How to use patent information?

Patent analysis is one of the important analysis methods of information analysis. According to statistics, 90% to 95% of inventions in the world are recorded in patent documents every year. At present, about 90 countries, regions and organizations in the world publish about 1 10,000 patent documents in about 30 languages every year, and 70% to 90% of the inventions in the world only appear in patent documents, not in the form of periodical papers, conference reports and other documents. Due to the universality, professionalism, timeliness and openness of the technical content of patent documents, as well as the strictness, standardization and timeliness of the legal protection of patent documents, enterprises will obtain unique and practical information by flexibly using patent documents and analyzing patents, thus improving their competitiveness and innovation ability.

First, the characteristics of patent documents

Patent documents generally include patent bulletins, patent application documents, patent specifications, patent indexes, patent classification tables, patent abstracts and other published or unpublished information about patents and patentees.

In addition to a large number and a wide range of contents, patent documents also have characteristics that other information sources do not have:

1. Novelty: The principle of "apply first" adopted by most countries enables applicants to submit their applications as soon as possible after the invention is completed, so as to avoid others getting there first; Secondly, because novelty is the primary condition of patent application, inventions are mostly published in the form of patent documents rather than other scientific and technological documents; The early disclosure system of patent application implemented since the early 1970s has accelerated the speed at which patents reflect new technologies. On average, the time when the same invention appeared in patent literature was earlier than that in other media 1 ~ 2 years.

2. Reliability: After long-term publicity and strict examination, the patent content is clear and accurate, and it can be copied according to the patent literature.

3. Exquisite: Patent documents must disclose their technical details, which is the only document that applicants must disclose their key information to the public and will not disclose it elsewhere.

4. Normality: patent documents adopt a unified classification method, with consistent record formats and convenient retrieval.

Second, the information that can be obtained through patent literature.

Through the retrieval and analysis of patent literature, the following information can be obtained:

1, technical information

Patent literature can provide many key information and background information of new technology. Patents can be used to discover the possibilities and methods of improving existing products, processes and designs, as well as existing technologies, or alternative new technologies and new research directions.

2, technology and industry trends

Patent documents can show which institutions, which personnel and which countries are engaged in what research, what stage these studies are in and what results they have; From the time and space analysis, we can show what the current frontier technology is, what the market prospect is, what the life cycle of a technology or product is, what the potential market value and potential are, how the turning direction and major changes of products or technologies in this field and related fields have evolved, and where the gap between technology and market is.

3. Competitor information

A competitor's patent document can show the field and technical level of the other party's investment. By analyzing the number and types of patents applied by the other party in different periods, we can see the changes, key points and technical preferences of the other party's R&D and product strategy, as well as its possible future development direction and market strategy.

4. Intellectual property information

Patent literature is an information resource integrating technology, economy and law. Patent documents include authorized patent documents and published but unauthorized patent documents. Legal information mainly includes technical protection scope, application date, priority date, patent type, priority application country and other effective protection period and geographical scope.