Identifying rapidly evolving technological trends for R&;D planning using SAO-based semantic patent networks

Patents constitute an up-to-date source of competitive intelligence in technological development; thus, patent analysis has been a vital tool for identifying technological trends. Patent citation analysis is easy to use, but fundamentally has two main limitations: (1) new patents tend to be less cited than old ones and may miss citations to contemporary patents; (2) citation-based analysis cannot be used for patents in databases which do not require citations. Naturally, citation-based analysis tends to underestimate the importance of new patents and may not work in rapidly-evolving industries in which technology life-cycles are shortening and new inventions are increasingly patented world-wide. As a remedy, this paper proposes a patent network based on semantic patent analysis using subject-action-object (SAO) structures. SAO structures represent the explicit relationships among components used in a patent, and are considered to represent key concepts of the patent or the expertise of the inventor. Based on the internal similarities between patents, the patent network provides the up-to-date status of a given technology. Furthermore, this paper suggests new indices to identify the technological importance of patents, the characteristics of patent clusters, and the technological capabilities of competitors. The proposed method is illustrated using patents related to synthesis of carbon nanotubes. We expect that the proposed procedure and analysis will be incorporated into technology planning processes to assist experts such as researchers and R&D policy makers in rapidly-evolving industries.     

Analyzing technology impact networks for R&D planning using patents: combined application of network approaches

Recently, national governments have tried to improve technology ecology, by formulating research and development (R&D) policies and investing in R&D programs. For strategically designed national R&D plans, analytic approaches that identify and assess the impact of each technology from short-term and long-term perspectives are necessary. Further, in methodological perspective, the approaches should be able to synthetically consider the most recent technological information, the direct and hidden impacts among technologies, and the relative impacts of the focal technology in globally-linked technological relationship from the overall perspective. However, most previous studies based patent citation networks are insufficient for these requirements. As a remedy, we present a combined approach for constructing a technology impact network and identifying the impact and intermediating capability of technology areas from the perspective of a national technology system. To construct and analyze the technology impact network, our method integrates three network techniques: patent co-classification (PCA), decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), and social network analysis (SNA). The advantages of the proposed method are threefold. First, it identifies the directed technological knowledge flows from the most recent patents, by employing PCA. Second, the proposed network contains both the direct and indirect impacts among different technology areas, by applying the DEMATEL method. Third, using SNA, the method can analyze the characteristics of the technologies in terms of the comprehensive impacts and the potential brokerage capabilities. The method is illustrated using all of the recent Korean patents (58,279) in the United States patent database from 2008 to 2012. We expect that our method can be used to provide input to decision makers for effective R&D planning.     

Exploring the effect of dual use on the value of military technology patents based on the renewal decision

Concerns regarding the high level of research and development (R&D) expenditure on military technology have prompted many nations to pursue a dual-use regime in military R&D. However, the value of dual-use military technology has not yet been quantitatively investigated. We explore whether military technology with a higher level of duality has been more valuable than that with a lower level of duality. We assume that the patent of valuable military technology was renewed until its termination. We retrieve military patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office during 1976–2014 based on their International Patent Classification (IPC) as F41 or F42. Then, we propose three indicators to assess the duality level of them. The first indicator is based on the determination of whether the patented technology is utilizable in both the military and the civilian sectors using its IPC. For the second indicator, we estimate the potential of convergence of a patented technology with various technological fields using the degree of centrality of the IPC’s co-occurrence network. The third indicator is based on ratio of forward citation by the civilian sector over the total number of forward citations as a measurement of technology diffusion toward the civilian sector. Using logistic regression, we found that the first two indicators are positively associated with patent renewal decision, while the last indicator is nonsignificant. The effects of the two significant indicators suggests that military technologies are more valuable when the technology itself can be used in various sectors, including the civilian sector, and can be converged with technologies in different fields. However, the nonsignificant influence of the third variable suggests that the relation between patent value and diffusion effects toward following inventions is not confined to the civilian sector. Our findings provide evidence of the impact of dual-use policies in military R&D.     

What do university patent routes indicate at regional level?

Summary We estimate the determinants of university patents by route in Spain. National patents are an indicator of R&D efforts when we focus on the region, but not of how regions organize their university or joint research structure. International patents are a stronger indicator of R&D efforts, so they express confidence in the potential of the patent. Neither set is an indicator of proximity to the region's competencies in technologies other than for production-intensive sectors, so they will not always foster regional technology transfer. Since the driving forces of national and international patents differ, the use of both is recommended.     

