Download This PaperEmpirical Methods in Trade Secret Research
Peter S. Menell & David L. Schwartz (eds.), Research Handbook on the Economics of Intellectual Property Law (Vol. II - Analytical Methods) (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016, Forthcoming)
22 Pages Posted: 15 Sep 2015 Last revised: 14 Dec 2016
Date Written: September 10, 2015
Abstract
This book chapter surveys a variety of methods in conducting empirical trade secret research. It discusses data sources, study types and methods, and challenges unique to trade secrecy with respect to four different considerations: innovation incentives, tradeoffs with other IP, the "cost minimization" theory of trade secrets, and litigation behavior.
The chapter also includes a comprehensive bibliography of every empirical trade secret study we could locate, organized by subject. Many of the papers and their findings are discussed in the book chapter as aids for those developing their own research along similar paths.
Keywords: trade secrets, empirical, survey, experimental, docket
JEL Classification: O34, C42, C90, K41
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation