https://macropaperwarehouse.com/authors/fabio-bertolotti/Fabio BertolottiHugo -- gohugo.ioen-ushttps://macropaperwarehouse.com/papers/patent-term-innovation-and-the-role-of-technology-disclosure-externalities/https://macropaperwarehouse.com/papers/patent-term-innovation-and-the-role-of-technology-disclosure-externalities/<p>This paper examines how anticipated changes in patent term affect R&amp;D and innovation, using the U.S. ratification of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement in 1995 as a quasi-natural experiment. The central research question is whether and how policy anticipation shapes the short- and long-run dynamics of innovative activity, given ambiguous theoretical predictions: news of a patent term reduction could either deter innovation (by signaling lower future returns) or accelerate it (by inducing innovators to file under the more favorable existing regime before it expires).</p>