The amount of patent data available for analysis has grown exponentially in just the past few years, and for good reason. Advances in data mining technology and techniques as well as the increasingly rapid development of new technologies in general have fueled Intellectual Property (IP) sales and licensing activities in virtually every industry, domestically and internationally. With these growing volumes of available patent information, patent search and analysis has become a crucial tool for companies to strengthen and grow their businesses and gain a competitive advantage. The job of searching, finding, organizing, and analyzing all this data is increasingly falling to automated analytical tools. Sophisticated algorithms are used to power data mining and visualization techniques such as our proprietary interactive patent mapping. This can provide dynamic, virtually real-time visualizations of the relationships between patents and developing technological trends, both of which can provide valuable insights for creating IP-based business and competitive strategies.
Comprehensive IP analysis is an ideal way to gather business information and intelligence that can help businesses discover:
- Empty technological space ripe for innovation
- Existing portfolio gaps
- Strengths and weaknesses in competitive IP
- Technology “infringements”
- Litigation activities
- Patent portfolio status of merger or acquisition targets to help determine fit
- IP vulnerabilities that need to be addressed
A truly effective business strategy based on robust IP analysis is one that not only protects a core technology to create a significant competitive barrier but also protects key product features that help differentiate a product from others in the marketplace and create added customer value. An effective IP-based business strategy will utilize key product features to create a protective patent minefield around a product and its features, effectively hobbling any competitor.
Almost as important as the patents a company uses are the ones they don’t use. Businesses with significant patent portfolios often overlook the potential of unused IP. Intellectual property analysis can determine novelty and unrealized value in neglected patents which can be turned into new sources of revenue through licensing or sale.
The value of intellectual property is growing by leaps and bounds in our evolving, knowledge-based economy. Winners and losers will be determined by those who have effective IP-based strategies and those who don’t.
