Patent Families Research Articles

Delivery of therapeutic small interfering RNA: The current patent-based landscape

Implementing small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a promising therapy because it silences disease-related genes theoretically. However, the efficient delivery of siRNA is challenging, which limits its therapeutic applications. Various pharmaceutical delivery systems containing key technologies have been developed and patented, which are of great concern to developers in the field. Despite numerous studies devoted to siRNA-delivery technologies, few researchers have systematically examined relevant patents. Patents, as bridges connecting academic progress with applicable innovation, encapsulate cumulative technological innovations and provide valuable information for academic research and commercial development. This study aims to analyze advances in therapeutic siRNA delivery technology from a patent perspective. A total of 11,509 patent documents from 3,309 patent families were collected, classified into 10 technological categories, and comprehensively analyzed. An overall patent landscape of siRNA delivery was presented from the temporal, spatial, organizational, and technological dimensions. This work is expected to help researchers and developers in the field of siRNA delivery form a basis for decision-making by combining our findings with supplementary data.

Innovative intensity in the mining industry: Evidence from patent families

A key channel for innovation in the mining industry is the acquisition of technologies integrated into the equipment, services and inputs of suppliers. This article looks at several aspects of the innovation process in the mining industry on the basis of over 200,000 patented inventions filed by businesses, individuals, research centers, and educational institutions during 1970–2015. The main theme of study is the influence of mineral prices, mineral rents, and overall innovative performance on sectorial and technological innovation, timing and intensity of inventions in mining technologies. The evidence shows that long-term mineral prices and overall innovative performance are key drivers. Exposure to mineral rents may sometimes delay the adjustment of certain mining technologies to new market conditions, suggesting that countries specialized in mining may innovate more slowly. Furthermore, the evidence shows that the average inventive productivity of patent applicants is positively associated with the quality of inventions, the length of time applicants have patented (i.e., experience), and long-term mineral prices.

Quantifying the influence of Open Access on innovation and patents

Background: Open Access aims at improving the discovery, access and re-use of research not only within the scientific community, but also within broader society, for instance to promote innovation in industry. Yet, the extent to which openly available scientific work impacts technological inventions remains largely unknown. Methods: We combine publicly available data sources about patents and scholarly publications to explore the extent to which Open Access scientific literature is cited in patents. Results: Investigating over 22 million patent families indexed in Google Patents between 2010 and 2020, we found that around one third referenced non-patent literature. However, the number of references per patent family can vary considerably across technological sectors and inventor countries. Based on a sample of 215,962 scientific non-patent references published between 2008 and 2020, we determined the Open Access status using Unpaywall, Europe PubMed Central and arXiv. The proportion of Open Access citations grew over the years, with nearly half of cited articles being openly available. Discussion: In line with research on both technology-science linkage and Open Access, we found considerable country- and subject- specific variations. In particular, patents representing inventions from the US and the UK cited Open Access work disproportionately more often, although it is challenging to link these observations to specific science policies and incentives. We recommend that follow-up research and monitoring exercise take advantage of a growing evidence base associated with patent citations and Open Access evidence.

Biodiesel from beef tallow: a technological patent mapping / Biodiesel de sebo bovino: um mapeamento de patente tecnológica

Beef tallow has become indispensable for the production of biodiesel since the introduction of biofuel manufacturing methods. The objective of this study is to create a technological map of patents that have employed bovine tallow in the manufacturing of biodiesel over the last ten years (2009–2019). The methodological approach was established using a bibliographic survey and a content analysis, in which keywords from the European Patent Office's (Espacenet) and Derwent Innovations Index databases were employed (DII). After a preliminary examination, 34 patents were found, divided into eight patent families, with China being the largest repository of these technologies, suggesting that the companies that promoted the use of beef tallow as a fuel had diversified completely, with no monopoly on technological content for a specific group of institutions.

Pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of Chagas disease: patenting trends in the 2016-2021 period.

American trypanosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease and an endemic problem in 21 Latin American countries, whose treatment relies on only two US FDA-approved drugs: benznidazole and nifurtimox. Patent literature reveals vital information on new trends in therapies for various diseases, including Chagas disease. The authors used the patent databases of the world's major patent offices to generate an overview of patent trends related to the treatment of Chagas disease. A total of 50 patent families were collected and grouped as 'small molecules', 'pharmaceutical compositions of known compounds'and vaccines. From the results and interpretation, it can be concluded that the treatment of Chagas disease receives little attention in the field of patents and that the upward trend is minimal.

