Publications

10 Apr 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Trade Secrets Protection and Antitakeover Provisions

Keywords: by Aiyesha Dey and Joshua White

August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Background Note

Note on Trade Secrets and Covenants not to Compete: Comparison of Law in the United States and the European Union

By: Robert C. Pozen and Megan Barbero

This note details the use and treatment of Covenants not to Compete in the United States, United Kingdom and France to compete or trade secrets versus patents as alternative ways to protect a business' intellectual property. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Law; Strategy; Intellectual Property; France; United Kingdom; United States

summer 1991
Article

Trade Secrets and the Justification of Intellectual Property: A Comment on Hettinger

By: L. S. Paine

Keywords: Intellectual Property

Find at Harvard

24 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

Do National Security Secrets Hold Back National Innovation?

Instead of seeking patents, many inventors and firms choose to keep the details of their innovations secret, out of the public view. But what are the implications of keeping important new ideas locked away in vaults as trade secrets? Does... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

25 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

The Secret Life of Supply Chains

chain working?’ When Mills worked as Administrator of the US Small Business Administration in the Obama White House, she noticed a secret national treasure: A booming supply chain of parts and services made up of innovative, large and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing; Service

10 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Homers: Secrets on the Factory Floor

I can answer that question. This research also raises the issue of gray zones in organizations. The trading of mutual funds once the market has officially cleared, the retribution by music publishers to radio station programmers for... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing

April–May 2021
Article

Labor Mobility and Antitakeover Provisions

By: Aiyesha Dey and Joshua White

How do firms protect their human capital? We test whether firms facing an increased threat of being acquired strengthen their antitakeover provisions (ATPs) in order to bond with their employees. We use the adoption of the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine (IDD) by U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Labor Mobility; Antitakeover Provisions; Trade Secrets; Implicit Contracting; Employee Bonding; Corporate Governance; Acquisition; Human Capital; Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Intellectual Property; Safety

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29 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

Decoding Insider Information and Other Secrets of Old School Chums

Security and Exchange Commission mandated that publicly traded companies had to disclose all material information to their investors at the same time. The researchers found that after the introduction of that rule, the return spread of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

January 1995 (Revised November 1995)
Case

Candela Laser vs. Cynosure, Inc.

By: Josh Lerner and Benjamin Conway

Summarizes the lawsuit by Candela Laser against its former CEO and founder, who has begun a competing firm. The extent of patent and trade secret protection are crucial issues. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Entrepreneurship

May 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Background Note

Intellectual Property and Strategy

By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier

Explores the role of intellectual property in firms' strategies. Explains the legal and strategic differences between patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets and explores the multiple ways firms use these different legal protections to gain competitive... View Details

Keywords: Copyright; Patents; Trademarks; Competitive Advantage; Value

24 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

IPR: Protecting Your Technology Transfers

impact of stronger intellectual property rights was reaching a boiling point as the World Trade Organization included the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in its charter. Opponents of stronger IPR were... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

18 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

How Eliminating Non-Competes Could Reshape Tech

employers. Employers can create win-win scenarios for themselves and their employees. Senz: Are there other strategies companies can use to protect trade secrets in the absence of non-competes? Wu: Ongoing... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

October 1995
Article

Start-ups, Spin-offs, and Internal Projects

By: James J. Anton and Dennis Yao

We examine the incentive problem confronting a firm and employee when the employee privately discovers a significant invention and faces a choice between keeping the invention private and leaving the firm to form a new company (start-up), or transferring knowledge and... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Projects; Motivation and Incentives; Rights; Employees; Innovation and Invention; Compensation and Benefits; Knowledge Sharing; Capital; Profit