Patent Landscape is a comprehensive analysis of the available insights into a specific technology, either within a given country or region, or globally. The Patent Landscape search and analysis is amalgamation of Human Mind and software analysis. It is also known as State of Art Analysis or Patent Mapping. The patent mapping can be done of existing, pending, and active patents, in a specific area of interest. As World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) iterates, Patent Landscaping search and report is like creating a story about a specific technology which can be shared with the people related to the work.
Why Patent Landscaping?
Communication across departments is the key to an organization’s success. The patent landscape search and analysis provide food for thought to the leaders across the departments to communicate on a relevant technological issue.
- Patent landscaping helps in identifying top players related to the technology.
- Patent landscaping provides an insight on the trending state of art. This helps the innovators, researchers and the concerned industry to learn important aspects of the technology.
- Patent landscaping can be used as a tool for Business analytics by the Corporates and help them read through the market trend.
- Patent Landscaping when performed in the early stages of product synthesis, saves time, money and human resources.
- A patent landscape analysis can be utilized to understand the relationship between competitive products and patent protection for the competitors. This helps the organization to be legally sound with reference to their products and probable objections that could arise out of the claim analysis of existing products.
- The information generated through the patent landscape analysis is highly useful in generating novel technologies.
- Decisions pertaining to Mergers and acquisitions in companies involving lot of Patent work are largely based on the patent landscaping analysis.
How is a Patent Landscape Search performed and analyzed?
- Fundamental requirement before commencement of a patent landscape analysis is to know why so this search being conducted? For example: is it for patent filing and concerned risk assessment, or for an idea in that technology, for Mergers and Acquisition, Freedom to operate etc.
- Organize the search tools required for such analysis including a third-party service required for the same if any.
- The Geographical Boundaries which are required to be included in a search. Like the countries to be looked for, Patents, their jurisdiction and their family members if any etc.
- Identifying the relevant key words, and organizing them in sets and identifying the relevant patent classification codes for the same.
- Working on the patent technical literature, multiple application areas in the search and organizations involved.
- Intense analysis of the product time line is very important. For example: When was it developed? What has been its market analysis? Is it still in its nascent stage, is it declining etc.
- Analysis of all the gathered information and preparation of report is a high skilled job requiring enormous amount of time and man power.
Patent Landscaping and Rand D
With the advent of the technology, informed decision making is considered as a sane approach. The entire journey of Research and Development is long, intense and expensive. An efficient team of researches is always a value addition to the entire process of patent landscape analysis. Research and development involve multiple stages from product identification, identification of the problems associated, advantages and disadvantages to analysis of technical advancements over a period of time.
Research and Development and Patent Landscaping Analysis have similar goals like:
- Identifying the Status of existing technology in the market and analysis of its relevance.
- Whether the scope of the technology is already explored or is a nascent area?
- Who are the top players and how can we be different?
- Identification of new entrants in the market (new technology/new players buying or using existing technology).
- Country based trends that are pertaining to specific markets and regulations (license, contracts, approvals, etc.)
- How can merger and acquisitions, licensing and partnership be conducted for the technology in question and what are its long term and short-term effects and market trends.
- Monitoring a technology for a continuous period of time to understand trends in filing, prosecution, scope of such technology for patent grant (by understanding legal status/trends in grants.)
Thus, patent landscaping analysis acts as a navigator for the process of research and development to identify the direction in which it needs to move.
Sample Report from Prometheus IP
Conclusion:
A thoughtful patent landscape analysis under the guidance of a technical/patent expert competent to understand the underlying technology and the principles of intellectual asset management provides the end-user with valuable, actionable information. Patent landscape search is an efficient tool for researchers, policy makers and decision makers. The quality analysis of technical know-how regarding the state of art technology can be best provided through patent landscaping analysis and report.
