1. THE HARMONY OF THE SPHERES:
BRINGING TOGETHER TOOLS AND
TECHNIQUES FOR PATENT ANALYSIS
II-SDV 2012
Nice 16-17 April 2012
Bob Stembridge
Customer Relations Manager, IP & Science
Thomson Reuters
Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012 – Do Not Distribute

2. AGENDA
• TODAY’S IP UNIVERSE
• THE IP INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL AS
CONDUCTOR
• KEY TOOLS & TECHNIQUES
– Landscaping
– Trend analysis
– Competitive intelligence
– Technology intelligence
– Licensing/partnership analysis
– Staying in tune
2

3. TODAY’S IP UNIVERSE
3
Nortel patents sold for $4.5bn
Valuing patents: Doing the maths

4. IP INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL AS CONDUCTOR
The task of the
professional patent
searcher is to
understand the
complex mix of
science, law and
information retrieval
skills which enables
the industrial user to
make sense of the
documents and to
exploit their contents
effectively
Stephen Adams
IP INFORMATION
PROFESSIONAL
“
”

5. BUSINESS DECISION SUPPORT
• What does the technology landscape look like?
• What are the trends in innovation?
• Where do inventions originate?
• Who owns what?
• Who is active now?
• Who covers specific technical aspects?
• Which are the high impact inventions?
• Are there licensing or collaboration opportunities?

6. KEY TOOLS & TECHNIQUES:
LANDSCAPING
6

7. WHAT DOES THE TECHNOLOGY
LANDSCAPE LOOK LIKE?
7
Source: Thomson Innovation ThemeScape Map

8. 8
KEY TOOLS & TECHNIQUES:
TREND ANALYSIS

9. IS THIS AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY?
9
Scientific research precedes patent activity
Source: Thomson Innovation

10. PRIORITY COUNTRY TIMELINES
US and Japan lead development in this field, with
other countries working at a much slower pace.
Chinese patenting is very low
Source: Thomson Innovation & Thomson Data Analyzer

11. EMERGING COUNTRIES
Asian growth has been
driven by South Korea
and Japan. There has
also been significant
growth from France.
Source: Thomson Innovation

12. 12
KEY TOOLS & TECHNIQUES:
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

13. WHO ARE YOUR COMPETITORS?
13
Who’s more important – the dominant player
(now inactive) or the new entrant?
Source: Thomson Innovation & Thomson Data Analyzer

14. HOW STIFF IS THE COMPETITION?
Rapidly and effectively assess
the nature of your competition
Source: Thomson Innovation & Thomson Data Analyzer

15. TIER 1 ASSIGNEES
Source: Thomson Innovation & Thomson Data Analyzer

16. NEW ENTRANTS
Source: Thomson Innovation & Thomson Data Analyzer

17. WHERE IS COMPANY FILING?
17
Map competitor’s patent holdings
to see distribution of its IP portfolio
Source: Thomson Reuters IP Monitor

18. 18
KEY TOOLS & TECHNIQUES:
TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS

19. TECHNICAL CATEGORIES
Source: Thomson Innovation & Thomson Data Analyzer

20. TIER 1 ASSIGNEE INNOVATION FOCUS
Source: Thomson Innovation & Thomson Data Analyzer

21. CROSS-CORRELATING TECHNICAL CATEGORIES
Source: Thomson Innovation & Thomson Data Analyzer

22. KEY TOOLS & TECHNIQUES:
LICENSING/PARTNERSHIP
ANALYSIS
22

23. OUTLICENSE OPPORTUNITIES?
23
Source: Thomson Innovation

24. COLLABORATION PARTNERS?
24
COMMISARIAT
COMMISARIAT L’ENERGIE A
Source: Thomson Innovation
Forward patent citations
reveal potential partners

25. ADJACENT PARTNER IDENTIFICATION?
25
Source: Thomson Data Analyzer
The lines
represent
connections
between
technologies
and their
uses, and
may identify
new partners
or customers

26. WHERE IS CHINA STRONG IN R&D
AS A MEASURE OF SCIENTIFIC OUTPUT?
26
Source: Thomson Reuters InCites
Understanding areas of
publication prominence
helps determine if there
is a potential
partnership opportunity

27. STAYING IN TUNE
27

28. ALERTING
28

29. MAKING SWEET MUSIC
29

30. CONDUCTING THE ORCHESTRA
• Understand the big picture
questions facing your business
• Use tools and resources to
develop intelligence to support
business decisions
• Add deeper insight and value to
what you produce
• Make recommendations based
on your knowledge of a situation
30

31. THANK YOU
bob.stembridge@thomsonreuters.com
COPYRIGHT THOMSON REUTERS 2012, DO NOT DISTRIBUTE