Review of Patents Issued to Computer Architecture Companies in 2021—Part II

In the last article (Part I), which appeared in the March/April 2022 issue of IEEE Micro, the following was analyzed: 1) the number of all patents and the number of computer architecture patents issued in 2021 and 2) the distribution of those patents across patent classes, for 18 computer architecture companies. The author then presented a notable patent for five of those companies. This article presents a notable patent for the remaining companies. As described in more detail in the previous article, each of the following patents is from the G06F (“Electric digital data processing”) patent class as that patent class had the largest number of patents for all but three companies and because it was the only patent class where all companies had a least one patent. Furthermore, the below patents are from large patent families, which are generally considered to be more valuable.

Gender differences among innovators: a patent analysis of stars

ABSTRACT This article examines the gender gap in patenting activities and the predominance of male innovators among outstanding inventors, so-called ‘stars'. In particular, we investigate different metrics of productivity among top inventors, identified employing different definitions with respect to the quantity and quality of output. We distinguish between prolific inventors, with high numbers of patents registered in their name, and high-quality inventors, with portfolios comprising patents with large numbers of citations. Using patent data for more than 600,000 inventors, we find that star inventors differ from the pool of non-star inventors in terms of gender: while for non-star inventors being a woman constitutes a significant disadvantage, for stars it actually presents a positive association both with quantity and quality of innovative outputs. Moreover, career length constitutes a key premium for female inventors’ productivity, but with smaller magnitudes among stars. The only exception where we observe no gender differences is among inventors with large portfolios (more than five patent families): among them, women do not display any significant gap in the quality of outputs, nor does career length provide a gendered premium.

AI technologies and employment: micro evidence from the supply side

ABSTRACT In this work we investigate the possible job-creation impact of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, focusing on the supply side, where the development of these technologies can be conceived as product innovations in upstream sectors. The empirical analysis is based on a worldwide longitudinal sample (obtained by merging the EPO PATSTAT and BvD-ORBIS databases) of more than 3,500 front-runner companies that patented AI-related inventions over the period 2000–2016. Based on system GMM estimates of dynamic panel models, our results show a positive and significant impact of AI patent families on employment, supporting the labour-friendly nature of AI product innovation.

Mapping the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in science, technology and innovation: application of machine learning in SDG-oriented artefact detection

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all by defining priorities and aspirations for 2030. This paper attempts to expand on the United Nations SDGs definition by leveraging the interrelationship between science and technology. We utilize SDG classification of scientific publications to compile a machine learning (ML) model to classify the SDG relevancy in patent documents, used as a proxy of technology development. The ML model was used to classify a sample of patent families registered in the European Patent Office (EPO). The analysis revealed the extent to which SDGs were addressed in patents. We also performed a case study to identify the offered extension of ML model detection regarding the SDG orientation of patents. In response to global goals and sustainable development initiatives, the findings can advance the identification challenges of science and technology artefacts. Furthermore, we offer input towards the alignment of R&D efforts and patenting strategies as well as measurement and management of their contribution to the realization of SDGs.

A Patent Data Analysis of the Innovation Trends in Biological Control Agent Formulations.

Biological control (i.e., biocontrol) can be defined as the use of microbial inoculants with a direct and purposeful manipulation of natural enemies, potentially replacing harmful pesticides, to control pests, plant pathogens, and weeds. This study concerns patent analysis of biocontrol agent-based formulations. This form of patent analysis encapsulates information that could be used as a reference by researchers in the fields of agriculture and plants, as well as those interested, especially in biocontrol agents for agriculture. The state has been reviewed by introducing what has been patented concerning Biocontrol Agents (BCAs). Four patent databases have been used, and different keywords and related terms to BCAs were used, and patents were searched according to title, abstract, and claims. The search was then filtered regarding publication year, patent families, patent classifications, inventors, applicants, owners, and jurisdictions. During a search, 2371 patent documents were found between 1982 and 2021. The United States was ranked first with 694 patent documents. 2015 was the year with the maximum number of patent documents (278). The patent classification codes reveal that most inventions are intended for biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing or obtained from microorganisms, viruses, microbial fungi, etc. Moreover, they are also intended for biocidal, pest repellant, pest attractant, or plant growth regulatory activities of chemical compounds or preparations, such as fungicides, athropodicides, and nematocides, which are concentrated in most patents. The knowledge clusters and expert driving factors of this patent analysis indicate that the research and development based on the formulation of biocontrol agents are concentrated in most patents.

