Patent strength analysis is a must in today’s rapidly changing world. A firm’s intellectual property- Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks are the most important asset. It decides the company’s future and growth. It is important to focus on quality rather than quantity. A patent may go through multiple legal stages. Litigation is one of the parameters that affect patent strength. Hence, Firms must not take investment decisions and other decisions without knowing the strength of a patent portfolio. Knowing the strength of the portfolio and prepare all of them for a favorable outcome is proper portfolio management.
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Patent Strength Analysis: Factors
- Size of patent family, It displays worldwide protection of patents
- The ratio of patent grants to Patent applications. It gives great insight into the quality of the patent application prepared by a firm.
- Forward citation is another parameter. A higher number of citation indicates good strength.
- No. of claim is also an important factor. More number of claims suggests that patent is strong in terms of litigation
- Patent strength also depends on the broadness of claims. Broadness is the sum of several claims and technical horizon
- The expiry date of the patent is also a parameter.
Tools
IP Score: EPO developed this tool. It makes it easy to manage a patent portfolio. It evaluates multiple factors like:
- Technology: It assesses and compares similar technologies in the domain. Also, It looks for upcoming technologies
- Finance: It views the patent in terms of quality and how much it can profit financially.
- Market Situation: Also, it evaluates the potential of a patent in terms of the current situation of that domain. How much it is beneficial and what is the scope in the current scenario.
- Legal: It depends on the number of claims, broadness and the validity of a claim. IP score also monitors infringements and enforcement.
The challenges of managing a patent portfolio are immense. There are various factors like market trends, innovations in technology, new laws, etc that can affect the process anytime. However, It can be said that these tools have made a job a little bit easier in terms of managing and assessing the value of the patent. Every tool has its algorithm and certainly different parameters too. The choice of tool depends on the consumer based on the choice of parameters.
Conclusion
Patent strength analysis is very crucial to evaluate the company. Also, It lays the ground for developments and future strategies. Knowing the value of the portfolio and managing it efficiently can save a lot of time and money, which are the most vital resources. Although there are different tools in the market efficient analysis still needs human assistance. Hence, Tools can make it somehow easy but analysis or supervision by an experienced IP professional is still necessary.
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