Patent Process Research Articles

Web-based methodology for extracting technology words in Chinese process patents

PurposeThe purpose of constructing the technology/function matrix is to analyze the patents in the target domain. The extraction of technology words is an important part of the construction of technology/function matrix. This algorithm is used to solve the problem of low efficiency of traditional Chinese process patents technology words extraction.Design/methodology/approachThe authors propose a Chinese process patents technology words extraction method based on the improved term frequency–inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) algorithm to help technicians obtain the technology words in the target domain. According to the characteristics of Chinese process patents technology words, the TF value of candidate technology words is divided into four parts, and the corpus of IDF value calculation of candidate technology words is selected.FindingsThrough the test of Chinese process patents in the domain of path planning, this study shows that the method is feasible and practical. It can help users quickly and accurately obtain the technology words of Chinese process patents in the target domain.Practical implicationsWith the increasing number of patents on the network-based patent information platform, patent analysis of massive Chinese process patents has become a research focus. The method proposed in this paper can facilitate users to extract technology words from massive Chinese process patents for patent analysis.Originality/valueThis paper aims to improve the efficiency of Chinese process patents technology words extraction. The authors hope that the proposed method can reduce the labor and time cost of Chinese process patents technology words extraction.

Study of hypocholesterolemic and antiatherosclerotic properties of Medicago sativa L. cultivated in Egypt

Alfalfa was reported to be hypocholesterolemic and antiatherosclerotic. Saponin glycosides were suggested to be responsible for this activity by neutralizing cholesterol in the stomach, enabling it to be excreted from the body. This makes alfalfa superior to the current anti-cholesterol medications which act by blocking cholesterol synthesizing apparatus. This study was undertaken in an attempt to prepare an alfalfa extract with high saponin content and free or low content of other toxic constituents found in alfalfa (canavanine and coumestrol), which causes serious side effects. A patent process was used to render alfalfa toxin free and to produce a drug present in the international market. Our study is based on monitoring the Egyptian crop at two different localities for its saponin, canavanine and coumestrol contents at different growth stages. The study showed that the tested extract of the chosen stage to be biologically studied (hypocholesterolemic and antiatherosclerotic effects) on the basis of the highest saponin content was just before fruiting stage of the locality A. This stage was free from both coumestrol and canavanine. The study proved that the Egyptian crop of alfalfa was found to safely reduce natural cholesterol and to possess a strong antiatherosclerotic activity. This extract (1) produced the most significant decrease in total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol by 85.1 and 88%, respectively, of the corresponding levels in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. This decrease is more significant than that produced by gemfibrozil (73 and 74%) upon concomitant administration with a cholesterol enriched diet using the same animal model at the tested dose level. Also, it was obvious that all alfalfa preparations produced significant antioxidant properties. All alfalfa extracts possessed antiatherosclerotic activity as observed by the almost normalization of the aortic sections upon concomitant use of alfalfa extracts with cholesterol-enriched diet.

Measuring the drafting alignment of patent documents using text mining.

How would an inventor, entrepreneur, investor, or patent examiner quantify the extent to which the inventive claims listed in a patent document align with patent specification? Since a specification that is poorly aligned with the inventive claims can render an invention unpatentable and can invalidate an already issued patent, an effective measure of alignment is necessary. We define a novel measure of drafting alignment using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). The measure is defined for each patent document by first identifying the latent topics underlying the claims and the specification, and then using the Hellinger distance to find the proximity between the topical coverages. We demonstrate the use of the novel measure for data processing patent documents related to cybersecurity. The properties of the proposed measure are further investigated using exploratory data analysis, and it is shown that generally alignment is positively associated with the prior patenting efforts as well as the tendency to include figures in a document.

HanLP-Based Technology Function Matrix Construction on Chinese Process Patents

The technology/function matrix is an essential method of patent analysis. This paper presents a semi-automated methodology to create technology/function matrix for Chinese process patents in any given domain. The approach adopts computer-aided algorithms in the process of extracting technology words, extracting function words, and generating technology/function matrix. The purpose of this paper is to increase the efficiency of building technology/function matrix and reduce the cost of manpower and time. The Chinese process patents in the domain of robot path planning art taken as an example to verify the methodology.