China’s New Digital Infrastructure

A key component of China’s endeavour to develop new advanced infrastructure is the expansion of the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communications networks. China has thus taken up a leading position in 5G innovation, led by Huawei with a declared share of 13.53% of global 5G patent families. The challenges are how to leverage the benefits from the new capabilities of 5G networks and implementing the new 5G systems to enhance productivity and economic growth.

Multilayer patent citation networks: A comprehensive analytical framework for studying explicit technological relationships

The use of patent citation networks as research tools is becoming increasingly commonplace in the field of innovation studies. However, these networks rarely consider the contexts in which these citations are generated and are generally restricted to a single jurisdiction. Here, we propose and explore the use of a multilayer network framework that can naturally incorporate citation metadata and stretch across jurisdictions, allowing for a complete view of the global technological landscape that is accessible through patent data. Taking a conservative approach that links citation network layers through triadic patent families, we first observe that these layers contain complementary, rather than redundant, information about technological relationships. To probe the nature of this complementarity, we extract network communities from both the multilayer network and analogous single-layer networks, then directly compare their technological composition with established technological similarity networks. We find that while technologies are more splintered across communities in the multilayer case, the extracted communities match much more closely the established networks. We conclude that by capturing citation context, a multilayer representation of patent citation networks is, conceptually and empirically, better able to capture the significant nuance that exists in real technological relationships when compared to traditional, single-layer approaches. We suggest future avenues of research that take advantage of novel computational tools designed for use with multilayer networks.

Global Patent Landscape of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Drugs

ObjectiveTo characterize the changing landscape of BPH drugs by investigating patent documents derived from pipeline projects. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) drugs were first approved for the mainstream market about 20 years ago. The fixed patent term warns of possibly transforming the landscape of BPH drugs as technological and commercial substitution causes the displacement of established technologies and competitors by newer ones. However, very few studies focus on patents of BPH drugs, though many literature reviews have analyzed this topic from technological and clinical perspectives. MethodsAll available patent data relevant to BPH-related drugs were collected from the Cortellis database. Descriptive statistics, bibliometric analyses, and citation analyses were used to analyze the patent landscape. ResultsBy analyzing 1,936 patent families from 1967 to 2019, this study addresses the main results on the changing landscape of BPH drugs, involving associated indications, the shifting centers of innovation globally, notable formulation patents, and promising therapeutics. ConclusionThe results provide a significant reference for decision-making by researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and investors with an interest in BPH drugs.

Delivering negative emissions innovation on the right track: A patent analysis

Negative emission technologies (NETs) are becoming increasingly popular as an important means of combating climate change. However, NET development is still in its infancy compared with other solutions that have been thoroughly examined in the literature, such as renewable energies. Despite advances in the understanding of NETs, most existing studies are subject-constrained, case-driven, and literature-based, leaving a lack of comprehensive tracking of the wide range of NET options at a more granular level. The present study aims to fill this research gap from a patent standpoint by providing a thorough assessment of global technical improvements and achievements occurring in this domain over a 40-year timeline. After two rounds of rigorous screening of 936 patent families originally retrieved using a set of widely recognized patent search queries for NETs, our analysis kept 891 patents pertaining to 452 patent families. Then, the historical evolution and geographical distribution of these negative emission innovations were investigated, as well as tracked changes in technological hotspots, and innovation drivers and knowledge flows were identified. To advise on and steer the future direction of prospective NET breakthroughs, the study highlighted 16 subcategories of technologies within five NET categories.

Is There a Smart Sustainability Transition in Manufacturing? Tracking Externalities in Machine Tools over Three Decades

Only one third of studies on the Industry 4.0–sustainability link have been conducted in manufacturing, despite its centrality to “ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns” (UN Sustainable Development Goal nr. 12). The European Ecodesign Directive singled out machine tools as key to the sustainability transition, not least due to their high energy usage and their increasingly becoming enmeshed in cyber-physical production systems. This paper aims to find out whether the digital transformation underway in machine tools is sustainable as well as to identify its central technological pathways. Externalities in machine tools are tracked over three decades (1990–2018) by means of a multi-method setting: (1) mapping the Technological Innovation System (TIS) of machine tools; (2) co-occurrence analysis of transnational patent families, in order to reduce geographical and market distortions (Questel’s FAMPAT); and (3) analysis of the incidence of digital and sustainable technologies in machine tools patent applications (WIPO PATENTSCOPE). A smart sustainability transition is currently not hampered by a lack of smart technologies but rather by the sluggish introduction of sustainable machine tools. Cyber-physical and robot machine tools have been found to be central pathways to a smart sustainability transition. Implications for harnessing externalities reach beyond the machine tools industry.

