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Knowledge disclosure, patents and optimal organization of research and development

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  • Bhattacharya, Sudipto
  • Guriev, Sergei

Abstract

We develop a model of two-stage cumulative research and development (R&D), in which one Research Unit (RU) with an innovative idea bargains to license her nonverifiable interim knowledge exclusively to one of two competing Development Units (DUs) via one of two alternative modes: an Open sale after patenting this interim knowledge, or a Closed sale in which precluding further disclosure to a competing DU requires the RU to hold a stake in the licensed DU’s post-invention revenues. Both models lead to partial leakage of RU’s knowledge from it’s description, to the licensed DU alone in a closed sale, and to both DUs in an open sale. We find that higher levels of interim knowledge are more likely to be licensed via closed sales. If the extent of leakage is lower, more RUs choose open sales, generating a non-monotonic relationship between the strength of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and aggregate R&D expenditures. We also develop a rationale for the ex ante acquisition of control rights over the RU by a DU, rooted in the RU’s incentives to create knowledge under alternative modes of sale thereof, and her wealth constraint in ex interim bargaining.

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  • Bhattacharya, Sudipto & Guriev, Sergei, 2004. "Knowledge disclosure, patents and optimal organization of research and development," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19315, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:19315
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    Cited by:

    1. Sudipto Bhattacharya & Sergei Guriev, 2008. "Control Rights over Intellectual Property: Corporate Venturing and Bankruptcy Regimes," Working Papers w0118, Center for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR).
    2. Sudipto Bhattacharya & Sergei Guriev, 2006. "Patents vs. Trade Secrets: Knowledge Licensing and Spillover," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 4(6), pages 1112-1147, December.
    3. Razin, Ronny & Baccara, Mariagiovanna, 2004. "Curb Your Innovation: Corporate Conservatism in the Presence of Imperfect Intellectual Property Rights," CEPR Discussion Papers 4466, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Guido Friebel & Sergei Guriev, 2004. "Earnings Manipilation and Incentives in Firms," Working Papers w0055, New Economic School (NES), revised Oct 2005.
    5. Thomas Hellmann & Enrico Perotti, 2011. "The Circulation of Ideas in Firms and Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(10), pages 1813-1826, October.
    6. Chiara CONTI, 2013. "Asymmetric information in a duopoly with spillovers: new findings on the effects of RJVs," Departmental Working Papers 2013-04, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    7. Козырев А.Н. & Неволин И. В., 2013. "Применение Алгоритма Решения Задачи Об Оптимальном Распределении Ресурсов К Проблеме Назначения Цены За Использование Интеллектуальной Собственности," Журнал Экономика и математические методы (ЭММ), Центральный Экономико-Математический Институт (ЦЭМИ), vol. 49(3), pages 57-68, июль.
    8. Michel Trommetter, 2010. "Flexibility in the implementation of intellectual property rights in agricultural biotechnology," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 223-245, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    R&D organisation; patents; intellectual property rights;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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