8. Peters, T., Thiel, J., and Tucci, C.L. (2013), ‘Protecting growth options in dynamic markets: The role of strategic disclosure in integrated intellectual property strategies’ Flashcards
(14 cards)
What is strategic disclosure?
Strategic disclosure is the act of creating novelty-destroying prior art to prevent or impede another agent from obtaining IP protection on the same or a similar invention.
Example: A tech company publishes details about a new software feature to ensure competitors can’t patent similar features.
What is the purpose of creating prior art through strategic disclosure?
To establish distinct boundaries of what cannot be within any private IP right, thus preventing others from patenting the same or similar inventions.
What is freedom to operate (FTO)?
FTO is the ability of a firm to operate freely without infringing on existing IP, minimizing exposure to infringement litigation.
What are some non-patenting mechanisms?
Exploiting lead-time advantages, building strategies around complementary assets, and using strategic disclosure.
What are the four types of disclosure?
Attributed, Anonymous, Obscured, and Overt.
What is the Patent-Extend strategy?
A strategy where firms use strategic disclosure to extend the scope of a patent by adding claims or stating alternative potential markets or uses for a technology.
Example: A company patents a new drug and then publishes potential uses for it to prevent competitors from patenting those uses.
What is the Patent-Reveal strategy?
A strategy where firms reveal the contents of a patent application prior to official publication to signal early technological advances and potentially discourage competitive development.
Example: A tech company publishes details about its new gadget to show competitors it’s ahead in innovation.
What is the Reveal-Level strategy?
A strategy where firms disclose prior art to prevent others from patenting and to ensure that obscure prior art is in the open.
Example: A company publishes old research findings to prevent competitors from using them in new patents.
What are the benefits of strategic disclosure?
It can prevent competitors from patenting similar inventions, reduce patenting and litigation costs, and ensure freedom to operate.
Example: A company saves money by publishing its innovations instead of filing multiple patents.
What is the role of trade secrets in an integrated IP strategy?
Trade secrets protect key process or product knowledge that cannot be reverse-engineered and that the end product does not reveal.
What is attributed disclosure?
Attributed disclosure is when the source of the information is clearly identified and credited.
Example: A company publishes a research paper with the names of the authors and their affiliations.
What is anonymous disclosure?
Anonymous disclosure is when the source of the information is not identified or credited.
Example: A technical article published in an obscure journal without mentioning the author’s name or company.
What is obscured disclosure?
Obscured disclosure is when the information is hidden or made difficult to find.
Example: A prototype kept in a public laboratory but not actively advertised or documented.
What is overt disclosure?
Overt disclosure is when the information is openly and clearly shared.
Example: A company posts detailed product specifications on its website for everyone to see.
