apply for a patent with probabilistic validity or rely on secrecy. By doing so, the firm manages its rivals' beliefs about … the size of the innovation, and affects the incentives in the product market. A Cournot competitor tends to patent big … substitutability increases the incentives to patent the innovation. …

The available evidence indicates that patent quality, particularly in the area of software, needs improvement. This … even an agency as institutionally constrained as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) could implement a portfolio …. Strategies that resolve around Section 112 of the patent statute could usefully be deployed at the initial examination stage …

An innovative firm chooses strategically whether to patent its process innovation or rely on secrecy. By doing so, the … an innovative firm with unknown costs and probabilistic patent validity. Increasing the number of firms (degree of … a smaller (greater) patenting incentive if patent protection is weak (strong) …