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Is there a role for patents in the financing of new innovative firms?

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  • Bronwyn H Hall

Abstract

It is argued by many that one of the benefits of the patent system is that it creates a property right to invention that enables firms to obtain financing for the development of that invention. In this paper, I review the reasons why ownership of knowledge assets might be useful in attracting finance and then survey the empirical evidence on patent ownership and its impact on the ability of firms to obtain further financing at different stages of their development, both starting up and after becoming established. Studies that attempt to separately identify the role of patent rights and the underlying quality of the associated innovation(s) will be emphasized, although these are rather rare.

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  • Bronwyn H Hall, 2019. "Is there a role for patents in the financing of new innovative firms?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 28(3), pages 657-680.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:indcch:v:28:y:2019:i:3:p:657-680.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    2. de Rassenfosse, Gaetan & Higham, Kyle, 2019. "Decentralising the Patent System," SocArXiv qzmf8, Center for Open Science.
    3. Salvatore Di Novo & Giorgio Fazio & Jonathan Sapsed & Josh Siepel, 2022. "Starving the golden goose? Access to finance for innovators in the creative industries," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 46(2), pages 345-386, June.
    4. Francesca Battaglia & Francesco Busato & Maria Manganiello, 2022. "A cross-platform analysis of the equity crowdfunding Italian context: the role of intellectual capital," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 649-689, June.
    5. Christopher S. Hayter & Albert N. Link, 2022. "From discovery to commercialization: accretive intellectual property strategies among small, knowledge-based firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1367-1377, March.
    6. Gold, E. Richard, 2021. "The fall of the innovation empire and its possible rise through open science," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(5).
    7. Xie, Linlin & Liu, Guangqiang & Liu, Boyang, 2023. "Patent pledge policy and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Umeair Shahzad & Jing Liu & Faisal Mahmood & Fukai Luo, 2021. "Corporate innovation and trade credit demand: Evidence from China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(6), pages 1591-1606, September.
    9. Nada Basir, 2020. "Reputation Enhancing Through Patent Portfolios: An Exploration of Lapsed Patents and IPOS," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(1), pages 42-56, February.
    10. Horner, Sam & Papageorgiadis, Nikolaos & Sofka, Wolfgang & Angelidou, Sofia, 2022. "Standing your ground: Examining the signaling effects of patent litigation in university technology licensing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(10).
    11. Andrea Bellucci & Serena Fatica & Aliki Georgakaki & Gianluca Gucciardi & Simon Letout & Francesco Pasimeni, 2023. "Venture Capital Financing and Green Patenting," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(7), pages 947-983, August.
    12. Kwon, Seokbeom & Marco, Alan C., 2021. "Can antitrust law enforcement spur innovation? Antitrust regulation of patent consolidation and its impact on follow-on innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    13. Aldatmaz, Serdar & Celikyurt, Ugur, 2023. "The effect of venture capital backing on innovation in newly public firms," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Colombo, Massimo G. & Guerini, Massimiliano & Hoisl, Karin & Zeiner, Nico M., 2023. "The dark side of signals: Patents protecting radical inventions and venture capital investments," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(5).
    15. Masatoshi Kato & Koichiro Onishi & Yuji Honjo, 2022. "Does patenting always help new firm survival? Understanding heterogeneity among exit routes," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 449-475, August.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital

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