Why do firms patent?

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: de Rassenfosse, Gaetan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author de Rassenfosse, Gaetan
author_facet de Rassenfosse, Gaetan
contents Firms' decisions to patent innovations involve a complex evaluation of costs, benefits, and strategic considerations. This article explores the economic and practical factors that influence whether companies seek patent protection. It discusses explicit monetary costs--such as legal fees, filing, and international expenses--and non-monetary costs related to public disclosure. Benefits include the provision of exclusion rights that secure returns and protect competitive advantages. Additionally, firms use patents as strategic tools to block rivals, strengthen bargaining positions, signal innovation quality, and attract investment. The analysis also considers alternative protection strategies like secrecy, particularly for small enterprises or industries where disclosure is detrimental.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_11555
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Why do firms patent?
de Rassenfosse, Gaetan
General Economics
Economics
Firms' decisions to patent innovations involve a complex evaluation of costs, benefits, and strategic considerations. This article explores the economic and practical factors that influence whether companies seek patent protection. It discusses explicit monetary costs--such as legal fees, filing, and international expenses--and non-monetary costs related to public disclosure. Benefits include the provision of exclusion rights that secure returns and protect competitive advantages. Additionally, firms use patents as strategic tools to block rivals, strengthen bargaining positions, signal innovation quality, and attract investment. The analysis also considers alternative protection strategies like secrecy, particularly for small enterprises or industries where disclosure is detrimental.
title Why do firms patent?
topic General Economics
Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.11555