Defensive publication provides adequate protection towards inventions and clears the risk of IP theft.

Another approach is defensive publication. It can be considered when the invention does not qualify for secrecy, for example: if the invention is self-evident and can easily be reverse engineered, and if the costs of patenting outweigh the benefits. Another reason can be identified in the risks associated with trade secrecy, such as involuntary leaks (Mansfield (1985)). As the name suggests, the strategy consists of disclosing the details of an invention, effectively making it publicly available. One of the main requirements for a patent grant on an invention is that the invention must be new since the objective of the patent system is to promote progress. To verify if an invention is new, it is measured against the prior art publicly available. The prior art contains all information which was made public at anytime, anywhere and in any way before the patent application. Defensive publications hence qualify as prior art and render it impossible for competitors (as well as the original owner of the intellectual property) to get a patent on the published invention. Here again, timeliness plays a central role: for example, legislations in individual countries such as USA, Australia, South Korea, Canada and a few others specify a year-long grace period. In effect, a publication only counts as prior art if it was published 12 months before the invention. It can prove to be a serious challenge to ascertain whether a disclosure has been available for more than a year. The capability to undoubtedly prove the exact time of publication can be the decisive element settling a lawsuit – or invalidating a patent. Theoretically, defensive publications bear massive potential: for the inventor, it guarantees freedom to operate, identified as “the fundamental precondition for appropriation [of value from inventive activity]” by Henkel et al. (2008). Furthermore, the entire society benefits as the invention becomes public, remains unprotected and can thus be used and improved by everyone.