Choosing the scope of trade secret law when secrets complement ...

Publication year: 2011
Source:International Review of Law and Economics, Volume 31, Issue 4
Elisabetta Ottoz, Franco Cugno
We present a model where an incumbent firm has a proprietary product whose technology consists of at least two components, one of which is patented while the other is kept secret. At the patent expiration date, an entrant firm will enter the market on the same technological footing as the incumbent if it is successful in duplicating, at certain costs, the secret component of the incumbent?s technology. Otherwise, it will enter the market with a production cost disadvantage. We show that under some conditions a broad scope of trade secret law is socially beneficial.

Highlights

? We present a model where an innovation is jointly protected by patents and secrets. ? When patents expire, a competitor tries to duplicate the secret. ? We show that a strong legal protection of trade secret may be socially beneficial. ? This is because it allows society to save on duplication costs.

Source: http://law.journalfeeds.com/economics/j-int-econ-law/choosing-the-scope-of-trade-secret-law-when-secrets-complement-patents-2/20120715/

kratom broncos broncos lehigh walking dead season finale matt flynn denver news