Introduction%20to%20Patent%20Information%20at%20WIPO%20and%20Proposed%20Development%20Agenda%20Projects

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Introduction to Patent Information at WIPO and
Proposed Development Agenda Projects
October 14th 2009 Geneva
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Contents

• The Patent System
• Patent Information
• PATENTSCOPE
• Related Development Agenda Projects
• Recommendation 8 (already approved)
• Recommendations 19, 30 and 31 (not yet approved)

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The Patent System

• Patent protection granted
• on a territorial basis, i.e. protection is
  limited to a specific country or region and for a
  limited time frame, i.e. max. 20 years
• Patent information disclosed
• globally, i.e. anyone, anywhere in the world can
  learn from this information

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New Technical Information Worldwide
Source WIPO Statistical Database (patent
families) World Bank, World Development
Indicators (journals)
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Opportunities for exploiting patent information

• Many patent collections are now digitalized
• Internet tools and databases make exploitation
  more cost-effective
• Opportunities exist to open patent information to
  new categories of users - SMEs, researchers,
  general public

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Potential uses of patent information

• Target research resources more effectively
  avoid re-inventing the wheel
• Learn from the research work of others
• Adapt technologies for local conditions
• Identify opportunities and potential partners for
  licencing, technology transfer, etc
• Patent strategy avoid infringement and
  litigation

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What is disclosed in a patent document?

• Technical Information
• Legal Information
• Business Information
• Economic Information from a statistical
  analysis of patents to lead to indicators useful
  in discussing public policy issues

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Technical knowledge

• Found in the description and claims
• Leading to further development of an idea -
  stimulus for further innovation
• leap-frogging of the known technology to lead
  to new inventions
• suggest alternative solutions
• solve comparable technical problems in other
  technical fields

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Legal Knowledge

• Found in the bibliographic data, claims (defining
  the scope of protection), fee data
• Allowing licensing or buying the knowledge to use
  it
• avoids costs in re-inventing the wheel
• creates new goods (intangible assets) which can
  be traded
• Legal use of non granted or expired patents -
  public domain good
• avoids research already carried out
• without having to buy technology it reduces costs

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Patent Information and Public Domain

• Technology disclosed in a patent document may be
  in the public domain if
• The patent application has not been filed in a
  given country
• The patent has not been granted, i.e. refused or
  withdrawn
• The patent term has expired, or the patent has
  not been renewed
• The disclosed information is not covered by the
  claims
• In any case, the INFORMATION is always in the
  public domain

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Business intelligence

• Patent documents disclose the RD activities of
  competitors
• Who are the competitors?
• Which technologies are they developing, where
  they are filing, who are the inventors?
• Patent databases often provide "watch" services

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Business intelligence
Example PCT publication WO 2006/020305 Gestures
for Touch-Sensitive Input Devices Published in
February 2006
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Business intelligence
Example PCT publication WO 2006/020305 Gestures
for Touch-Sensitive Input Devices Apple iPhone,
released in Janaury 2007
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Public policy / economic analysis

• Patent data can be mapped to show trends in
  technology over time
• Is a technology active or declining?
• What are the key components of the technology?
• What is the relative strength of different
  companies or countries?

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Patent mapping alternative energy
No. of Applications
No. of Applicants

• Patent trend analysis shows that alternative
  energy technology is at the early development
  stage, where the number of the patent
  applications is increasing and the researchers
  involved become diversified.

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Free online databases

• WIPO (PATENTSCOPE search service)
  http//www.wipo.int/pctdb/
• EPO (esp_at_cenet) http//www.espacenet.com/
• JPO IPDL http//www.ipdl.inpit.go.jp/
• USPTO http//patft.uspto.gov/
• And many more http//www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/
  search/national_databases.html

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Commercial databases

• Value-added patent information on a fee-paying
  basis.
• A list of such databases and many others can be
  found on the web-site of the Patent Information
  Users Group (PIUG) at http//www.piug.org/vendors/
  php
• Examples
• www.delphion.com
• www.patentcafe.com
• www.wipsglobal.com
• www.orbit.com
• ip.thomsonreuters.com

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Patent Information Worldwide

• Of all the patent documents in the world
• Less than ? of WIPO member states have electronic
  patent data
• Less than 50 of documents have a searchable
  title
• Less than 35 of documents have a searchable
  abstract
• Only documents from a small number of offices
  have searchable full-text
• Status information is limited

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WIPO Cooperation Projects in Patent Information

• Focus on developing countries where patent
  information coverage is currently limited, e.g.
  South Africa, ARIPO, Viet Nam, Cuba, etc.
• Demand-driven
• WIPO assistance with
• Digitilization
• Dissemination
• Office automation

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PATENTSCOPE - Introduction

• WIPOs Patent Information Portal
• Database comprising international patent
  applications (PCT)
• Database comprising national patent collections
• Currently 8 national/regional collections
  available, as well as the PCT database
• More collections to be added regularly - focus
  always on developing countries
• Free of charge
• http//www.wipo.int/patentscope/en

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PCT Advanced Search
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National collections Simple search
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Search Results Tabular Analysis Clusters

