The policy’s biggest risk is that employees will take their inventions with them, posing a competitive threat if they leave, according to Jeff Sica, president and chief investment officer of Sica Wealth Management LLC.

“This is a radical way of dealing with patents, which is far different than anything investors have seen before,” said Sica, who oversees about $1 billion under management. “People may appreciate the openness and invitation of competition.”

Sica, who’s considering buying shares of Twitter, said that the company has developed a strong enough brand to withstand the competition.

Jim Prosser, a spokesman for Twitter, declined to comment.

Twitter is seeking to raise more than $1 billion in its IPO, people familiar with the situation said last week, and will probably start a roadshow to market the offering in the last week of October. The company pegged the fair value of its common stock at $20.62 a share in August.

Active Users

Twitter’s potential, as it lures advertising with more than 230 million monthly active users, means it could fetch $50 a share by the end of 2014, according to Robert Peck, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc. That user base is also critical to defending Twitter from competitors, he said.

“Investors are asking if Twitter’s not protecting their business,” Peck said by phone. “I think there’s a business risk there, but at this point, the network effect protects Twitter.”

Adding patents ahead of an IPO can help a company raise a higher amount in its market debut, according to a study of 234 software firms in the U.S. An additional patent obtained prior to the debut increased proceeds by about 0.9 percent, according to a working paper presented last year by Diego Useche, a researcher at the University of Bordeaux.

“The more that IP is protected, the less infringement opportunity there is, and therefore, would increase the valuation,” said Peter Adriaens, a professor of entrepreneurship and strategy in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.