This paper considers why a patentee may have little incentives to reduce the uncertainty
of patent boundary. Clearer patent rights, i.e., when patent examination results
better predict subsequent court decisions, provide better guidance to technologyspecific
investment and encourage technology adoption. Undermild conditions, however,
the patentee’s post-adoption payoff decreases in clarity. The patentee prefers to
maintain “fuzzy” patent rights in order to monopolize the use of the technology, or
when promoting technology adoption is not a strong concern. The latter happens
when the patentee, as a pure licensor, has a low (ex ante) quality invention
