The emerging market for intellectual property: drivers, restrainers, and implications

Abstract

The rise of the knowledge economy has ushered in important changes to the economic landscape. One such change is the emergence of a market for intellectual property (IP), and more specifically a market in patents. New corporate IP strategies are driving the development of this IP market; specialized patent intermediaries, located predominantly in Silicon Valley, are facilitating its growth. Given the relevance of this phenomenon for economic geography, this paper seeks to map this emerging market and illustrate its drivers, restrainers and implications. Despite its infancy, the patent market is drawing comparisons to the market for financial derivatives. It has the potential to change the economic landscape in a way that permanently alters corporate and regional competitive dynamics. A subsequent version of this paper appears in the Journal of Economic Geography.

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