Patent Trends Research Articles

Printing Methods in the Production of Orodispersible Films.

Orodispersible film (ODF) formulations are promising and progressive drug delivery systems that are widely accepted by subjects across all the age groups. They are traditionally fabricated using the most popular yet conventional method called solvent casting method. The most modern and evolving method is based on printing technologies and such printed products are generally termed as printed orodispersible films (POFs). This modern technology is well suited to fabricate ODFs across different settings (laboratory or industrial) in general and in a pharmacy setting in particular. The present review provides an overview of various printing methods employed in fabricating POFs. Particularly, it provides insight about preparing POFs using inkjet, flexographic, and three-dimensional printing (3DP) or additive manufacturing techniques like filament deposition modeling, hot-melt ram extrusion 3DP, and semisolid extrusion 3DP methods. Additionally, the review is focused on patenting trends in POFs using ESPACENET, a European Patent Office search database. Finally, the review captures future market potential of 3DP in general and ODFs market potential in particular.

Patent landscape of not-in-kind active cooling technologies between 1998 and 2017

The rise in global cooling demand will have significant impacts on our efforts to limit climate change and foster sustainable development. Minimising these impacts requires further development of active cooling technologies, starting with an examination of existing technologies and their characteristics. This paper provides an overview of active cooling technologies using a patent landscape based on patent application data over the past 20 years. In developing the patent landscape, we searched the Derwent Innovation patent database, which contains more than 90 million patent documents, using technology-specific keywords and patent classification codes. A careful assessment of the resulting patent dataset shows a range of important trends about the evolution of cooling in the last two decades. Specifically, we discuss annual cooling technology patent application trends, countries of application, and patent assignees. The results show that patenting activity in the field of active cooling has increased significantly since 2010, mainly driven by the rapid patenting trend in China. Patents of the incumbent technology have been dominated by established manufacturers from Japan and the United States. Not-in-kind cooling technologies with a high number of patent applications include thermoelectric, magnetocaloric, evaporative, pulse-tube, absorption, and adsorption cooling. The results from examining this global patent help in understanding and shaping the global development of active cooling technology by providing new information on the major supplier countries, the key manufacturers, and maturity levels of alternative cooling technologies.

Investigating the evolution of pyrolysis technologies through bibliometric analysis of patents and papers

This paper analyses over 89,000 documents between scientific journals and international patents in order to identify main technologies for material pyrolysis (i.e. fluidized bed, hot balls, microwave, plasma, and laser), compare them in terms of technical performances and discover future trends.The predictive model for future trends is based on the evolutionary model of the TRIZ theory, with particular attention to the evolutionary law, “from macro to micro”, which explains how technical systems evolve towards increasingly smaller, controlled, and resource-efficient interactions. In our case, we applied the focus to the interface between the heat source and the pyrolyzed raw material.The proposed evolutionary model showed a substantial alignment with chronological trends, and the model was consistent with both patent trends and those of the scientific literature.To make the analysis quantitatively more robust, a comparison of the different technologies has also been introduced in terms of percentage distribution and the number of patents/papers referring to the different classes of heating rates and reaction temperatures and types of flash/fast/intermediate/slow reaction. Finally, a quantitative metric based on the innovation index has been adopted, to take into account the number of citations normalized on the years of publication.The main outputs of this study identified that radiations-based pyrolysis, involving microscopic interaction, seem more interesting in term of technical performances (i.e. heating rate and reaction temperature), although their technological growth has yet to occur, unlike fluidized bed and hot balls, which typically work at a macroscopic level and seem to have already reached maturity. According to a bibliometric index, laser corpus resulted three time more innovative then fluidized bed reactors papers, especially for heating rates and reactions temperature.

The Progress and Perspectives of Nanotechnology Applied in Nontraditional Precision Machining Processes for Advanced Industrial Applications.

Nontraditional precision processes (especially at the nanoscale) have been significantly developed in modern industry to meet the specific requirements of applications. In this paper, the progress of nanotechnology applied in nontraditional precision machining processes for advanced industrial applications is presented. In particular, the mechanisms, parameters, properties, applications and patent trends of ultrasonic machining, ion nanobeams machining and laser machining are further explored and analyzed in detail. Other nontraditional precision machining processes related to nanotechnology are also outlined briefly. Finally, the developments and future perspectives of nanotechnology used in nontraditional precision machining are discussed.

