Freedom to operate: how family firms navigate the maze of intellectual property

Abstract This paper advances economic geography by shifting the analytical focus from innovation exploration to exploitation. While the established distinction between Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and Doing, Using and Interacting (DUI) explains how innovations emerge, it overlooks how firms secure and sustain access to technologies. We introduce Freedom to Operate (FTO) as a unifying rationale for innovation exploitation, integrating patenting, disclosure, and secrecy into a relational framework that accounts for third-party behavior. Drawing on an in-depth case study of family firms in Heilbronn-Franconia, we identify three distinct strategies that structure firms’ practices: exclusivity, selectivity, and inclusivity. Our findings reveal that firms combine different practices to maximize FTO, often foregoing patents despite active R&D investment. This perspective extends prevailing innovation frameworks and offers policy-relevant insights for supporting SMEs as they navigate complex technological landscapes.