Network structure of innovation: can brokerage or closure predict patent quality?

Patents are important intellectual assets for companies to defend or to claim their technological rights. To control R&D cost, companies should carefully examine their patents by patent quality. Approaches to evaluating patent quality are mostly a posteriori uses of factual information of patent quality. This paper examined whether patent quality can be predicted a priori, i.e., during the early years after a patent is granted, by analyzing information embedded in a network of patent citations. Social network analysis was applied to analyze two network positions occupied by a patent, brokerage and closure to determine whether either position is a good predictor of patent quality. Patent renewal decisions and forward citations were adopted as surrogates of patent quality. The analytical results showed that forward citations can be positively predicted by the brokerage position and negatively predicted by the closure position in the early and mature stages. Renewal decisions can be negatively predicted by the brokerage position in the early stage, and the closure position influences the renewal decision in a different way in the early and mature stages. These analytical results imply that a company should focus on developing patents that bridge different technologies as its technological developments reach maturity.     

Identifying technological competition trends for R&D planning using dynamic patent maps: SAO-based content analysis

Patent maps showing competition trends in technological development can provide valuable input for decision support on research and development (R&D) strategies. By introducing semantic patent analysis with advantages in representing technological objectives and structures, this paper constructs dynamic patent maps to show technological competition trends and describes the strategic functions of the dynamic maps. The proposed maps are based on subject-action-object (SAO) structures that are syntactically ordered sentences extracted using the natural language processing of the patent text; the structures of a patent encode the key findings of the invention and expertise of its inventors. Therefore, this paper introduces a method of constructing dynamic patent maps using SAO-based content analysis of patents and presents several types of dynamic patent maps by combining patent bibliographic information and patent mapping and clustering techniques. Building on the maps, this paper provides further analyses to identify technological areas in which patents have not been granted (“patent vacuums”), areas in which many patents have actively appeared (“technological hot spots”), R&D overlap of technological competitors, and characteristics of patent clusters. The proposed analyses of dynamic patent maps are illustrated using patents related to the synthesis of carbon nanotubes. We expect that the proposed method will aid experts in understanding technological competition trends in the process of formulating R&D strategies.     

References to literature in patent documents: A case study of CSIR in India

Summary The paper examines the use of references by applicants and the examiners in US patent documents by R&D scientists from CSIR in India. It observes that scientists in CSIR use higher inputs of scientific information than the technical information in patenting. The examiners do make their own prior art search and add significantly to the patent and non-patent literature, which is distinctly different from the references given by the R&D scientists from CSIR. It identifies (a) the major disciplines and the sub-disciplines that contribute most of the scientific knowledge, and (b) the countries from where most references to patent literature are made. The applicants cite relatively less recent patent literature and more medium-term patent literature in comparison to citations by examiners. The paper observes that there is scope of improvement in making relevant prior art search, particularly, for patent literature by R&D scientists and in planning and organizing the information support for conducting patentable R&D in CSIR.     

Analysis of propensity to patent and science-dependence of large Japanese manufacturers of electrical machinery

Summary The paper aims to clarify the extent to which the results of scientific-oriented research conducted by corporations are reflected in their application-oriented research. Focusing on large Japanese manufacturers of electrical machinery, the paper analyses firm-level data on presentations of scientific papers that represent the results of scientific-oriented research activities, citations of scientific papers in patents, and inventions. The electrical machinery industry, a prototypical science-based industry, has been placing a growing emphasis on scientific-oriented research during the 1990's as is evident from trends in R&D expenses, scientific papers, and inventions. Regression analysis results suggest a complementary relationship between citations of basic scientific knowledge as presented in scientific papers on the one hand and acts of invention on the other hand, in the sense that a rise in citations corresponds to a rise in inventions. Moreover, the results suggest that invention efficiency (number of patent claims per unit of R&D expenditure) has been increasing during the 1990's. Furthermore, the results suggest that, given the exogenous influences on the patent system in Japan, it is necessary to include the number of patent claims when attempting to measure corporate technology development activity through the volume of patent applications. However, there was no finding of a clear relationship between the number of scientific papers and inventions. Implications of these results for corporate R&D strategy are examined.     

