Quentin Tannock (Managing Director of CambridgeIP) presented at NanoMaterials Conference 2011 on the topic of 'Nanomaterials trends: Evidence from scientific literature'.
The presentation provides an overview, methodology, context and some conclusions of an recent nanomaterials IPLandscape conducted by CambridgeIP researchers.
3. Overview of nanomaterials patent study findings
• A general rise in nanotechnology patent activity masks a slow-
down in patenting rates in some nanotech sub-spaces
• Growth in ‘Nanomaterials’ has consistently outstripped growth in
other sub-spaces
Nanomaterials patent filings now account for around 40% of nanotechnology patents
Within „nanomaterials‟: Overall, „traditional‟ nano-materials remain important, Patent trends over time
however we observe increased activity in some „emerging‟ materials like graphene
Its all about the money… Emerging application areas include Energy & Environment
• Our nanomaterials patent activity research also reveals
High inter-relation between patents possibly indicating the presence of blocking
patents and patent thickets, also indicating complexity of nanomaterials deployments
and multiple markets/application spaces
High patent forward citation rates indicating breadth and quality
Rising strength of Asian countries and China in particular accompanied by Patents are inter-related
acquisitions of companies and technologies by Chinese companies.
Good mix of leading Universities & major corporations, indications that the space
overall is research intensive, yet maturing commercially.
Many joint patent filings indicating collaborative R&D
• You expressed concerns over blocking patents, patent thickets
and patent costs
Corporate/University R&D netw orks
9. Take the survey: IP issues facing the nanotech
community
• Our survey is ongoing and aims to identify
the key Intellectual Property issues facing
the nanotechnology community today.
• There is an option at the end of the
survey to receive a summary of the survey
results.
Take the survey:
www.cambridgeip.com/index.php/knowled
ge-centre/nanotech-survey
20. CambridgeIP research: Nanotech patent trends
• Broadly rising over time, masking a drop-off in some sub-sectors
• Very strong showing in the past 5 years from Asia
• There are indications that the space overall is research intensive, yet maturing
commercially
– Top players in the past 5 years include corporations and Universities, e.g. Canon, Rice
University, Samsung, Tsinghua University and 3M
– Top inventors tend to be from Universities and have an industrial affiliation
• Its all about the money… Example applications we observe in the patent
literature include
Electronics
Patent
Materials applications
may be
Health & Lifestyle unpublished for
18+ months.
Therefore the
number of
reported
patents for the
last 2 years
may be under-
represented