Measuring patent quality: A claim and search report approach

This paper presents a new prospective metric for assessing the novelty and inventiveness of patents. It does this by using initial patent search reports and examiner's intuition about the impact of adverse citations on patent claim survival. The paper then demonstrates the metric by evaluating the quality of Switzerland's national patent stock using a selection model, finding that between 84 and 90% of the country's national patents would likely not survive examination at the European Patent Office. In doing so, it contributes to the larger literature on patent assessment, underscores the relevance of patent strategy in the observed characteristics of patents, and removes some of the ambiguity in the academic literature about backward citations.     

The prevalence of weak patents in the United States: A new method to identify weak patents and the implications for patent policy

The presence of patents with dubious validity (i.e., weak patents) has been one of the prominent patent policy issues with undesirable consequences in innovation. The present study empirically examines the prevalence of weak patents in the United States and whether or not the current patent system is capable of correcting weak patent issues. To this end, we propose a new method to identify weak patents by using patent citation information in conjunction with the textual similarity between citing and cited patents. Our method, along with a series of internal validation measures, shows that 13% of U.S. patents filed from 2001 to 2010 are weak patents. By applying this new method, we find that patent owners build a patent portfolio around a weak patent by developing subsequent inventions more than they do for a non-weak patent. Our further analysis finds that a weak patent is more or equally likely to be retained by the patent owner than a non-weak patent. Our findings suggest that patent owners have an incentive to invest in maintaining and appropriating weak patents, and thus, the current patent system is incapable of self-correcting weak patent issues.     

Ten years of the genomic era in Brazil: Impacts on technological development assessed by scientific production and patent analysis

Over ten years ago Brazil entered the era of genome projects with the launch of its first sequencing effort. Since then, a series of projects have been undertaken in the country, greatly contributing to the formation of scientific research networks, related infrastructure and specialized labor. Today, Brazil’s competence in this area is internationally recognized and it is one of the main countries in the number of genomes sequenced. This article examines the effects of these genome initiatives on Brazilian technological innovation, through a broad bibliometric review, comprising the analysis of academic and patent publications, which revealed that the development of technology has not kept pace with scientific output.     

Beyond patent analytics: Insights from a scientific and technological data mashup based on a case example

Although access to open and commercial digital sources is easily available thanks to the proliferation of the internet, R&D departments still face the challenge of how to analyze information from several sources. This paper addresses this issue specifically when technological and scientific information needs to be analyzed in an integrated manner. 12,577 families of patents, 2601 scientific papers and 706 news articles are combined, normalized and analyzed using their own metadata and text. A software tool is used to extract insights from semi-structured and unstructured data by means of text mining. Additionally, interactive force-directed graph visualization is employed to show the multiple relations of concepts during different time periods with regard to the entire technology ecosystem. Through a case study of 3D printing technology, this paper shows how to apply mashup and obtain the benefits, and it defines the challenges of using interactive visualization representation.     

Determinants of patent infringement awards in the US,Japan, and China: A comparative analysis

Patent litigations are essential measures to maximize returns from research and development. Although major countries have promoted pro-patent policies, there are significant differences in patent infringement awards among jurisdictions. This article comparatively analyzes determinants of patent infringement awards in the US, Japan, and China using 880 court decisions between 2000 and 2014. We find that Japan's judges attach more weight to a litigated patent's technological importance, whereas judges in the US and China prioritize its private economic value. Besides, damages ruled by US juries are almost unpredictable, while judges provide the most predictable decisions. We also find that the jury system can explain both the variation in the US patent infringement awards and the difference with awards in Japan, but the treble damage system can only explain the former. These results provide novel empirical evidence for public policy debates on patent protection and practical insights for intellectual property professionals.     