Access to the Patent System

How likely is it that the average American will become an inventor? With a novel idea and hard work, it should be a possibility for all Americans. The data suggests otherwise. Most patents are obtained by inventors that work for large corporations. Small businesses, solo inventors, women, and minorities lag behind their counterparts in patenting. A common explanation for this phenomenon is that it is a “pipeline” issue. However, evidence suggests that the patent system is not accessible to underrepresented innovators for more problematic reasons. At almost the same time as information about the concentration of patenting activity has garnered attention, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has become more vocal about its interest in Artificial Intelligence (“AI”). AI will transform how the USPTO examines patent applications. It may also transform how people invent. What has been absent from the conversation about AI and patenting is the negative effect AI has had when introduced in other social systems. For example, AI models can exhibit bias that concentrates power around incumbents. In addition, leaders overestimate the ability of AI models to solve human issues. This article refers to these problems collectively as “AI enthusiasm.” This Article argues that AI enthusiasm threatens to make the patent system less accessible for underrepresented innovators. In response, this article presents a framework for improving access to the patent system given the emergence of AU. First, limits must be placed on AI-assisted examination informed by best practices that combat AI bias. Second, the USPTO should grant patents to inventions that are created with the assistance of AI only if the AI involved adheres to a set of best practices that reduce the chance of biased outcomes. Finally, true access involves removing obstacles to the innovation culture that has historically been closed to underrepresented inventors. Thus, AI tools should be deployed to assist underrepresented innovators in the patenting process. Collectively, these measures may provide U.S. innovators from all walks of life the opportunity to call themselves an inventor.

Gender bias in patenting process

• The number of patent collaborations conforms to the power-law distribution. • Women are underrepresented in the invention and patenting process. • Both male and female have strong preference for same-gender inventors. • It needs intensify efforts to combat gender bias in the patenting process. Collaboration among inventors is very important in patenting an invention. Inventors collaborate based on their professional knowledge and experience. Because of the non-disclosure nature of the invention process, it is difficult to test the factors influencing collaboration between inventors, e.g., gender bias. In this study, employing the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) dataset with 6.64 million patents, we have identified the gender of 4.66 million inventors, including 2.12 million lead inventors and 2.54 million joint inventors. We find that women are underrepresented in the patent collaboration process and that both genders have strong preference for same-gender inventors. Moreover, even in those fields that have equal proportions of male and female inventors, gender bias persists. These results highlight the need to intensify efforts to combat gender bias in the patenting process rather than focusing solely on the lack of equal gender representation in the numerical proportions.

Stylized Facts of U.S. Patenting – Issue Rates, Entry Pendency, Characteristics of Office Actions, Examiner Citations and Child Continuations across Technology Centres and Geographies

We examined ten years (1st January 2008 until 31st December 2017) of the regular non-provisional utility applications data (~3.63 million applications) from three different United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) sources - Patent Examination Data System (PEDS), Patents-view database and Office Action Research data set, to present stylized facts of the US patenting process. We analysed cross sectional and temporal variation in the patent issue rates, entry pend-ency, office actions (percentage disposal and entry pend-ency conditional on the nth office action instant, type of rejections, proportion of citations in different types of rejections), child continuation behavior and citations by applicants and examiners in the granted applications. This analysis was performed across progenitor and continuation applications, both at first action disposals or post office actions and across eight technology centers and seven geographic locations (North America, Western Europe, Japan, Korea (South), Taiwan, China and India). The patent issue rate differed substantially between technology centers and geographic locations based on the type of patent application and its nature of disposal i.e. at the first action or post office actions. The patent issue rate were higher and the entry pend-ency lower for the continuation applications, than that for the progenitor applications. Continuation applications were more likely ~ 28% against ~ 19% of the progenitor applications to exhibit child continuity – a possible strategic use of continuations. Examiners provided more US citations than foreign citations; thus, an exhaustive US prior art study could be of value to the applicants. Emerging markets showed an increasing trend in the number of patent applications filed with USPTO - from 2008 to 2017, China and India showed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of ~ 15% and ~ 10% in the number of patent applications filed, respectively.