Advancements, Trends and Future Prospects of Lower Limb Prosthesis

Amputees with lower limb loss need special care during daily life activities to make the movement natural as before amputation. No such work exists covering the main aspects from causes of amputation to the psycho-social impact of the amputees after using the prosthetic device. This review presents for lower limb prosthesis; the study of lower limb amputation, design & development, control strategies & machine learning algorithms, the psycho-social impact of prosthetic users, and design trends in patents. Research articles, review papers, magazines, letters, study reports, surveys, and patents, etc. have been used as sources for this review. Traumatic injuries and different diseases have been found as common causes of amputation. Design & development section illustrates design mechanisms, the categories of passive, active, & semi-active prostheses, an overview of a subset of commercially available prosthetic devices, and 3D printing of the accessories. The control section provides information about control techniques, sensors used, machine learning algorithms, and their key outcomes. Quality of life, phantom limb pain, and psycho-social impact of prosthetic users have been summarized for different countries that are believed to attract the interest of the readers. We have also developed an open-source database “FAKH-50” for patents to emphasize the design trends and advancements in lower limb prostheses from 1970 to 2020. Overall trend analysis determined is in the descending order as the knee (48%) > ankle (28%) > foot (22%) > hip (2%) patents in the current version of our database. The forthcoming section highlights the challenges and prospects of the domain. A mutual observation demands the design of a bio-compatible, lightweight, and economic prosthesis to track the normal human gait by eliminating phantom limb pain. This will empower the amputees to live a quality life in society. This work may be beneficial for researchers, technicians, clinicians, and amputees.

Intellectual property issues in artificial intelligence: specific reference to the service sector

Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed almost every field of the service sector, such as finance, healthcare logistics, automotive and aviation. The innovative technologies can identify uneven patterns like spam filtering or payment deceit, and make aware businesses in actual time about questionable activities, hence are helpful in the growth of a market. These innovation and creation are protected under different forms of intellectual property (IP). However, the transformation from AI related inventions to AI lead inventions has raised substantial challenges to the existing IP infrastructure. This study aims at looking into different aspects of AI related IP protection with an elaborative analysis of the patenting trends through landscape analysis of AI in the service sector. It is observed that AI is playing a pivotal role in the transformation of the service sector due to its accelerating use. But the issues related to legal and ethical need to be addressed for effective utilisation of AI related invention and creation in the service sector.

감귤 활용 특허 추세 분석

Citrus fruits are native to India, Myanmar, Peninsular Malaysia, Indochina, China, Korea, and Japan. The citrus cultivation in the world spreads from the tropics(from 40 degrees north latitude to 40 degrees south latitude) to temperate zones, reaching about 50 countries. Among the ingredients of citrus peel, turpentine, rutin, and hesperedin have various effects. As a result of investigating cases of domestic and foreign patents related to citrus fruits and analyzing patent trends, domestic and foreign patent applications have been decreasing rapidly since 2017, and are mainly counted in the order of food, cosmetics, and medical substances. The distribution by country was 65% in Japan, 21% in China, and 11% in Korea. Japan is specialized in medicines, cosmetics and related machinery, while Europe is concentrated in medicines and cosmetics. In the United States, it appears that plant patents dominate. The patent trend in the field of citrus utilization in Korea appears to be in the early stages of maturity passed the development stage in the transition analysis divided into development stage, maturation stage, reflux stage, and resurrection stage.

Analysis of Patent Trends for Examination, Monitoring, and Healthcare of Parkinson’s Disease

Analysis of Patent Trends for Examination, Monitoring, and Healthcare of Parkinson’s Disease

