--- title: "Disclosure Rules and Declared Essential Patents" authors: ["Rudi Bekkers", "Christian Catalini", "Arianna Martinelli", "Cesare Righi", "Tim Simcoe"] venue: "Research Policy" year: 2022 area: digitization featured: false links: pdf: "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004873332200141X" abstract: "Develops a model of the standardization process linking disclosure rules to patent-holder incentives, tested with novel data from the top standard-setting organizations. Subtle policy differences change which patents get disclosed; disclosed patents earn up to 20% more citations — and are more likely to be litigated." --- In the paper, we develop a simple model of the standardization process to illustrate the link between disclosure rules and patent-holder incentives, and test its predictions using novel data from the top standard setting organizations. Subtle differences in policies influence which patents are disclosed and their licensing commitments. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we show that disclosed patents receive up to 20% more citations than matched controls, but are also more likely to be litigated. Our findings illustrate the trade-offs standard setting organizations face in crafting an effective intellectual policy to encourage agreement between competing third-parties. [Download the paper](https://www.nber.org/papers/w23627)