Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Ottoz Elisabetta
Author-Email: elisabetta.ottoz@unito.it
Author-Name: Cugno Franco 
Author-Email: franco.cugno@unito.it
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Turin
Author-Workplace-Homepage: http://www.est.unito.it/
Title: Choosing the Scope of Trade Secret Law when Secrets Complement Patents
Abstract: 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 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 not too
restrictive conditions a broad scope of trade secret law is socially beneficial either the patent length is
adjusted in order to grant the innovator the right reward or it is fixed and the innovator is overrewarded
Length: 16 pages
Creation-Date: 2009-11
File-URL: http://www.est.unito.it/do/home.pl/Download?doc=/allegati/wp2009dip/11_wp_ottoz_cugno.pdf
File-Format: Application/PDF
Handle: RePEc:uto:dipeco:200911