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Do Patents Enable Disclosure? Evidence from the Invention Secrecy Act

Author

Listed:
  • Gaetan de Rassenfosse

    (Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne)

  • Gabriele Pellegrino

    (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart)

  • Emilio Raiteri

    (Eindhoven University of Technology)

Abstract

This paper provides empirical evidence suggesting that patents may facilitate knowledge disclosure. The analysis exploits the Invention Secrecy Act, which grants the U.S. Commissioner for Patents the right to prevent the disclosure of new inventions that represent a threat to national security. Using a two-level matching approach, we document a negative and large relationship between the enforcement of a secrecy order and follow-on inventions, as captured with patent citations and text-based measures of invention similarity. The effect carries over to after the lift of the secrecy period, suggesting a lost generation of inventions. The results bear implications for innovation and intellectual property policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaetan de Rassenfosse & Gabriele Pellegrino & Emilio Raiteri, 2023. "Do Patents Enable Disclosure? Evidence from the Invention Secrecy Act," Working Papers 26, Chair of Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy.
    • Handle: RePEc:iip:wpaper:26
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    File URL: https://cdm-repec.epfl.ch/iip-wpaper/WP26.pdf
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    2. Bottai, Carlo & de Rassenfosse, Gaétan & Raiteri, Emilio, 2025. "A new approach to measuring invention commercialization: An application to the SBIR program," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(9).
    3. Dosi, Giovanni & Palagi, Elisa & Roventini, Andrea & Russo, Emanuele, 2023. "Do patents really foster innovation in the pharmaceutical sector? Results from an evolutionary, agent-based model," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 564-589.
    4. Büttner, Benjamin & Firat, Murat & Raiteri, Emilio, 2022. "Patents and knowledge diffusion," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(10).
    5. Akcigit, Ufuk & Ates, Sina T. & Lerner, Josh & Townsend, Richard R. & Zhestkova, Yulia, 2024. "Fencing off Silicon Valley: Cross-border venture capital and technology spillovers," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 14-39.
    6. Daniel P. Gross, 2023. "The Hidden Costs of Securing Innovation: The Manifold Impacts of Compulsory Invention Secrecy," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(4), pages 2318-2338, April.
    7. Arts, Sam & Hou, Jianan & Gomez, Juan Carlos, 2021. "Natural language processing to identify the creation and impact of new technologies in patent text: Code, data, and new measures," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(2).
    8. Giuffrida, Leonardo M. & Raiteri, Emilio, 2021. "Buyers' workload and R&D procurement outcomes: Evidence from the US Air Force Research Lab," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-059, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    9. v{S}imon Trlifaj, 2025. "Government Transparency and Innovation: Evidence from Wireless Products," Papers 2510.19377, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2025.
    10. de Rassenfosse, Gaétan & Palangkaraya, Alfons, 2023. "Do patent pledges accelerate innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(5).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • 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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