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Patent Citation Data For Competitive Intelligence

Posted on March 12, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law

Patents are most comprehensive and well documented technological and competitive information source. The most important is that it freely accessible through internet. Studies of technological change constitute a field of growing importance and sophistication. Just as it does in scientific papers, citation plays an important role in the patents field. The inventor uses it to indicate the stage of technology previously reached, upon which his invention improves. However, a patent examiner may find patents that could counter-indicate granting of a patent and ‘oppose’ the application. These citations are usually included in databases under ‘Referenced Patents ‘or ‘Referenced Literature’.

Citation analysis is used to evaluate and weighs the possible opportunities and risks of engaging in particular technologies. Careful analysis and understanding helps decision makers to establish offensive licensing strategy to add on new revenue. It can provide information on who are involved in your technologies at a glance. Citation analysis data is most important in revealing new licensing opportunities, identification of key competitors and technological development and trends.

In case companies do not recognize that internal development efforts alone hardly bring business advantage in their business environments where innovators abound, they might be exposed in risks and trapped in the future. By establishing effective licensing-in strategy to find external business partner for collaboration, companies can be free from this hazards and reap profits in an era of rampant technology change.

The Citation analysis enables companies to establish the strategies by identifying desirable technology for faster time to market without potential risks.

Citation searching and analysis provides a lot of information and can be used to:

  • Enhance a prior art or patentability search - e.g., assist in retrieving the “unique” document supporting a validity search
  • Analyze major competitors
  • Monitor a patent portfolio for possible infringement
  • Identify especially important intellectual property based on number of citations
  • Assist in legal challenges
  • Licensing opportunities
  • Acquisition possibility
  • Competitors working in similar area of research
  • Possible infringement
  • Identification of important and potent technology (most cited)
  • Identification of landmark publication that establishes important prior art, or establishes limits of “obviousness” or “best mode” in prosecuting a patent application.

    • Vinod Kumar Singh
    Content Writer - IP/Patent Intelligence
    E-mail: vinod.patent@gmail.com
    Mobile: +919392387277
    My Personal Web Page

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