Patent Visibility and the Diffusion of Trapped Knowledge: Evidence from US Grants

Valuable knowledge developed in one part of the world may remain “trapped" locally due to frictions in how knowledge is recognized and shared globally. This paper examines how granting US patents to foreign-origin inventions—by elevating their visibility and credibility— untraps the knowledge and facilitates global diffusion. Using examiner leniency as an instrument, complemented by a difference-in-differences design, I find that US grants of home country patents significantly increase both the likelihood and intensity of forward citations, including marked increases from third countries. A novel measure of “trappedness” reveals that knowledge from historically more trapped countries and sectors sees larger diffusion benefits after the US grants. These findings highlight the central role of the US as a platform of global knowledge recognition and diffusion, particularly in turning overlooked ideas into globally relevant innovations.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Sloan School of Management

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Yao, Randol H.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Li, Danielle

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
• Copyright retained by author(s)

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/164560

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/164560