Does Venture Capital Investment Lead to a Change in Start-Ups’ Intellectual Property Strategies?

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of venture capital (VC) funding on start-ups' intellectual property (IP) strategies. More specifically, the number of additionally filed patent and trademark applications after subsequent VC funding rounds is investigated. The results from the analysis of 531 start-ups show that VC funding has a strong influence on consecutive IP strategy. Already first funding rounds lead to a remarkable growth of start-ups' IP portfolios. Yet, although VCs especially promote product commercialization of start-ups, a greater growth of trademark compared to patent portfolios cannot be identified. However, this changes during the progress along the venture cycle.