Final answer:
The statement regarding firms not applying for patents to keep information from competitors is false. Firms patent their inventions to legally protect them, whereas trade secrets are kept confidential without patents or public disclosure.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement 'Firms don't apply for patents so that competitors can't access information in the patents' is false. In fact, firms seek patents to protect their inventions and intellectual property for a certain period, during which competitors cannot legally copy the patented invention.
Patents are a form of government-enforced barrier to entry that grant the patent holder exclusive rights to their invention. On the other hand, some firms may rely on trade secrets to protect their intellectual property, like the formula for Coca-Cola, which is not patented but is instead kept secret to prevent competitors from replicating it.