Empirical and theoretical observations in trade secrecy : statutory prescriptions and endogenous growth

Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2010.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Craven, Mackey
Other Authors: Fiona E. Murray.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106722
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author Craven, Mackey
author2 Fiona E. Murray.
author_facet Fiona E. Murray.
Craven, Mackey
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description Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2010.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1067222019-04-12T09:30:27Z Empirical and theoretical observations in trade secrecy : statutory prescriptions and endogenous growth Craven, Mackey Fiona E. Murray. Technology and Policy Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division. Technology and Policy Program. Engineering Systems Division. Technology and Policy Program. Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2010. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p.112-115 ). Recent scholarship has suggested that trade secrecy may be as important, if not more important, than patenting as an intellectual property protection mechanism in the United States economy. While patent protection has always been an institution in the United States as a result of its inclusion in the Constitution, trade secret protection has only been statutorily recognized by the federal government in the last half-century. Similarly, while there has been extensive theoretical and empirical research on the incentives patent protection creates for firms to innovate, and the resulting effects on economic growth, there have been comparatively few theoretical studies and only a handful of empirical papers investigating the effects of trade secrecy. This leaves policy makers with little to no understanding of the effects of trade secrecy on the economy or how to influence trade secrecy through policy. This thesis provides insight into the second question by investigating the effect of implementing statutory trade secret law on patent application and trade secrecy litigation rates. Specifically, this thesis performs a difference in difference analysis on the implementation of the Pennsylvania Uniform Trade Secrets Act with respect to the above metrics. While the effect of trade secret litigation is inconclusive, this thesis finds that patent application rates and the rate of growth of patent applications decrease in response to the implementation of statutory trade secret law. This implies a theorized, but never before measured, substitution effect between patents and trade secrets. In addition, this shows that the level of trade secret protection can be influenced by policymakers through statutory law. When combined with an empirical study on the welfare effects of trade secret protection, this thesis will give policymakers a reference point from which to consider the benefits of further statutory trade secret law. by Mackey Craven. S.M.in Technology and Policy 2017-01-30T19:15:28Z 2017-01-30T19:15:28Z 2010 2010 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106722 761396864 eng MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 115 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Engineering Systems Division.
Technology and Policy Program.
Craven, Mackey
Empirical and theoretical observations in trade secrecy : statutory prescriptions and endogenous growth
title Empirical and theoretical observations in trade secrecy : statutory prescriptions and endogenous growth
title_full Empirical and theoretical observations in trade secrecy : statutory prescriptions and endogenous growth
title_fullStr Empirical and theoretical observations in trade secrecy : statutory prescriptions and endogenous growth
title_full_unstemmed Empirical and theoretical observations in trade secrecy : statutory prescriptions and endogenous growth
title_short Empirical and theoretical observations in trade secrecy : statutory prescriptions and endogenous growth
title_sort empirical and theoretical observations in trade secrecy statutory prescriptions and endogenous growth
topic Engineering Systems Division.
Technology and Policy Program.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106722
work_keys_str_mv AT cravenmackey empiricalandtheoreticalobservationsintradesecrecystatutoryprescriptionsandendogenousgrowth