Quality, rather than quantity, counts when it comes to technological patents, according to a survey of US filings made in 2005.
The analysis was carried out by 1790 Analytics, a company specialising in intellectual property analysis, based in New Jersey, US. It suggests that smaller companies, which file fewer patents than technological powerhouses, can still rank highly as innovators, providing their patents have a high potential impact.
This is demonstrated by the rankings included in the report. The most influential patent-filing company, according to the list, is Micron Technology, a microchip firm based Idaho, US. Despite filing just over half as many patents as IBM (the most prolific company), Micron Technology鈥檚 patents were calculated to have a greater potential impact by 1790 Analytics.
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The authors of the study used a combination of metrics to calculate the potential impact of a company鈥檚 patents. First, they considered the number of patents filed and whether this number had increased or decreased over the past year, compared to the four previous ones.
To determine the originality of each individual patent, they analysed the number other patents cited in each filing. And finally they looked at the number of times each patent was subsequently cited in other US patents, and whether these were in the same, or different technological fields, suggesting a narrower, or broader, range of influence.
Commercial value
Gerard Porter, an expert on patent law at the University of Edinburgh, UK, notes that company鈥檚 often cite the number of patents they hold as a sign of innovative prowess. He told 快猫短视频 that adding a qualitative angle offers a better measure, but nevertheless 鈥渋sn鈥檛 necessarily the final word鈥�.
He points out that other factors, such as the commercial impact of a patent, may be important for determining its ultimate significance. 鈥淚 would think the commercial value, in terms of licensing could be useful too,鈥� he says.
In addition, Porter points out that some patents may be important without having an immediate commercial payoff. 鈥淚f you think about stem cell patents, they haven鈥檛 generated a lot of licensing,鈥� he notes.
The 1790 Analytics survey will be published in the November 2006 edition of the IEEE magazine Spectrum.
