Patent disclosure and venture financing: The impact of the American Inventor's Protection Act on corporate venture capital investments

Journal articles

Patent disclosure and venture financing: The impact of the American Inventor’s Protection Act on corporate venture capital investments

Year

2021

Authors

Abstract

We investigate the effects of patent disclosure on corporate venture capital (CVC) investments in technology startups. Toward this end, we focus on the passage of the American Inventor’s Protection Act (AIPA), which mandated public disclosure of patent applications. Theoretically, technology disclosure enables CVCs to better evaluate startups and thus, could increase the likelihood of investment relations. Conversely, such disclosure may already satisfy the technology‐acquisition objectives of CVCs, reducing CVCs willingness to form an investment relation after disclosure. Our empirical analysis finds that patent disclosure through AIPA increased the likelihood of receiving CVC investments for startups—specifically in industries where patents have higher information significance. We provide evidence that the observed pattern is mainly driven by a reduction of information constraints regarding startups with patent applications.

MOHAMMADI, A. et KHASHABI, P. (2021). Patent disclosure and venture financing: The impact of the American Inventor’s Protection Act on corporate venture capital investments. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 15(1), pp. 73-97.