Case studies of coordination activities and problems in collaborative design

The design and engineering of large, complex electromechanical artifacts for use in space requires the integration of many engineering groups, spread across the components of the artifact and across the customer and suppliers. And within each engineering group there is a need to integrate the many diverse skills required, such as electrical, mechanical, thermal, software and materials. This paper describes the results of a study conducted from the Summer of1992 through the Fall of1993 at a medium sized aerospace company. The study had two goals. The first goal was to identify project delays that were due to poor coordination and integration. The second goal was to identify the activities which occupy engineers at the company and to rank the activities by the level of frustration and wasted effort encountered in performing them. The first goal was accomplished by studying25 problem cases, compiled and classified into six problem categories: information acquisition (24% of cases), information access (32% of cases), knowledge access (4% of cases), decision interdependence (8% of cases), activity management (12% of cases) and agent access (16% of cases). The delays associated with information acquisition, information access and knowledge access range from 1 day to as much as a year; they range from 1 day to a week for the other categories. The second goal, to identify the activities which occupy engineers and to rank the activities by the frustration and wasted effort encountered, was accomplished by conducting a survey, circulated to 30 engineers across five different departments. The participants were required to track the time spent in seven different activities over an actual 5 day week. They also estimated the time they would spend on these activities in a typical week on a percentage basis. The percentages of time spent were: information gathering (13.7%—actual; 12.2%—typical), problem, solving/thinking (28.0%—actual; 29.8%—typical), documentation (23.5%—actual; 19.5%—typical), planning (7.8%—actual; 8.5%—typical), negotiating (7.6%—actual; 9.8%—typical), support and consulting (17.1%—actual; 18.1%—typical) and other (2.3%—actual; 2.1%—typical). The participants also rated the activities from 1 (most frustrating) to 7 (least frustrating). The average scores, beginning with the most frustrating, were: 3.33-information gathering, 3.48-negotiation, 3.56-documentation, 3.67-support/consulting, 3.9-planning, 4.52-problem solving/thinking and 6.67-other.     

A proposed framework for the certification of the patent information professional

Gone are the days of exclusive access to esoteric patent information databases or rummaging through a classification box of patent publications in order to identify prior art. Patent information is now widely and freely available to all. Although the availability of patent information will likely facilitate future innovation, the access is resulting in a wide range of skills and competencies among those who search and interpret patent information. The time has come to standardise these skills and to devise a certification scheme so that the art of patent searching and analysis is entrenched as a profession for many years to come. This article reviews the progress towards such a scheme, and explains the current PIUG proposal, a key element of which is a three tiered examination structure.     

电能质量及其监测评估标准综述

本文介绍了中国、IEC、IEEE、欧盟等相关国家及国际组织的电能质量标准体系,分析了相关监测评估标准方法的异同点,并进行了数学仿真。     

Determinants of patent withdrawals: Evidence from a sample of Italian applications with the EPO

This paper analyses the propensity to withdraw European patent applications within a regional sample of Italian applicants. The procedure for obtaining a granted patent from the EPO is composed of a series of sequential and selective steps imposing additional costs to the applicants. Accordingly, we argue that early withdrawals – i.e. those occurring before the proper examination process begins – should be treated separately from late withdrawals. Our findings show the probability of an early withdrawal is higher for applicants with lower resources and competencies and rises with the number of backward citations added by EPO examiners to the original application. Late withdrawals, instead, are negatively affected by one factor only: the size of patent family, which approximates the sunk costs born by applicants in order to extend the geographical scope of patent protection. Such a limited explanation suggests that the interventions of EPO examiners are likely to play a significant role in inducing late withdrawals.     

The idiosyncrasy and dynamism of technological innovation across industries: patent citation analysis

In general, the structural and behavioral patterns of technological innovation are idiosyncratic across industrial sectors and dynamic over time. Yet, despite voluminous amounts of previous research, patterns of innovation are hard to standardize or theorize. The objectives of this article are two-fold. One is to investigate distinctive and changing patterns of technological innovation across industries and observe dynamic trends over time. The other is to identify patterns of relationships among industries and examine the roles of respective industries. To this end, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) patent database was used and patent citation analysis applied. The idiosyncratic differences among industrial sectors are highlighted, especially between conventional manufacturing sectors and science-based sectors. We also found changing trends in technological knowledge flows across industries.     