Patent market dynamics: In view of the business model of non-practicing entities

The emergence of Non-Practicing Entities (“NPEs”) influences patent market dynamics. Based on a database of NPE activities from 1996 to 2010, this paper attempts to investigate these influences in view of NPEs' heterogeneity. We found NPEs with prominent R&D involvements can integrate knowledge from the innovation and patent markets, and might therefore generate valuable patents and facilitate effective technology transfer. Hence, when compared with NPEs without any R&D involvement, R&D-performing NPEs appeared able to monetize their patents without resorting to excessive litigation. Thus, different NPEs could exert different influences and drive patent market dynamics in their own respective ways.     

Effective R&D investment planning based on technology spillovers: the case of Korea

This study was performed to discuss an R&D investment planning method based on the technology spillover among R&D fields, from the point of view of technology convergence. The empirical analysis focused on a particular R&D group, such as university departments and specialized research institutes, since local technology combinations are more effective than distant combinations to create a new technology, according to previous research. In addition, worldwide technology competition is increasing, and with the recent convergence of various technologies and industries, strategies for R&D selection and resources allocation of particular R&D groups are becoming increasingly important. The empirical analysis uses a modified Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method combined with information on patent citations to resolve the latent problems of the existing model, using as an empirical example the case of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), specialized in the geology and resources development R&D area. Through the empirical analysis, the KIGAM’s current R&D investment status is considered, and a reasonable R&D investment planning is suggested from the perspective of technology spillover. By using this framework, the magnitude of technology spillover from the R&D investment planning within a particular R&D group can be measured based on objective quantitative data, and the current R&D investment can be compared with recent global trends.     

Prediction of emerging technologies based on analysis of the US patent citation network

The network of patents connected by citations is an evolving graph, which provides a representation of the innovation process. A patent citing another implies that the cited patent reflects a piece of previously existing knowledge that the citing patent builds upon. A methodology presented here (1) identifies actual clusters of patents: i.e., technological branches, and (2) gives predictions about the temporal changes of the structure of the clusters. A predictor, called the citation vector, is defined for characterizing technological development to show how a patent cited by other patents belongs to various industrial fields. The clustering technique adopted is able to detect the new emerging recombinations, and predicts emerging new technology clusters. The predictive ability of our new method is illustrated on the example of USPTO subcategory 11, Agriculture, Food, Textiles. A cluster of patents is determined based on citation data up to 1991, which shows significant overlap of the class 442 formed at the beginning of 1997. These new tools of predictive analytics could support policy decision making processes in science and technology, and help formulate recommendations for action.     

Assessing the foreign control of production of technology: The case of a small open economy

Summary International R&D activities have grown significantly over the last two decades. Both the number of actors involved, as well as the importance of the technological activity carried out abroad, has considerably increased. We aim to quantify the international generation of knowledge for the case of Belgium, using indicators based on EPO and USPTO patent data (1978-2001). We distinguish among Belgian applicants, affiliates of foreign firms located in Belgium as well as Belgian based firms with affiliates abroad. This approach allows to improve existing indicators of internationalisation of technology based on patent data. The results are consistent with what can be expected for a small open economy as Belgium. A large part of patents with Belgian inventors are assigned to Belgian affiliates of foreign firms. Hence our more complete indicator of foreign ownership gives a substantially higher foreign control of Belgian inventors. Relatively more knowledge generated by Belgian inventors flows out of the country towards foreign owners of technology, than that knowledge generated abroad is owned by Belgian patent applicants. But the share of foreign inventors to Belgian assigned patents is considerably increasing over time, especially in the subcategory of Belgian firms with foreign affiliates.     

The impact of R&;D collaboration on innovative performance in Korea: A Bayesian network approach

It is well known from previous research activities that R&D collaboration among economic actors for knowledge production is very important. An accompanying analysis of the impact of R&D collaboration on innovative performance has to be conducted for transferring knowledge to the globalized knowledge-based economy. When we first investigated previous research concerning R&D collaboration, we found some limitations in the analysis methodology. In order to overcome these limitations in previous research, we applied a Bayesian network for analyzing the impact of R&D collaboration in Korean firms on their innovative performance.     

