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Blocking Patents and Patent Fences: Patenting Behavior of Firms in Complex and Discrete Industries
with Katerina Goldfain
Abstract. We study simultaneous patent races between firms with several subsequent stages. We analyze the decisions of the firms whether to keep their first innovation secret or whether to patent it, which leads to disclosure. We compare the decisions in discrete industries (where the inventions are substitutes) and complex industries (where the inventions are complements) and relate our findings to empirical evidence.
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