Innovation Disclosures and the Design of Technology Acquisition Contracts: Evidence from the American Inventors Protection Act
利用美国发明人保护法案（AIPA）通过公开专利申请增加技术信息，研究发现受该法案影响较大的收购交易中，重大不利变化条款和或有对价的使用减少，表明信息披露降低了合同保护需求。
Material adverse change (MAC) clauses and contingent earnouts are important contractual mechanisms used to protect acquirers from the risk of adverse selection. Yet, the extant literature has not sufficiently explored the antecedents of their use, in particular within the context of technology acquisitions. In this study, we take advantage of the passage of the American Inventors Protection Act (AIPA), which disseminated information through the publication of patent applications, to explore the impact of innovation disclosures on the design of technology acquisition contracts. Consistent with the view that an increase in the availability of information related to the broader technological landscape reduces the need for contractual protections in acquisition contracts, our analysis demonstrates that deals disproportionately affected by AIPA have less expansive MAC clauses and are less likely to feature contingent earnouts. These results provide new evidence linking the use of MAC clauses and earnouts with acquisitions subject to information frictions.