhance appropriation. Using the introduction of pre-grant publication in Japan as a natural experiment, we find that early disclosure increased the rejections (and abandonments) of the subsequent duplicative patent applications by others more than the grants of their follow-on patents. As a result, the patent value significantly increased on average. Consistently, the pre-grant publication accelerated and increased the grant of one’s own follow-on inventions, more so when competition is significant. Thus, we find that pre-grant publication has a significant effect of promoting appropriation through early determination of who is a pioneer.