Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(435)
- Faculty Publications (172)
- Article
Market Reactions to Sovereign Litigation
By: Faisal Z. Ahmed and Laura Alfaro
Recent rulings in the ongoing litigation over the pari passu clause in Argentinian sovereign debt instruments have generated considerable controversy. Some official-sector participants and academic articles have suggested that the rulings will disrupt or impede... View Details
- February 2017 (Revised January 2022)
- Supplement
Bankruptcy at Caesars Entertainment (B)
By: Kristin Mugford
- 2017
- Chapter
Empirical Evidence on the Behavior and Impact of Patent Trolls: A Survey
By: Lauren Cohen, Umit Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers
We survey the empirical literature on non-practicing entity (NPE) litigation behavior and its consequences. We document both aggregate trends and cross-sectional differences amongst various types of NPEs. Survey evidence illustrates a number of ways in which NPEs can... View Details
Keywords: Patent Trolls; NPEs; PAEs; Innovation; Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Innovation and Invention
- 2016
- Working Paper
The Effect of Shareholder Litigation Risk on the Information Environment: The Case of Cross-Listed Firms
By: Anywhere Sikochi
I document the causal link between shareholder litigation risk and cross-listed firms’ information environment by exploiting a quasi-natural experiment in the form of a reduction in litigation risk resulting from the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Morrison v. National... View Details
- November–December 2016
- Article
The Impact of Patent Wars on Firm Strategy: Evidence from the Global Smartphone Industry
By: Yongwook Paik and Feng Zhu
Strategy scholars have documented in various empirical settings that firms seek and leverage stronger institutions to mitigate hazards and gain competitive advantage. In this paper, we argue that such “institution-seeking” behavior may not be confined to the pursuit of... View Details
- October 2016 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
The CRISPR-Cas9 Quarrel
By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew G. Preble
In mid-2016, the Broad Institute and the University of California, Berkeley were in the middle of a contentious patent dispute over which entity controlled a breakthrough gene editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9. With CRISPR-Cas9, scientists might soon be able to... View Details
- Article
The Growing Problem of Patent Trolling
By: Lauren Cohen, Umit Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers
The last decade has seen a sharp rise in patent litigation in the U.S., with 2015 having one of the highest patent lawsuit counts on record. In theory, this could be a consequence of growth in the commercialization of technology and innovation—patent lawsuits increase... View Details
- 2016
- Working Paper
The Impact of Patent Wars on Firm Strategy: Evidence from the Global Smartphone Market
By: Feng Zhu
Strategy scholars have documented in various empirical settings that firms seek and leverage stronger institutions to mitigate hazards and gain competitive advantage. In this paper, we argue that such “institution-seeking” behavior may not be confined to the pursuit of... View Details
- February 2016 (Revised March 2019)
- Case
Bankruptcy at Caesars Entertainment
By: Kristin Mugford and David Chan
Caesars Entertainment was a large casino operator in the United States that had been purchased in a 2008 leveraged buyout by Apollo and TPG. In January 2015, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company (CEOC), its largest subsidiary, filed for Chapter 11. This set up a... View Details
Keywords: Gaming; Chapter 11; Fraudulent Conveyance; Apollo; TPG; Bankruptcy; Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Private Equity; Financial Management; Lawsuits and Litigation; Negotiation; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Las Vegas
- January 2016 (Revised February 2016)
- Case
Citizens United and Corporate Speech
By: David Moss and Marc Campasano
The story of Citizens United began in late 2007, as leading members of the Republican and Democratic parties were preparing for the 2008 presidential primaries. Democrats expected a three-way contest in their party between Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, Senator (and... View Details
- January 2016 (Revised January 2019)
- Case
The Allergan Board Under Fire (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, John C. Coates and David Lane
In 2014, the Allergan Inc. board of directors received a surprise takeover offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals in alliance with hedge fund activist Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management. In the unprecedented arrangement between an acquirer and a hedge fund... View Details
