Using Patent Analysis to Supercharge Patent Licensing Programs. Prepared for:

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Susanna Fowler
10 years ago
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1 Using Patent Analysis to Supercharge Patent Licensing Programs Prepared for:

2 About AcclaimIP and FPO 10 years experience bringing patent data to millions of users. The AcclaimIP project started in 2010 Over 200 clients and 1500 users from around the globe including many of the most prolific IP-producers. AcclaimIP offers unique features: Custom Fields Acquisition Analyses Query Matrices Class Fingerprinting QueryFlow Keyword Analyzers & Query Builders Hierarchical Classification Queries Meta Values Unique User Experience

3 Discussion Topic One 1. How to use a patent landscape to 1. Identify key technology buckets in a portfolio 2. Overlay portfolio on global landscape of patents 3. Identify potentially interested parties by 1. Finding companies whose existing portfolio complements offered portfolio. 2. Identifying companies with whitespace in their portfolio. 3. Past acquisition behavior. Acquisition and divestment trends in targets existing portfolios.

Finding companies whose existing portfolio complements offered portfolio. 2.

4 Discussion Topic Two 1. Patent Meta Data (Value Indicators) 1. What are the key value metrics in patent data 2. Why they work 1. Predictive of human judgment or behavior 2. Quantitative assessment of patent characteristics 3. How to use them to 1. Identify key patents 2. Reduce time and effort when evaluating a portfolio.

Predictive of human judgment or behavior 2.

5 What is a Patent Landscape No single answer In general, it is a high level view of a set of patents, such as: A single assignee A technology Landscapes are generally multi-faceted, and identify: Filing / Publication Trends Key Patent Owners Key Inventors Acquisition / Divestment Trends Abandonment and Renewal Rates Comparative analysis. Your patents compared to key competitors

identify: Filing / Publication Trends Key Patent Owners Key Inventors Acquisition / Divestment

6 Patent Landscapes are Difficult You need a simple, reproducible landscape techniques to: Identify key players Assess current patenting trends Analyze patent acquisition trends among those players Determine if patents add to an existing strong portfolio or fill in white space where the company is relatively weak.

patent acquisition trends among those players Determine if patents add to an

7 Steps to Create Analyze existing portfolio for: Top Classes (US, IPC or CPC) Take those classes and develop a NxM matrix Each cell is the intersection of the two queries Technologies in the X axis Patent owners in the Y axis Then overlay global queries to identify trends Recent patent activity Allowance Rates Recent acquisitions

queries Technologies in the X axis Patent owners in the Y axis Then overlay global

9 Same Landscape Matrix showing only acquired patents

10 Same Landscape Limited to Pending Applications

11 Using Patent Value Indicators The value drivers in any portfolio will be the top 5% to 20% of the patents in the portfolio. What are patent value indicators Why they work, and what are their limitations Examples of four key value indicators How to use them

12 What are patent value indicators Quantifiable elements in patent data that are predictive of Human behaviors Related to investment by the applicant Patent quality attributes Intrinsic patent elements that often lead to strong patents

to investment by the applicant Patent quality attributes

13 Forward Citations The number of patent documents that have cited Most well-known proxy for value Always newer than the cited document A measure of the impact of the patent on future patents Limitations Not a good measure for new patents Sometimes patents are cited for the wrong reasons

measure of the impact of the patent on future patents Limitations Not a

14 Length of First Claim Always an independent claim Shorter claims tend to be better Fewer narrowing limitations In 2013 Median length of claim one of granted patents was 161 words Median length of claim one of published applications was 131 words Limitations Patent agents/attorneys game the system to make artificially long claims without narrowing the scope of the invention.

Median length of claim one of published applications was 131 words Limitations Patent

15 Patent Family Size Patents from large families tend to be better Represent a large investment by the patentee Publish in multiple jurisdictions Continuations represent added uses for the same invention

the patentee Publish in multiple jurisdictions

16 Pendency (time between file and grant dates) A little different than the others You are looking for outliers Exceptionally short pendency Exceptionally long pendency Long Pendency is indicative of interferences Long and expensive fight that was worth the investment Patent US B1 granted on April 1, 2014 (no joke) had 7144 days (19.5 years) of pendency! Short Pendency may be indicative of new art Easy to examine No office actions narrowing claims

expensive fight that was worth the investment Patent US8688181 B1 granted on April 1, 2014 (no joke) had 7144

17 Use V.I.s to Paint a Picture

18 Take-Aways for Licensing Professionals A well-designed landscape Identifies trends in your marketplace Identifies companies who can use the technology Identifies companies who have acquired similar technology They can take some time to create, but they are systematic and don t require an analytics genius to develop them. They are reusable if built correctly Patent value indicators Help identify the value drivers of your portfolio They are not perfect, but can work very well They prioritize patents for human reviewers

systematic and don t require an analytics genius to develop them.

19 Thank You! Matt Troyer Austin, TX USA

Patent data mining and effective patent portfolio management

Patent data mining and effective patent portfolio management There are many tools that help put patent mining theory into practice. Knowing how to use them can be a key element in developing a commercially