Working Paper: NBER ID: w16213
Authors: Heidi L. Williams
Abstract: Do intellectual property (IP) rights on existing technologies hinder subsequent innovation? Using newly-collected data on the sequencing of the human genome by the public Human Genome Project and the private firm Celera, this paper estimates the impact of Celera's gene-level IP on subsequent scientific research and product development. Genes initially sequenced by Celera were held with IP for up to two years, but moved into the public domain once re-sequenced by the public effort. Across a range of empirical specifications, I find evidence that Celera's IP led to reductions in subsequent scientific research and product development on the order of 20 to 30 percent. Taken together, these results suggest that Celera's short-term IP had persistent negative effects on subsequent innovation relative to a counterfactual of Celera genes having always been in the public domain.
Keywords: Intellectual Property; Innovation; Human Genome; Cumulative Innovation
JEL Codes: I10; I18; O3; O34
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Celera's IP rights (O34) | reduction in subsequent scientific research and product development (O32) |
| Celera's IP rights (O34) | fewer publications (A14) |
| Celera's IP rights (O34) | lower percentage used in diagnostic tests (C52) |
| removal of Celera's IP (L49) | increased subsequent innovation (O36) |