Strategic Reasons for Patenting : Between Exclusion and Coordination Rationales

Antoine Bureth (1) , Rachel Levy (1) , Julien Pénin (1) , Sandrine Wolff (1)

1 BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée

This contribution aims at analyzing the role of patents in inter-organization networks in the field of biotechnology. We examine the traditionnal rationale for firms to apply for a patent, which focuses on the protection against competition as the basic motive of application, and we claim that another, complementary motive should be explicitly taken into account : the role of patent as a negotiation and/or cooperation instrument. We illustrate our main propositions through the case study of an emergent network, namely the cluster of Upper-Rhine Biovalley.

Domaines: Economies et finances

Antoine Bureth, Rachel Levy, Julien Pénin, Sandrine Wolff. Strategic Reasons for Patenting : Between Exclusion and Coordination Rationales. Economia & Lavoro - Rivista di politica economica, sociologia e relazioni industriali, 2006, pp.19-46. ⟨hal-00279139⟩