Recent surveys report that firms claim they do not rely heavily on patents in order toappropriate a return on their innovation. Yet, firms do patent, as indicated by the largenumber of patents that are granted. This paper offers a possible resolution to this puzzle.It takes a simplified version...

We examine the strategic non-revelation of information by patent applicants. In a model of a bilateral search of information, we show that patent applicants may conceal information, and that examiners make their screening intensity contingent upon the received information. We then analyze the...

Firms claim they do not rely heavily on patents. Yet they patent, as indicated by the large number of patents that are granted. This paper offers a possible resolution to this puzzle. It takes a simplified version of a duopoly innovation race and studies the patenting decision of an innovator...