Patent Landscape Analysis Research Articles

A patent landscape analysis of thermoelectric generators

A patent landscape analysis of thermoelectric generators

Patent landscape analysis: A methodology in need of harmonized standards of disclosure

Statistical analyses based on patent data appeal to researchers and policy-makers from diverse fields because patents can serve as quantitative indicators of phenomena that are difficult to measure, including innovation, knowledge spillovers, collaboration, and technological space. This article conducts a comprehensive literature review of studies employing patent landscape analysis—assessing research objectives, sources of patent data, dataset sizes, the structured or unstructured nature of data, and modes of data interpretation—in order to provide an overview of methods of patent analysis across research fields. This article concludes that, while studies in certain fields seem to follow consistent norms of methodological disclosure, these norms are not universal. It emphasizes a need for greater awareness of the limitations of patent data, for improved transparency through harmonized standards for the disclosure of patent methodology, and for cross-disciplinary sharing of best practices in order to develop methodologies tailored to specific research objectives.

South Asian Intellectual Property Knowledge Network

The Patent Informatics Division project “Information Driven Innovation in South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Countries for Knowledge Development and Capacity Building” has a dual role of providing patent informatics services and capacity building in SAARC countries by offering short term training programs. Under the purview of the project the website “South Asian Intellectual Property Knowledge Network” (SAIPKN) has been started to act as a platform to provide patent informatics services, and to promote capacity building by offering e-learning opportunities on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The informatics services offered through the website are prior art search services and patent landscape analysis. Through the e-learning module of the website users can access study materials on IPR.

Nano-enabled tribological thin film coatings: global patent scenario.

The aim of this paper is to present current status and future prospects of nano-enabled tribological thin film coatings based on worldwide patent landscape analysis. The study also presents an overview of technological trends by carrying out state-of-the-art literature analysis, including survey of corporate websites. Nanostructured tribological coatings encompass a wide spectrum of nanoscale microstructures, including nanocrystalline, nanolayered, nano-multilayered, nanocomposite, nanogradient structures or their unique combinations, which are composed of single or multi-component phases. The distinct microstructural features of the coatings impart outstanding tribological properties combined with multifunctional attributes to the coated components. Their unique combination of remarkable properties make them ideal candidates for a wide range of applications in diverse fields such as cutting and metalworking tools, biomedical devices, automotive engine components, wear parts, hard disc drives etc. The patent landscape analysis has revealed that nano-enabled tribological thin film coatings have significant potential for commercial applications in view of the lion's share of corporate industry in patenting activity. The largest patent portfolio is held by Japan followed by USA, Germany, Sweden and China. The prominent players involved in this field are Mitsubishi Materials Corp., Sandvik Aktiebolag, Hitachi Ltd., Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., OC Oerlikon Corp., and so on. The outstanding potential of nanostructured thin film tribological coatings is yet to be fully unravelled and, therefore, immense opportunities are available in future for microstructurally engineered novel coatings to enhance their performance and functionality by many folds.

Patent Landscape Analysis Using Family Based Citation

After a brief overview of current patent citation practice, related terms are introduced and defined. Next, two concise workflows are examined: an empirical study of Faurecia, one of the world’s leading automobile component providers, is carried out and two patent webs are obtained, which depict Faurecia’s patenting strategy in the automobile seat rail technology field. From the two resulting patent maps, improvements are observed after employing extended family based citation as a tool. Future perspectives are also summarized for further development of this family based citation analysis methodology, so that better R&D and/or design around decisions can be made by innovators.

Developing a patent landscape methodology

Intellectual property issues span all research projects, both publicly and privately funded. As the depth and breadth of patent pools increases, freedom to operate (FTO) concerns are on the rise. Obtaining licences to intellectual property to initiate a research project is part of the challenge, but serious obstacles also arise with the commercialization of inventions. To conduct successful research projects, key pieces of intellectual property are required. In order to take research to commercialization without obstacles, it is necessary to determine freedom to operate in the early stages of a project. As part of an FTO assessment for a Canadian research project, patent databases were searched in Canada, the United States, Australia, Japan, the European Union and World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). Searches were completed using research relevant keywords provided by researchers from the project as well as a series of other related keywords. The searches yielded a list of over 400 patents containing the search word as a keyword in the patent. In addition to this, an intellectual property expert was contracted to assist the project with this research, revealing a further 400 patents. This article provides the description of a research methodology for patent landscape analysis that was developed and utilized for a Canadian research project.

A patent landscape analysis for organic photovoltaic solar cells: Identifying the technology's development phase

Organic photovoltaics (OPV) have developed into a vast research area. Progress in various directions has made it difficult to monitor the technology's precise development state. We offer a patent landscape analysis over all OPV devices, their substrates and encapsulation materials to provide an overview of patenting activity from a historical, organizational, geographical and technological point of view. Such an exercise is instrumental for private companies and research institutes aiming at both internal or external technology creation. We discuss our findings in the context of the Industrial Life Cycle model and find OPV still residing in the fluid technology development phase. Technology development is still following an exponential growth path, with the majority of patents coming from the Asian continent and in general private companies. For devices, the main technological focus can be traced back to the “H01L-031” international patent classification (IPC) main group. For the queried substrates, the most attention has gone to glass, but paper and textile have drawn significant interest too. Finally, encapsulation is found to be a less mature research field given the smaller number of patent families. The latter shows that the technology has not matured to the level where processing is carried out on a commercial scale.

Genetic Improvement of Biofuel Plants: Recent Progress and Patents

Due to depleting reserves of fossil fuels, political uncertainties, increase in demand of energy needs and growing concerns of environmental effects, bioenergy as an alternative source of energy needs had taken centre stage globally. In this report, we review the progress made in lignocellulose, cellulose and fermentation based biofuels in addition to tree borne oil seeds. Algae as a source of feedstock for the biofuel has also been reviewed. Recent efforts in genome sequencing of biofuel crops and molecular breeding approaches have increased our understanding towards crop improvement of major feedstocks. Besides, patenting trends in bioenergy sector were assessed by patent landscape analysis. The results showed an increasing trend in published patents during the last decade which is maximum during 2011. A conceptual framework of "transgenesis in biofuels to industrial application" was developed based on the patent analytics viz., International Patent Classification (IPC) analysis and Theme Maps. A detailed claim analysis based on the conceptual framework assessed the patenting trends that provided an exhaustive dimension of the technology. The study emphasizes the current thrust in bioenergy sector by various public and private institutions to expedite the process of biofuel production.

Enhancing patent landscape analysis with visualization output

A patent landscape analysis can be defined as a state-of-the-art patent search that provides graphic representations of information from search results. The focus is patents and patent applications from a given technology area or company patent portfolio. Unlike a traditional state-of-the-art search which provides relevant information in text format, patent landscape analysis provides graphics and charts to demonstrate patenting trends, leading patent assignees, collaboration partners, white space analysis, technology evaluations, etc. In this article, we will illustrate two case studies from a more in-depth evaluation of some text mining tools. Output from these tools may be integrated into patent analysis workflow to yield critical visual views of the data and actionable business intelligence.

Legal uncertainty in the area of genetic diagnostic testing

A patent landscape analysis of 22 common genetic diagnostic tests shows substantially fewer claims on genes per se than initially suggested but raises questions of legal uncertainty as to the claims' scope.

UK innovation nanotechnology patent landscape analysis

UK innovation nanotechnology patent landscape analysis

Patent Landscape Analysis of Recycling and Separation Technologies

Patent Landscape Analysis of Recycling and Separation Technologies