Keywords: Allergan, Inc.; Valeant; Ackman; Pershing Square; Tender Offer; Activist Investors; Business Models; R＆D; Board Of Directors; Securities Litigation; Acquisition Strategy; Takeover Defenses; Hedge Funds; Shareholder Rights; Proxy Contest; Shareholder Special Meetings; Legal Issues In Contested Takeovers; Governing and Advisory Boards; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations; Pharmaceutical Industry
- January 2016 (Revised January 2019)
- Supplement
The Allergan Board Under Fire (B)
By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, John C. Coates and David Lane
In 2014, the Allergan Inc. board of directors received a surprise takeover offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals in alliance with hedge fund activist Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management. In the unprecedented arrangement between an acquirer and a hedge fund... View Details
Keywords: Allergan, Inc.; Valeant; Ackman; Pershing Square; Tender Offer; Activist Investors; Business Models; R＆D; Board Of Directors; Securities Litigation; Acquisition Strategy; Takeover Defenses; Hedge Funds; Shareholder Rights; Proxy Contest; Shareholder Special Meetings; Legal Issues In Contested Takeovers; Corporate Governance; Investment Activism; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business Model; Business and Shareholder Relations; Valuation; Pharmaceutical Industry
- 2015
- Working Paper
Financial Patent Quality: Finance Patents After State Street
By: Josh Lerner, Andrew Speen, Mark Baker and Ann Leamon
In the past two decades, patents of inventions related to financial services ("finance patents"), as well as litigation around these patents, have surged. One of the repeated concerns voiced by academics and practitioners alike has been about the quality of these... View Details
- June 2015 (Revised January 2017)
- Case
Epistar and the Global LED Market
By: Willy C. Shih, Chen-Fu Chien and Hung-Kai Wang
It took BJ Lee many years to learn how to navigate the patent minefield that was the global LED industry. When his company was first spun off from the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan, he thought the essence of a good IP strategy was to develop a... View Details
- June 2015
- Article
Standard-Essential Patents
By: Josh Lerner and Jean Tirole
A major policy issue in standard setting is that patents that are ex-ante not that important may, by being included into the standard, become standard-essential patents (SEPs). In an attempt to curb the monopoly power that they create, most standard-setting... View Details
- Spring 2015
- Article
Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Evaluating the Impact of the Argentina Ruling
By: Laura Alfaro
Recent rulings in the ongoing litigation over the pari passu clause in Argentinian sovereign debt instruments have generated considerable controversy. Some official-sector participants and academic articles have suggested that the rulings will disrupt or impede... View Details
- 2018
- Working Paper
Patent Trolls: Evidence from Targeted Firms
By: Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers
We provide the first large-sample evidence on the behavior and impact of non-practicing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual property space. We find that on average, NPEs appear to behave as opportunistic “patent trolls.” NPEs sue cash-rich firms—and target cash in... View Details
- May 2, 2014
- Article
If You're Feeling Unappreciated, Give Someone Else Credit
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
Conflict in a family business can escalate quickly, but it's crucial to avoid it whenever possible. The article emphasizes recognizing the signs of escalating conflict and taking steps to prevent it. When disagreements arise, people often resort to legal action, which... View Details
- 2014
- Working Paper
Bio-Piracy or Prospering Together? Fuzzy Set and Qualitative Analysis of Herbal Patenting by Firms
By: Prithwiraj Choudhury and Tarun Khanna
Since the 1990s, several Western firms have filed patents based on medicinal herbs from emerging markets, evoking protests from local stakeholders against 'bio-piracy'. We explore conditions under which firms and local stakeholders share rents from such patents. Our... View Details
Keywords: Rents From New Technology; Local Stakeholders; Herbal Patents; QCA; Fuzzy Set Analysis; Qualitative Case Studies; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Patents; Emerging Markets; Health Care and Treatment; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry
- February 2014
- Article
Accountability of Independent Directors—Evidence from Firms Subject to Securities Litigation
By: Francois Brochet and Suraj Srinivasan
We examine which independent directors are held accountable when investors sue firms for financial- and disclosure-related fraud. Investors can name independent directors as defendants in lawsuits, and they can vote against their re-election to express displeasure over... View Details