Patents for NLP Software: An Empirical Review

Natural language processing (NLP) patents are one of the fastest growing niche segments in the technology patent marketplace. NLP technologies power the latest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. For example, NLP technology supports Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Facebook’s friend recommendation system. Yet, while the literature on software patents is visibly scaling – the literature specifically focused on NLP patents is non-existent. This Article draws on a growing body of computational linguistics, intellectual property, and technology law scholarship to provide novel NLP patent analysis and critique. Further, this Article contributes the first empirical NLP patent review, including novel software descriptions, market modeling, and legal analysis relating to patent claims. First, this Article discusses the two main technical approaches to developing NLP software. Second, this Article models an evolving NLP patent dataset, offering economic insights, legal claims analysis, and patent valuation strategies.

Desempeño de una Oficina de Transferencia de Tecnología en el contexto de gestión de patentes: Estudio de caso de la OTT de la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla

Introducción: Con la finalidad de detonar la transferencia de conocimiento, el gobierno mexicano, ha establecido la política pública de la creación de Oficinas de Transferencia de Tecnología (OTT); sin embargo, esta política ha mostrado ser ineficaz debido a la inconsistencia en la permanencia de la mayoría de las OTT mexicanas. A pesar de esto, existen algunas OTT que han sobresalido; tal es el caso de la OTT de la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (OTT-BUAP) que fue establecida en el 2011. Dicha oficina ha posicionado a esta universidad en los primeros lugares a nivel nacional en el contexto de generación de patentes, razón para que esta OTT haya sido el objeto de análisis de este estudio para dar respuesta a la siguiente pregunta de esta investigación: ¿Cómo ha logrado la OTT-BUAP posicionarse dentro de las mejores OTT en México, en el ámbito de gestión de patentes, durante el periodo 2011-2018?El objetivo general de esta investigación es contribuir al conocimiento del especialista en transferencia y comercialización de tecnología que se dedica a la gestión de las OTT Universitarias. En cuanto a la revisión de la literatura, se encontró que este tema relacionado con el desempeño de las OTT mexicanas en el ámbito de gestión de patentes ha sido poco estudiado, por lo cual se justifica esta investigación.Método: Esta investigación se considera de tipo exploratorio, cualitativo, descriptivo y transversal, la cual consistió en aplicar la metodología del estudio del caso a la OTT-BUAP, basándose en seis proposiciones formuladas a partir de fuentes secundarias.Resultados: Se halló que de los procesos de protección de propiedad intelectual, consultoría, licenciamiento y la creación de spinoffs, solo el proceso de protección de propiedad intelectual es el que se encuentra en etapa de maduración en dicha OTT. También, se halló que la OTT-BUAP cuenta con un equipo experto en la redacción de patentes, el cual fue contratado específicamente, para la creación e impulso de dicha OTT.Discusión o Conclusión: Según los resultados encontrados en esta investigación, la razón por la que la OTT-BUAP se ha posicionado dentro de las mejores OTT en México en el periodo 2011-2018, se debe, en gran medida, a que cuenta con un proceso de patentamiento eficaz, basado en una normativa equitativa en la repartición de regalías apoyado en un plan estratégico de incentivos para motivar a los investigadores a proteger los resultados de sus investigaciones. Dicho proceso fue diseñado y gestionado por un investigador proveniente del Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial, experto en protección de la propiedad intelectual, contratado por la BUAP, específicamente, para conformar un equipo de trabajo profesional para la redacción de patentes y otras tareas relacionadas con la transferencia y comercialización de la tecnología proveniente de la BUAP.

Is the Sky Falling in the US Patent Industry?

AbstractIn the last decade, US patent processes have increasingly been affected by the change of political tides. How can innovators best navigate the shifts?

