Patenting and the Varying Enforcement of Covenants Not to Compete : A Comparative

History demonstrates that the numerous factors determining which paths technologically innovative industrial clusters follow often fall into place serendipitously. Paul Krugman notes, “given a slightly different sequence of events, Silicon Valley might have been in Los Angeles, Massachusetts, or even Oxfordshire.” Not surprisingly, advantageous circumstances rather than carefully premeditated policy can determine the success of innovative activity despite the importance society places on the institutionalized intellectual property (IP) regimes, which are credited for delivering incredible prosperity. By better grasping the different forces at play in the differing contexts in which technology clusters arise, policymakers can better understand the role