Nanomaterials in Space: Technology Innovation and Economic Trends

Nanomaterials and nanostructures have a broad impact on space missions and programs (e.g., launchers, planetary science, and exploration). Their main benefits are related to reduced vehicle mass improved functionality and durability of space systems and increased propulsion performance. For these reasons, in this paper, we would like to explore the recent evolutions of nanomaterials and nanostructures for space systems, with a focus on patents and market trends related to lightweight structures, damage-tolerant nanoscale systems, nanocoatings and adhesives, nanomaterials, and structures for thermal protection and control. Our analysis examines patent information from a database containing more than 54 M worldwide patent families and combines the data retrieved with market indicators. Such evaluation is useful to assess the technological trends and evaluate their current stage of maturity, within the overall Technology Life Cycle. Using specific sectoral keywords, our study takes into consideration about 3000 patent data on nanostructures, materials, and processes for space applications evaluating, among others, patents trends (2010–2019), International Patent Classifications, country distribution, top assignees, legal state, and forward and backward citations. As a result, we can assess which International Patent Classification is more common and which geographical area is more active. In the area under investigation, we identified that explosives and similar materials (C06B) are widely protected as well as heterocyclic compounds (C07D) and spacecraft and its related equipment (B64G). For what the geographical distribution is concerned, while China and United States confirm their predominance, it is worthwhile noticing that Canada, one of the ESA Member States, is highly active, as well. Our focus on the European patenting activity shows that Great Britain, Germany, and France are the most active countries. From the analysis of the other indicators (e.g., citations, assignees, etc.), we can assess which type of nanomaterial and nanostructure for space applications is growing more rapidly. Furthermore, patent indicators, integrated with market information, provide a clear evaluation of the related technology trends and readiness level. In conclusion, patent metrics provide a valuable asset to measure innovation performance. These data can also be used to monitor activities of worldwide players, create a performance evaluation system in R&D entities, and foresee specific technological trends. Thanks to this type of analysis, we can capture differences in innovation performances. The resulting indicators support strategic roadmapping and contribute to mapping knowledge and competences worldwide. In addition, they provide information on technological gaps and possible opportunities, measuring the results of space valorisation and technology transfer.

Prospects for upgrading by the European kelp sector

The interest in cultivating seaweed in European seas as source of food, feed and feedstock for the biobased economy is growing. Amongst the species investigated is kelp, also known as sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima or Laminaria saccharina. The European kelp sector is relatively small, compared to the global production and use, yet growth of the sector is aimed for. An inevitable question for European seaweed producers is how they can compete in the global seaweed value chain. This paper assesses to what extent the European strategy for growing the kelp sector matches with the dynamics of current kelp value chain. The global value chains (GVC) framework is applied to study how the global kelp sector is organized, including analysis of trends in science and patents. The upgrading strategy deployed by the European sector is critically evaluated against this framework. The analysis points towards various dividing lines between the established kelp cultivation and processing industry in Asia and the (far smaller) nascent cultivation and processing industry for high-value applications. These represent two unconnected worlds. Chain or intra-sectoral upgrading to spur the European kelp sector could occur if European food sector engage more closely with the European producers. Those bring financial power and a broader client base to the table and are instrumental in linking production to the demands of end-users.

Modern Level of Research, Innovation, and Patent Activities in Ukraine

Introduction. The development of patent and innovation is impossible without a strong scientific base. That is why the R&D potential of the state is one of the main factors that reflect the level of both economic and technical level of its development. Unfortunately, the level of patent innovation in Ukraine is low, despite the strong R&D potential. Problem statement. The efficiency of innovations, trends in nanotechnology patenting, and the level of nanotechnology development in Ukraine are mainly determined by the qualifications of Ukrainian researchers. Therefore, preserving the R&D potential of Ukraine and preventing its outflow abroad are among the most pressing problems today. Purpose. To determine the role of R&D in the economy of Ukraine and the world, the level of publications of Ukrainian authors, the effectiveness, patent circulation, and prospects of innovations in Ukraine. To characterize the world market of nanotechnologies and the level of development of nanotechnologies in Ukraine and to provide a forecast of innovative development in Ukraine and the world. Materials and Methods. Statistical data of R&D potential of Ukraine, number of research works in Ukraine, materials on the quantitative and qualitative level of scholarly research publications of Ukrainian authors, patent circulation, the efficiency of innovations in Ukraine for the period 2010-2017, for forecasting of innovative development in Ukraine and the world on the coming decades. Results. The R&D potential of Ukraine, the current level of nanotechnology, innovation, and trends in their further development have been evaluated. The innovative development in Ukraine and the world until 2030 has been forecasted. Conclusions. Ukraine has a strong R&D potential, but the level of patent and innovation activity in Ukraine is low. Against the background of the integration of Ukrainian researchers into the world community, there is a significant increase in the number of joint scholarly research publications of Ukrainian researchers with foreign colleagues.

A co-citation study of information security patents in the USPTO database

PurposeThe goal of this study was to investigate the co-citation of information security patents in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database.Design/methodology/approachThis research is a scientometrics study that has been conducted using the co-citation analysis. The statistical population of the present study includes all patents of information security filed in the USPTO database from 1971 to 2015. As a result of this search, 30,736 patents were retrieved. In this investigation, UCINET software and its complementary package (NetDraw) were employed to plot scientific maps.FindingsThe findings of this study indicated an upward trend of patents in the field of information security between 1971 and 2015. The “California State” has the top world rank in information security inventions, followed by “Japan” and the “Washington State.” “VAN WIE, DAVID M” is the most cited inventor in the field of information security. The analysis of inventors' co-citation data indicated that “ADAMS, NEIL- LITTLE” and “HERBERT ANTHONY” had the highest co-citation rates with each other and were ranked first. The survey of high-citation inventors based on centrality indices indicated that “LEACH, PAUL J” graded first in degree centrality, “BENALOH, JOSH D” in betweenness centrality and “BENALOH, JOSH D” in closeness centrality.Originality/valueThe co-citation analysis of patents can show the most important patents and the relationships between them. Such analyses can be useful for large-scale policymaking or identification of existing gaps and attempting to address them.

Patent trend analysis for postharvest technology of fresh mushrooms

Patent trend analysis for postharvest technology of fresh mushrooms

Patents of nanomaterials related with cancer treatment applications

This paper reviews health-related nanomaterial patents filed in the European Patent Office. Five-year patents were examined, with a focus on cancer treatment applications. The main objective of this work is to examine key patent information in order to cover trends and determine the technological subfields that are experiencing the highest growth in cancer treatment through identifying the most commonly used nanomaterials and relationships between actors. The patenting trends indicated that key players on the field include the USA, France, Germany, the UK, and China. There is an increasing emphasis on the subject of antineoplastic agents, which is the main classification group referred by 32% of the examined patents. Gold, silica, and platinum are the most frequently cited materials in cancer treatment inventions. The patent literature paints considerably different pictures of the cancer treatment field with respect to the collaborations, or lack thereof, between different actor types.

미국에 있어서 AI발명의 특허적격성 판단과 동향분석

미국에 있어서 AI발명의 특허적격성 판단과 동향분석

Analysis of Domestic Patent Trends Related to Functional Clothing Products for Daily Wearable Human Body Protection and Correction

Analysis of Domestic Patent Trends Related to Functional Clothing Products for Daily Wearable Human Body Protection and Correction

Building a Knowledge Base in Patented Technology and Equipment for Wood Bark Processing and Use in Industries, Agriculture and Social Sphere

For basic operations of the timber industry, numerous technological and technical solutions were patented for the past few years as the results of the intellectual property. The question of building the knowledge bases on technologies and equipment for involvement of the non-wood forest resources into the processing process lacks sufficient attention. Building the knowledge bases in this field resulted from the identified tendency for the development of products from various types of natural raw materials for pharmaceutical, food-manufacturing, cosmetic industries and other areas of the social sphere and economics. Among the various types of natural raw materials, the priority position is occupied by those with wide range of biological effect, including such as wood bark. The development of the knowledge base in the field of wood bark involvement in various social and economic spheres is based on a systematic patent search. Moreover, developers and inventors are increasingly patenting the results of their intellectual activities in the field of promising types of new intellectual property objects for the use of wood bark. This fact indicates that the problems of improving the quality and efficiency of technologies and disintegrating equipment in this area have not been completely resolved. All this necessitates the synthesis and patenting of new market-competitive technologies and equipment for involvement of wood bark in processing and using it in industries, agriculture and in the social sphere. In this regard, the authors conducted research on patent information search, collection and systematization of information. The state and trends of patenting in the field of technologies and equipment for the use of wood bark in industry and in the social sphere were identified, as well as the main patenting goals (effects) of patented intellectual property objects. The article also presents the most noteworthy patents collected during the building of the knowledge base.