Spermatic Cord Ultrasonography Guiding Strategy for Optimizing Treatment of Unilateral Inguinal Hernia

Background: The strategies forchildren with initial unilateral inguinal hernia are open or laparoscopic herniorrhaphy. However, the clinical criteria for choosing an optimized treatment remains unclear.In this study, we aim to find a new strategy for optimizing the treatment of unilateral inguinal hernia. Methods: 1843 boys with left-sided inguinal hernia underwent open or laparoscopic herniorrhaphy were enrolled in our study and were divided into two groups: ultrasonography group (UG) and non- ultrasonography group (NUG). Spermatic cord ultrasonography was used for detecting the width of spermatic cord (WSC). Age at initial operation, WSC, operative findings, hospitalization expenses, incidence of metachronous inguinal hernia (MIH), rate of contralateral patent processes vaginalis (CPPV) and complications were recorded and analyzed. Findings: In the open herniorrhaphy group, the incidence of MIH in the WSC < 0 · 35 cm of UG was lower than NUG. The patients with left-sided WSC ≥ 0·55 cm all had been confirmed contralateral inguinal hernia. In the laparoscopic herniorrhaphy group, the rate of CPPV in UG was much higher than NUG. There was no significant difference in total incidence of complications between two groups. Interpretation: Spermatic cord ultrasonography was helpful for choosing the treatment of unilateral inguinal hernia. Following this strategy may reduce the incidence of MIH, increase the rate of CPPV of laparoscopic herniorrhaphy without any increase in complications. Funding: This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China 81901989 and Project funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2019M652108 and 2018M642463. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: This retrospective study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Patients’ guardian all gave written informed consent.

A patent-based model of entrepreneurship education in Brazil

PurposeThis article is aimed at improving understanding of the possibilities and implications of using patents as a teaching instrument for universities in developing countries in order to enable undergraduate business students to discuss critical issues associated with the commercialization of technological innovations.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on an explorative case of an experiential teaching exercise involving undergraduate students addressing the development of business plans addressing the commercialization of patents. In this way, we proposed the POSTE model to provide a pathway to knowledge creation by integrating entrepreneurial competences of entrepreneurship competences with existing practices.FindingsGiven the complex nature of the patenting process, the experiential exercise proposed by this study contributes to enhance IP commercialization capabilities of undergraduate students by simulating decision-making regarding market size, user requirements, product pricing, competitors, substitute products, time-to-market, product production arrangements and strategic use of the terms of a patent.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation of this research involves the impossibility of completely addressing the venture launch gap. Despite the realistic learning experience based on a real patent, as students do not own the intellectual property rights (IPRs) associated with the patents used in the course, it is not possible to implement the business models developed during the course.Practical implicationsSince patent documents are freely available and companies are increasingly dependent on intellectual property (IP) assets to remain competitive, our study provides evidence that patents can provide a rich source of information that can be used to simulate venture creations by taking into consideration economical, strategical, and legal skills needed to bridge the technology commercialization gap.Social implicationsGiven the lack of courses addressing intellectual property in the wide majority of Brazilian undergraduate courses, the teaching experience described in this study contributes to raise the sense of urgency for the commercialization of patents among college students, as a means of turning technology into business.Originality/valueDespite of the growing correlation between IP and competitiveness, teaching methods relying on IP data, such as patents, industrial designs and trademarks, in research institutions located in developing countries have received limited treatment in the extant literature.

Bortezomib - First Therapeutic Proteasome Inhibitor for Cancer Therapy: A Review of Patent Literature.