Using patents and publications to assess R&D efficiency in the states of the USA

Even with the USA spending the largest amounts in R&D, its share in total patent grants worldwide has been declining. This decline is also evident in its share of world scientific publications. These developments have been termed by some as the “American Paradox”. Extant research on R&D efficiency and technological innovation capability has considered the USA as a homogeneous entity and has not focused at the sub-national level. This paper analyses the R&D efficiency of 50 US states and the District of Columbia. R&D efficiency is calculated as the ratio of patents granted and scientific publications to R&D expenditures. Only 14 states out of the 51 regions are found to exhibit positive changes in R&D efficiency between 2004 and 2008. Comparing this performance with that of the BRICS nations over the same period we find that Brazil, India, China and South Korea show significant improvements in R&D efficiency with India taking the lead. This research identifies the states in the US with the highest R&D efficiency and presents benchmarks which can be followed by policy interventions. The paper highlights the importance of conducting analyses of R&D efficiency using patents and publications at the sub-national level for informed policy making.     

Exploring the quality of environmental technology in Europe: evidence from patent citations

In this paper we carry out an empirical analysis to address some questions concerning the production and quality of technology in environmental sectors. The methodology involves patents as a measure of the generation of new knowledge, and patent citations as a proxy for the quality of a technological invention. The sample contains more than 12,000 environmental European patents from firms and government institutions from 1998 to 2004. From our econometric analysis, we found that environmental patents applied by individual inventors present on average less quality that those applied by institutional inventors. The size of family patent is relevant to explain forward patent citation. Furthermore, patents coming from abroad (out of Europe), in particular with US and Japan priority, are more cited on average than local patents (with European priority). Lastly, the specialization in environmental fields of a patent plays a negative role in determining the frequency of forward citation.     

Do R&D Spinoffs have Higher R&D Productivity? Evidence from Taiwanese Electronics Firms

The startup mode of spinoffs founded by R&D employees (R&D spinoffs) within the same industry is widespread in high-tech industries. The founders usually own specific human capital and key technological capability, enabling them to take the operational risk and to appropriate rewards of innovations under the industrial environment of rapid technological change. Whether high-tech R&D spinoffs, compared to their other spinoff counterparts, have better R&D productivity remains less well explored. According to the conceptual discussion of the advantages of intangible innovation assets embodied in company founders, this study argues that the founders' innovation cognition, knowledge externalities, absorptive capability and routine experience can help R&D spinoffs to have higher R&D productivity. We thus propose three hypotheses that are then empirically tested. Based on a sample of Taiwanese electronics firms, the empirical findings show that R&D spinoffs invest with a higher R&D intensity and on average have more patents issued. More importantly, the microeconometric estimates show that the patent and output elasticities of the R&D of R&D spinoffs are significantly higher than those of other firms, indicating that they actually have higher R&D productivity.     

Offshore versus domestic: Can EM MNCs reach higher R&D quality abroad?

In the current discourse about the technological development of emerging market multinational companies (EM MNCs), the internationalization of research and development (R&D) activities is increasingly discussed as a strategy for catching-up to established MNCs. EM MNCs attempt to use international R&D to tap into technologically superior resources abroad which are not available to them in their home market. This study compares the performance of domestic and offshore R&D activities to look into EM MNCs’ ability to conduct high-quality R&D abroad. We use the Chinese telecommunication equipment manufacturer Huawei as a best practice case study. To map their worldwide patent quality pattern, we propose a multiple-patent-office-approach to ensure a balanced view on their activities with data from SIPO, USPTO and EPO. We also employ three different measures to capture different dimensions of patent quality. The results of the empirical model support the assumption of higher quality for patents with knowledge from advanced offshore locations.     

Patents cited in the scientific literature: An exploratory study of 'reverse' citation relations

This paper reports on a new approach to study the linkage between science and technology. Unlike most contributions to this area we do not trace citations of scientific literature in patents but explore citations of patents in scientific literature. Our analysis is based on papers recorded in the 1996-2000 annual volumes of the CD-Edition of Science Citation Index (SCI) of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and patent data provided by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Almost 30,000 US patents were cited by scientific research papers. We analysed the citation links by scientific fields and technological sectors. Chemistry-related subfields tended to cite patents more than other scientific area. Among technological sectors, chemical clearly dominates followed by drugs and medical patents as the most frequently cited categories. Further analyses included a country-ranking based on inventor-addresses of the cited patents, a more detailed inspection of the ten most cited patents, and an analysis of class-field transfers. The paper concludes with the suggestions for future research. One of them is to compare our 'reverse' citation data with 'regular' patent citation data within the same classification system to see whether citations occur, irrespectively of their directionality, in the same fields of science and technology. Another question is as to how one should interpret reverse citation linkages.