雨刮-风窗系统摩擦噪声声品质主客观评价

为探索雨刮-风窗系统摩擦噪声对车内声品质的影响,文章采集了某新能源汽车雨刮-风窗系统不同工况下的摩擦噪声并进行分析。基于声品质客观参数,计算该系统摩擦噪声响度、尖锐度等客观评价指标;采用语义细分法进行主观评价实验得到主观评价结果,基于支持向量机建立该系统摩擦噪声声品质预测模型。结果表明,雨刮-风窗系统刮片反转过程产生的噪声是影响车内声品质的主要因素;声品质预测模型效果较好。研究结果为雨刮-风窗系统摩擦噪声的声品质控制提供参考。     

Construction and validation of an ontology-based technology function matrix: Technology mining of cyber physical system patent portfolios

This research develops a computer-supported ontology-based Technology Function Matrix (TFM) construction method, called eTFM, as an approach to reduce technology mining man-power and enhance the accuracy and consistency of patent analysis results. The paper addresses a rarely discussed issue of the TFM validation. The proposed validation approach compares the TFMs construction based on both on the domain ontology and the International Patent Classification (IPC) classes. The research demonstrates the methodology's practical applications using the patent analysis case of cyber physical system (CPS), an essential core technology enabling advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0.     

显影液QA,QC的科学方法

本文为自动洗片机用高温快速显影液的科学管理与质量保证提供了简便、科学的检测方法,力医(?)影像质量的提高提供了可靠的保证。具有科学性、实用性、普及性。     

An experimental provision of patent and non-patent documents to research and developmental projects in a scientific research council in Zambia: a comparative evaluation of the value of patent information in scientific and technological research and development

The value of patent information in the transfer of technology to developing countries and its relevance in R&D is assessed by the provision of patent and non-patent documents to R&D projects. The documents were then evaluated by researchers on the basis of: relevance, novelty, extent of disclosure and on ease of adaption of the technologies disclosed. Tabular and statistical data of the evaluation is given.     

包装设计成品综合评价方法及其应用

提供了综合评价包装设计成品的一种数学方法 ,并用实例分析     

航天相机成像质量评价

分析航天相机成像的物理过程及光学系统的基本要求,提出成像质量的评价标准。     

课堂教学质量评价元评价中的效度和信度分析

为了确保课堂教学质量评价体系的科学性,我们必须对它进行元评价,在元评价过程中,使用法计算评价的信度,用因子分析法分析评价的效度,是检验评价体系可信和有效程度的重要方法.     

A methodology for evaluation of metal forming system design and performance via CAE simulation

In the current metal forming product development paradigm, product cost, time-to-market and product quality are three overriding issues, which determine the competitiveness of the developed products. In the up front design process, the first 20% of design activities commits to about 80% of product development cost and product quality issues. How to conduct ‘right the first time’ design is critical to ensure low development cost, high product quality and short time-to-market. To address these issues, state of the art technologies are needed. Traditionally, computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technologies provide solutions for representation of design intent and realization of design solution physically. However, it is difficult to address some critical issues in the design of forming process, tooling structure, material selection and properties configuration, and finally the product quality control and assurance. Computer-aided engineering (CAE) technology fills this gap as it helps practitioners generate, verify, validate and optimize design solutions before they are practically implemented and physically realized. In this paper, a methodology for evaluation of metal forming system design and performance via CAE simulation is developed. The concept of metal forming system and its design is first articulated and how the CAE technology helps design and design solution evaluation is then presented. To assess and evaluate the performance of metal forming systems, quantitative design evaluation criteria are developed. Through industrial case study, how the developed methodology helps metal forming system design and evaluation is illustrated and its efficiency and validity is finally verified.     

The growing number of patent citations to scientific papers: Changes in the world,nations, and fields

This study analyzes USPTO patents in the period 1998–2017. The number of science-related patents has increased twice as fast as the number of patents and scientific publications, and the number of cited papers per patent has almost doubled. These results vary substantially from one scientific and technological field to another. The proportion of the research papers cited by a patent has doubled. It refers to papers that are mostly published by the countries that have developed both scientific and technological capability and, surprisingly, are mainly used by inventors abroad. However, a weak relationship between the number of citations received from patents and papers reveals that the assessment of research performance needs some changes as the percentage of papers related to the innovations has grown over time.