Bortezomib is a reversible inhibitor of proteasome proteins in mammalian cells. Bortezomib is proven to be cytotoxic to a number of tumor cells by disrupting their normal homeostatic mechanism and thereby, causing cell death. Currently, Bortezomib is prescribed for patients with multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma. This assessment highlights the overview of the recent patents of Bortezomib. This review includes patents grouped in sections like product patents, process patent, composition related patents as well as the treatment methodology. The objective of this article is to facilitate researchers with all existing patents at a single place. Data were searched from various online databases. In which, paid databases include SciFinder® and Orbit®. Free databases include Patentscope® (WIPO), Worldwide Espacenet® (EPO), Google Patents and InPASS (Indian patent database). Several new processes and composition related patents of Bortezomib have been recently patented as its orange-book listed patents are going to soon expire during July 2022. Further, due to the problem of oxidation during development and long-term storage of Bortezomib formulation, a number of excipients are tried in these patents to stabilize the same. However, there is still a need for further development of an improved formulation of Bortezomib with better characteristics. Extensive research has been carried out on various processes for preparing Bortezomib and the composition thereof. This type of dynamic research will clear the path for many generic players in the United States, which lead to the reduction of the price of the composition and thereby enhancing global health care at cheaper prices.

A Critical Study of Access to Medicines in Light of Indian Patent (Amendment) Act, 2005

Indian Patent Act,1970 was the law governing patents before the formulation of the TRIPS agreement. The subject matter of patentability according to this legislation was the process of making chemicals, drugs and medicines which lead to the emergence of many domestic drug manufacturers who produced new drugs by way of reverse engineering. Indian drug market was considered as the cheapest drug manufacturers and the cost of medicines was affordable by people of every income group. The TRIPS agreement, 1995 was signed by India and major changes were incorporated in the Indian Patents Act, 1970 through various amendments. Before the TRIPS agreement was signed Indian patent regime was focussed on process patents because of which generic market flourished, but by way of the 2005 Amendment to the Patents Act, patents on food, chemical and pharmaceuticals were includes as product patents. This change proposed by the TRIPS was a major blow to the generic market of pharmaceutical manufacturers as they could no longer manufacture drugs by reverse engineering and created monopoly over the patent owners of the drugs. Another major change suggested by the TRIPS agreement was a result of the Doha Declaration, 2002 which was with the objective to strike a balance between the interests of the Patent owner and to ensure access to medicines at affordable prices. The Patents (Amendment)Act, 2002 was an attempt to establish this balance by implementing the principle of compulsory licensing. This principle was laid down in Article 30 of the Agreement that allowed the Member states to legislate compulsory licensing provisions. In the Indian Patent Act,1970 the compulsory licenses can be granted only after 3 years of patent except in case of national emergency or when reasonable requirements of the public are not satisfied etc as per the provisions of Section 84 of the Act. Even though the TRIPS agreement is exhaustive about the balance between the economic interest and the public health, the Indian legislation has failed to specify what circumstances would be considered to be “reasonable requirements of the public”, the procedural requirements are onerous and result in delay, patents result in monopolistic control of the pharmaceuticals and lead to anti-competitive practices. Another lacuna in effective implementation of compulsory licensing is the payment of remuneration to the original patent owner and there is no rate of payment of remuneration and it is left to the discretion of the parties at that time which may be unreasonable if the demand is too high and the government in need is not able to make the payment. The scope of this topic is to critically analyse the limitations and exceptions in the TRIPS agreement with respect to pharmaceutical industry and the effective application of these exceptions to fulfil the objective of striking a balance between the public health and protecting the interest of the patent owner. This dissertation will also discuss about the compulsory licensing procedure adopted in the Indian Patent Act, the impact on the generic manufacturer after TRIPS agreement , the changes in the pharmaceutical industry and the impact of these changes on small pharmaceutical companies at par with the large pharmaceutical companies and give suggestions for better implementation to achieve the objective of Doha Declaration.

A Curious Case of Cryptokick

Crypto-kick is a patented technology by Nike to primarily combat counterfeiting of footwear using block-chain, which got granted within 196 days from being filed. This case study starts by reviewing the counterfeit trade market of consumer goods. Then the concept of non fungible token has been discussed and how it forms the core concept of the footwear’s patent that aims in blurring the realms between physical and digital assets. Finally, the fast track patent process Track One has been explored which are available for such rapidly evolving technology space.

