If we go through the patents related to a specific technological area, we will be able to find the lots of information about the life cycle of the technological innovation viz.,
o evolutionary path of a specific technology,
o technological development,
o technological diversification,
o technology merges,
o major players in specific technological area,
o key points of the specific technology,
“The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) revealed that 90% to 95% of all the world’s inventions can be found in patented documents.”
Patent analysis can reveals very valuable informations, which is not available anywhere. After patent search the crucial part is the patent analysis, and one have to be very concise about their objective of the study. The information in the patent documents can be utilized in different form according to the need and mapped accordingly to get the picture of the entire analysis in snapshots.
Patent data can be used for the preparation of technological landscapes.
Logistic mathematics and circle mathematics can be very useful in the plotting of the technological landscape. It can reveal the evolutionary trend of a technology, how it is evolved from a basic technology, along with the period of the technological diversification and its nature. These maps will also give the detailed overview of the merging of the different technologies to give rise to break-through technologies. These types of maps will be very useful for the R&D personals to evaluate the position of their research and technology, and also they will find way to more innovate more advanced and valuable technology.
In the today’s global context firms need to know what technologies can competitors choke easily, and may be attempting to. They also need to know the spaces in technologies where competition is intense, and the areas where competitors are concentrating their IP development and their R&D efforts. They need to be able to track patent acquisition and development strategies and chart out the competitive landscape. To evaluate technology before making any investment decision, firms need to know the pace of patenting activity in the technology, which patents embody fundamental ideas in the technology and how vulnerable the firm’s technologies are to patent infringements. This will give them much needed information in deciding between technology development and technology acquisition.
The ability to extract relevant information from patent literature is a crucial success factor for anyone involved in technological innovation. The technology mapping technique’s that can be used to transform patent information into knowledge that can influence decision-making.
In various ways including the following:
o Developing further insights in response to strategic requirements and policy formulation in the organization
o Forecasting and identifying technological activities and trends in the industry
o Aiding in the visualization of alternative development and growth paths available to the organization
o Enabling pre-emptive recognition and action on potential licensing opportunities
o Identifying prospective partners and clients
o Identify technology discontinuities and areas of opportunities in their chosen technologies