Firms’ Involvement in Standardization and Average Total Costs Per Patent Family

Firms’ Involvement in Standardization and Average Total Costs Per Patent Family

Technological prospecting of music therapy in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by cognitive impairment and progressive memory loss and drug treatments have limited efficacy. Thus, non-pharmacological interventions, such as music therapy, have shown to be promising as supporting pharmacological treatment and, therefore, may arouse commercial interest regarding the development of this type of product. Thus, this study aims to carry out a patentometric survey on patent registrations with music therapy in the treatment of AD. A systematic search was carried out from 2000 to 2020 on the Orbti-Questel website, searching for documents referring to music therapies in AD. The terms “Alzheimer music methodology active therapy” and “Alzheimer music methodology passive therapy” were used. After searching, reading, and excluding duplicate results, we found four patent families referring to music therapy in AD and all were selected as a result, which was considered little compared to the number of studies published on the subject.

Global Innovation Trends for Plant-Based Vaccines Production: A Patent Analysis.

The use of plants as biofactories for the production of medical products and vaccines has a long history, but the recent COVID-19 pandemic has caused this set of technologies, for their potential to contribute to the development of innovative solutions for tackling pandemic spread worldwide, to rise in prominence. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the global innovation scenario of plant-based vaccine production. Methods: Patent search using a specific set of technical classification codes and keywords was performed using the Questel-Orbit database, with a final output of 180 patent families, corresponding to 1397 single patents. Results: Plant-based vaccines production is an innovation sector with positive development especially in the last five-year period (30% growth). Fifty percent of the patents were registered in the United States, standing out as the most attractive patent system worldwide. The inventive activity was led by private firms owning the 49% of the patent families, and the key-players group includes the companies that successfully developed plant-based COVID-19 vaccine candidates, indicating a strong connection between the expertise in innovation production and the capacity to adapt inventions to the current pandemic vaccine demand. Virus-like particles technology has increased in importance over the past few years. Conclusion: Patent data confirm their relevant role as indicators of innovation and technological evolution. Plant-based vaccines are expected to acquire an increasing role over the next few years as the current pandemic acts as an innovation catalyst.

Quali-quantitative synthesis of the global scenario of patent families about leprosy.

The work presents the analysis and synthesis of patent families about leprosy worldwide in the last 20 years. Three technological aspects were defined for the study of both portfolios, thus defined: diagnostic, drug/treatment and vaccine. Three thousand and three hundred twenty-three (3323) patent families were identified (790 for diagnostic, 1515 for drug and 1018 for vaccine). Fifty-eight (58) patent holders were identified and analyzed, with the most expressive portfolio of patent families, distributed in 13 countries. For the recovery of patent families, the ORBIT Intelligence® system from QUESTEL® was used. Using quantitative and qualitative analysis and synthesis, the patterns of five strategic indicators on the global patent scenario about leprosy were observed, namely: holders of patent families; the years of filing for unionist priority for patent families; countries of unionist priority for patent families; the legal status of filed patent families; and the legal status of patent families by country of protection. It is suggested that new public policies be created to encourage synergy between patent families and the social determinants of neglected populations, in order to induce a safe path to technological independence and better performance in the fight against leprosy in the Brazil.

Technological evolution of internal combustion engine vehicle: A patent data analysis

Current mobility is highly dependent on fossil fuels which are the energy vectors of internal combustion engines, which power more than 99% of all road vehicles. In order to reduce pollutant emissions from ever growing urban centers, electric vehicles have emerged and their importance is growing steeply. However, these still face several problems regarding energy supply, storage and production, as well as life-cycle CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, there is a large fleet of vehicles with a vast majority of combustion-based power plants that need to be improved for a proper transition to total electrification. Therefore, it is essential that the remaining internal combustion engines become more efficient and sustainable energy conversion devices. For policy and business decision makers, understanding the trends of evolution is essential to making appropriate decisions. Thus, this study aimed at mapping the technological evolution of internal combustion engine and at understanding the main trends through patent data. The current stage of technological maturity was determined through a Logistics model, and the subtechnologies with the greatest potential for development and diffusion were analyzed. The search for the data was performed through Questel Orbit platform, in the United States Patent Trademark Office database. In 2018, internal combustion engine had a technological maturity rate of 81.77%. The subtechnologies that have the highest diffusion speed, among those compared, are: friction loss (32.14), water injection (21.05) and hybrid technology (20.88). It is forecast that internal combustion engines have approximately 27 years of estimated remaining time for saturation in the number of patent families.