Building a Knowledge base on Patenting of Technologies and Equipment for Disintegration of Rocks with Obtaining Crushed Stone

Rock disintegration is one of the most important technological operations in the production of crushed stone, which is widely used in the construction of roads and railways, buildings, structures, hydraulic engineering facilities, bridges, tunnels, the production of concrete, asphalt, dry building mixes, and other objects and products. In recent years, research has been actively conducted to improve the processes of rock disintegration by reducing energy intensity and improving the quality of disintegrating technologies and equipment. Moreover, developers and inventors are actively patenting the results of their intellectual activities in the field of promising types of new intellectual property for high-potential technologies and equipment for producing high-quality crushed stone. This fact indicates that the problems of improving the quality and efficiency of technologies and disintegrating equipment, in particular crushers for obtaining crushed stone, have not been solved yet. All this necessitates the synthesis and patenting of new market-competitive technologies and equipment for obtaining crushed stone by disintegrating rocks. In this regard, the authors of this work carried out research aimed at building a knowledge base in the field of patenting technologies and crushers that ensure the production of crushed stone for the construction of roads and railways, buildings, structures, hydraulic engineering facilities, bridges, tunnels, the production of concrete, asphalt, dry mixes, and other objects and products. The research also included the categorization of the main areas of patenting in this field. This involved using the method of system analysis performed based on the results of patent information search, collecting and systematizing the information. The current state and trends of patenting in the field of rock disintegration are identified, the main goals (effects) of patented intellectual property are defined. The article presents the most noteworthy patents collected during the building the knowledge base.

Foreign Competition and Domestic Innovation: Evidence from US Patents

Manufacturing accounts for more than three-quarters of US corporate patents. The competitive shock to this sector emanating from China’s economic ascent could in theory either augment or stifle US innovation. Using three decades of US patents matched to corporate owners, we quantify how foreign competition affects domestic innovation. Rising import exposure intensifies competitive pressure, reducing sales, profitability, and R&D expenditure at US firms. Accounting for confounding sectoral patenting trends, we find that US patent production declines in sectors facing greater import competition. This adverse effect is larger among initially less profitable and less capital-intensive firms. (JEL F14, L11, L60, O19, O31, O34, P33)

A Case Study: Analysis of Patents on Coronaviruses and Covid-19 for Technological Assessment and Future Research

Protecting intellectual property rights are important and particularly pertinent for inventions that are an outcome of rigorous research and development. While the grant of patents is subject to establishing novelty and inventive step, it further indicates the technological development and is helpful for researchers working in the same technical domain. The aim of the present research work is to map the existing work through an analysis of patent literature in the field of Coronaviruses (CoV), particularly COVID-19 (2019-nCoV). CoV is a large family of viruses known to cause illness in humans and animals, particularly known for causing respiratory infections, as evidenced in earlier times, such as in MERS i.e., Middle East Respiratory Syndrome; and SRS i.e., Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. A recently identified novel-coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has caused pandemic situations across the globe. To expand the analysis of patents related to CoV and 2019-nCoV, an evaluation has been conducted by patenting trends of particular strains of identified CoV diseases by present legal status, main concerned countries via the earliest priority years and its assignee types and inventors of identified relevant patents. The global patent documents were analyzed to check the scope of claims along with focuses and trends of the published patent documents for the entire CoV family, including 2019-nCoV through the present landscape. To extract the results, the Derwent Innovation database was used by a combination of different keystrings. Approximately 3800 patents were obtained and further scrutinized and analyzed. The present write-up also discusses the recent progress of patent applications in a period of the year 2010 to 2020 (present) along with the recent developments in India for the treatment options for CoV and 2019-nCoV. Present analysis showed that key areas of the inventions were the vaccines and diagnostic kits apart from the composition for the treatment of CoV. It was also observed that no specific vaccine treatments are available for the treatment of 2019-nCov; however, developing novel chemical or biological drugs and kits for early diagnosis, prevention, and disease management is the primary governing topic among the patented inventions. The present study also indicates potential research opportunities for the future, particularly to combat 2019-nCoV. The present paper analyzes the existing patents in the field of Coronaviruses and 2019-nCoV and suggests a way forward for the effective contribution in this upcoming research area. From the trend analysis, an increase in the filing of the overall trend of patent families was observed for a period of 2010 to the current year. This multifaceted analysis of identified patent literature provides an understanding of the focuses on present ongoing research and a grey area in terms of the trends of technological innovations in disease management in patients with CoV and 2019-nCoV. Furthermore, the findings and outcome of the present study offer insights for the proposed research and innovation opportunities and provide actionable information in order to facilitate policymakers, academia, research-driven institutes and also investors to make better decisions regarding programmed steps for research and development for the diagnosis, treatment and taking preventive measures for CoV and 2019-nCoV. The present article also emphasizes the need for future development and the role of academia and collaboration with industry for speedy research with a rationale.