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Who reads patents?

Biotechnology and chemistry researchers look to the patent literature as a source of technical information more than researchers in other fields, and few researchers are deterred from reading patents by concerns about enhanced legal liability.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a Hoover IP2 Fellowship.

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Correspondence to Lisa Larrimore Ouellette.

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Ouellette, L. Who reads patents?. Nat Biotechnol 35, 421–424 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3864

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