IP mapping

IP mapping or 'patent mapping' means the mapping of certain patent details. Nederlandsch Octrooibureau can be of assistance, for instance when you wish to map the activities of your competitors, or the developments within a certain technological field. You may then use this information to compare your own position to that of your competitor(s), or to determine your position within that technological field. Patent mapping can be very useful in determining your patent strategy. Patent mapping can also matter significantly in finding potential licensees or strategic partners.

Strategy

A patent attorney will prepare a search strategy in consultation with you and based on this strategy several patent databases will be searched. The databases generate certain statistical information, such as for example the increase or decrease of the number of patents in a certain technological field in the course of time. A quantitative analysis of the information obtained will then lead to the desired information. On request, this quantitative analysis will be followed by a qualitative analysis, for instance to provide an overview of patent claims in a certain technological field.

Result

The results of the patent database study can be shown in many ways. For instance in figure 1 the activities of players in the field of wind energy are summarised. You can see at a single glance which players are increasing or in fact decreasing their activities in this field, and who the new players are.

The example in figure 2 represents the patent activities in the field of nutrition per country. This is for instance measured by the number of international applications (PCT applications) per country of origin. The figure clearly shows that the United States is the most active player in this field, followed by the Netherlands, Great Britain, Switzerland and Korea.

Patent databases and software

Several commercial institutions provide Patent Mapping services; commercial software is also available in this field. A first requirement for useful patent mapping, however, is the preparing of a proper search strategy. In addition, it is important to have access to a number of  good patent databases. Given the fact that each patent database has different pros and cons, thorough knowledge of each database is required to ensure the best results. Nederlandsch Octrooibureau ensures, in consultation with you, defining the right search strategy and consulting the right databases in order to present you with the desired result.

Nederlandsch Octrooibureau ensures, in consultation with you, defining the right search strategy and consulting the right databases in order to present you with the desired result.