Instruments for patent data analyses in business firms

The availability of patent data in data banks has largely increased the possibilities for patent analyses. In this paper we discuss overall measures of patent activity for individual firms. As the data are broken down by technology fields we introduce patent portfolios that represent the patent position of a firm relative to its competitors over all technology fields covered. We then use matrix algebra to suggest an alternative to standard procedures of importance weightings for patents, and we extent the analysis to show the relations between inventors and end-products via patents that are used in the end-products. This may have many applications, from inventor remuneration to human resource management. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research.

[1]  R. Wilson,et al.  Patent analysis using online databases--I. Technological trend analysis , 1987 .

[2]  R. S. Campbell,et al.  Patent trends as a technological forecasting tool , 1983 .

[3]  R. Sen,et al.  Using Patent Information in Technology Business Planning—I , 1988 .

[4]  N. Kiefer.  Economic Duration Data and Hazard Functions , 1988 .

[5]  Bjørn L. Basberg,et al.  Patents and the measurement of technological change: A survey of the literature☆ , 1987 .

[6]  Francis Narin,et al.  Citation rates to technologically important patents , 1981 .

[7]  F. Narin,et al.  Patents as indicators of corporate technological strength , 1987 .

[8]  Andrew Vazsonyi,et al.  The Use of Mathematics in Production and Inventory Control , 1954 .

[9]  Donald B. Miller,et al.  Challenges in Leading Professionals , 1988 .

[10]  Francis Narin,et al.  Technological performance assessments based on patents and patent citations , 1984, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

[11]  Andrew Vazsonyi,et al.  The Use of Mathematics in Production and Inventory Control---II Theory of Scheduling , 1955 .

[12]  Alfred C. Marmor,et al.  The technology assessment and forecast program of the United States patent and trademark office , 1979 .

[13]  H. Glismann,et al.  Comparative Invention Performance of Major Industrial Countries: Patterns and Explanations , 1988 .

[14]  Jacob Schmookler,et al.  Invention and Economic Growth , 1967 .

[15]  T. Saaty,et al.  The Analytic Hierarchy Process , 1985 .

[16]  Adam B. Jaffe,et al.  Characterizing the “technological position” of firms, with application to quantifying technological opportunity and research spillovers☆ , 1989 .

[17]  Z. Griliches.  Patent Statistics as Economic Indicators: a Survey , 1990 .

[18]  R. Wilson,et al.  Patent analysis using online databases -- II. Competitor activity monitoring , 1987 .

[19]  Derek L. Bosworth.  CHANGES IN THE QUALITY OF INVENTIVE OUTPUT AND PATENT BASED INDICES OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE , 1973 .