Temperamental or Transient as a Tesseract? Analyzing Process Patent Eligibility Post-Alice

Temperamental or Transient as a Tesseract? Analyzing Process Patent Eligibility Post-Alice

Стратегічні вектори розвитку територій на мікрорівні

Розглянуто основні стратегічні вектори розвитку територій на мікрорівні: адміністративно-правові, фінансові, технологічно-інноваційні, децентралізаційні, виокремлено проблеми реалізації заходів за цими напрямами, які існують на сучасному етапі. Акцентовано на важливості процесів децентралізації, які безпосередньо впливають на територіальний розвиток, та, з огляду на зміни, обґрунтовано потребу поглиблення децентралізаційних перетворень у державі.

Patent Analysis and Structural Synthesis of Epicyclic Gear Trains Used in Automatic Transmissions

A patent survey is conducted to investigate the application status of epicyclic gear trains (EGTs) used in automatic transmissions (ATs). In this regard, 673 AT patents are investigated firstly, and 274 different EGTs are obtained after the patent processing. EGTs are presented by corresponding double bicolor graphs (DBGs) and they are sorted into 13 groups in accordance with the degree of freedom (DOF) of DBGs and the degree of hollow vertices. Then, structural characteristics of obtained EGTs, which are used to detect whether the EGTs obtained in the future can be used in ATs, are analyzed and summarized. Finally, a new approach is proposed to obtain new configurations of the EGTs with one main shaft based on the transformation relation between DBG and the basic graph. Several examples are presented to illustrate the validity of the proposed approach.

HEMŞİRELİKTE İNOVASYON KÜLTÜRÜ OLUŞTURMA; BİR BAŞARI ÖYKÜSÜ

Amaç: Hemşireler hizmet sunumlarında etkin ve istendik sonuçları yakalayabilmek için sürekli değişime ayak uydurmak ve inovasyon sürecini hizmetlerine entegre etmek zorundadırlar. Hemşirelik hizmetlerinde inovasyon sürecini aktive etmek, hasta bakım maliyetini azaltırken, bakım kalitesini de artırmaktadır.Gereç ve Yöntem: Hastanemiz hemşirelik hizmetlerinde inovasyon sürecini aktive etmek için bazı basamaklar takip edilmiştir. İlk adımda hemşirelerimizin farkındalıklarını düzenli eğitimler ile bilgi düzeyleri arttırılmış, koçluk sistemi ile bireysel danışmanlıklar başlatılmış, süreci cazip hale getirecek yarışmalar düzenlenmiş, ödül süreci ile katılım arttırılmış ve hemşirelikte inovasyon kültürü oluşturulmuştur. Bulgular: Hastanemizde 2012 yılında başlatılan hemşirelikte inovasyonu aktive etme süreci dahilinde; yarışma ve sempozyum süreçleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. 7 yıllık süreçte hastanemiz hemşireleri toplam 376 inovatif proje geliştirmiştir. Her biri yeni bir buluş özelliği taşıyan projeleri ile hemşirelerimizin bakım kalitesini arttırıcı, yeni ve yaratıcı faaliyetleri desteklemeleri sağlanmıştır. İnovatif 50 proje için patent alma süreci tamamlanmıştır ve yeni buluşların üretimi için çalışmalar aktive edilmiştir. Sonuç: Hemşirelerde inovasyon sürecinin aktifleştirilmesinde; düzenli eğitimlerin, süreci tanıtacak, cazip hale getirecek, yol gösterecek bilimsel aktivitelerin yapılmasının ve rol model olmanın yeri büyüktür.

IP Fundamentals – What Every CEO Should Know About IP in Biotechnology

This chapter addresses four essential components of Intellectual Property as it relates to patents: (1) patents and the patent process, (2) developing a strategy to maximize patent protection for a product or a process, (3) due diligence, and (4) issues of inventorship and ownership. By way of an overview, there are four basic types of Intellectual Property – Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Trade Secrets. Patents cover ideas that are novel, non‑obvious, have utility and satisfy the enablement and written description provisions of the U.S. patent Statute. Trademarks cover identification of goods and services. Copyrights protect tangible expression, including writings, computer code, websites and the like. A Trade Secret is a form of intellectual property where secrecy is maintained over a process or an ingredient of a product over a period of time. This chapter will focus almost exclusively on patents.