Patent data mining and effective patent portfolio management
Breda Corish and Bob Stembridge, Thomson Scientific
November 2004
This article was first published in the October/November 2004 issue of Intellectual Asset Management magazine.
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 successful patent management strategy.
An organisation’s patent portfolio forms a critical part of its IP holdings alongside its designs, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Much of the value from a portfolio can only be realised through its effective management. In turn, that requires tools and techniques to help understand portfolio content, how and where this fits in with the organisation’s competencies and what the market opportunities are for exploiting the technology owned.
There is also a need to identify gaps where complementary technology can be licensed in and identify non-core technology where know-how can be licensed out or divested for financial return. This is the province of patent mining. A clear and effective IP strategy critically incorporates a clear and effective strategy for managing an organisation’s patent portfolio.
But what are the key components of an effective patent portfolio management strategy? In broad terms, it comprises five components:
1. What do I have? (the IP audit)
2. What do I need? (the gap analysis)
3. Acquire what I need (the investment strategy)
4. Divest what I don’t need (the deployment strategy)
5. Ongoing maintenance and monitoring for effective development of the IP strategy over time
This article looks at each of these components in turn and highlights some of the research tools that help support these stages.