• (Almost) instant analysis of thousands of search
  results by cluster
• Office, IPC, applicant, inventor, and filing
  date

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Graphical Analysis by IPC or Applicant
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Graphical Analysis by Main Applicants / Year
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Bibliographic Data
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Description/Claims
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Documents

• Published Documents and related file contents
• Search reports (prior art)
• Written opinions and preliminary examination
  reports (patentability)

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National Phase Status

• 2.6 Million notification from 34 offices
• Legal status (where available)
• Internet hyperlinks to certain offices (further
  status information, translations, etc)

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Case studyUsing Patent Information in Research
and Development
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Example Electric Welding Machinery

• Welding machinery is widely used in engineering
  and construction.
• Locally produced equipment may be inefficient
  and dangerous due to outdated technologies.
• Imported equipment is expensive.
• How can we improve on existing designs using
  public-domain information?
• (Scenario borrowed from Prof. Tom P. Ogada,
  Director, Kenya Industrial Research and
  Development Institute, Nairobi).

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Example Electric Welding Machinery

• Patent search results
• 175 patent filings from PCT, Korea, Mexico, South
  Africa and Israel

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Example Electric Welding Machinery

• Analysis over time shows that the technology is
  relatively stable

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Example Electric Welding Machinery

• One company, Lincoln Global Inc, has filed 34
  relevant patent applications

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Example Electric Welding Machinery

• Legal Status
• Lincoln Global has broad global patent coverage,
  including developing countries

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Example Electric Welding Machinery

• What have we learned?
• Technology and Market information
• Potential business partners / or competitors / or
  patentability issues
• Public domain vs. patented technologies
• State of the art information to stimulate
  creativity of engineers

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Related Development Agenda Projects
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Project regarding Recommendation 8 (already
approved)

• Demand from WIPO member states for access to
  specialized databases
• Utilization of patent information is more than
  access to databases, it must include
  capacity-building and training

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Access to NPL Databases - aRDi

• Access to Research for Development and Innovation
  (aRDi)
• Purpose Free or low-cost online access to
  scientific and technical journals
• Concept Based on successful programs at WHO, FAO
  and UNEP in cooperation with scientific
  publishers
• Free access for non-profit entities and IP
  offices in LDC countries
• Low cost access for IP offices of developing
  countries authorized by the publishers

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Access to Patent Databases

• Negotiations to facilitate preferential access to
  specialized patent databases for developing
  countries following the aRDi model for
  eligibility criteria

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Capacity Building

• Support in the utilization of patent information
  and scientific/technical journals
• TISC Technology and Innovation Support Centres
• Successful models in industrialized countries
  (e.g. PATLIB centres in Europe)
• Based in patent offices, universities, research
  centres, etc
• WIPO provides
• Access to databases
• Training
• Local centre provides
• Staff and facilities

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Recommendations 19, 30 and 31 (not yet approved)

• Request to facilitate access to knowledge and
  technology, particularly in areas of special
  interest
• Patent Landscaping Tools and Services
• Patent Landscapes
• E-learning tutorials
• Regional TISC Network Conferences

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Patent Landscapes - Areas

• Policy-oriented analytical reports based on
  statistical analysis of patent data, particularly
  focusing on areas of public policy concern
• Health
• Environment
• Food and Agriculture
• Disability

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Patent Landscapes - Partners

• Specific themes for the landscapes to be
  determined through discussions with
• Member States
• IGOs
• NGOs

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Patent Landscapes - Input

• To date contacts with
• TDR Research and Training in Tropical Diseases
• ANDI - African Network of Drug and Diagnostics
  Innovation
• UNITAID Multinational funds for scaling up
  access to specific medicines
• DNDi Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative
• UNICEF

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Patent Landscapes - Format

• Format to be determined in Terms of Reference
  for experts concise, easily accessible, standard
  layout
• Possible example
• Introduction - background to subject
• Methodology - data used, definitions of subject
  searched
• Patent analysis - trends by country, by
  technology, by applicant, using text, tables,
  graphs
• Recommendations policy implications (global,
  national, etc.)

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Patent Landscapes Project Steps

• 12 patent landscapes spread out over 2 year
  project period
• Decide specific theme
• Draft terms of reference with regard to
  requirements (format, indication of analysis,
  etc.)
• Select institution / expert to draft landscape
• Periodic review of landscape
• Final review and acceptance

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Technology Focus Patent Landscapes
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Technology Focus - Alternative Energy
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Technology Focus Wind Power
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Wind power Activity index
Source WIPO, Patent-based Technology Analysis
Report Alternative Energy Technology

• A countrys degree of concentration of patent
  filings in a particular technology
• A positive value for a particular technology
  implies that the country has a relatively high
  share of patent applications published in that
  technology (i.e. it has a higher share in
  applications published in this technology
  relative to its share in all technologies).

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E-learning Tutorial - Content

• Searching patent information
• Retrieving patent intelligence
• Patent landscapes, maps, mining
• Drafting specific patent landscapes by
  institutions (e.g. TISCs)
• Searching scientific technical journals
• aRDi, HINARI, AGORA, OARE

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E-learning Tutorial - Format

• Available on
• DVD
• PATENTSCOPE website on the internet

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E-learning Tutorial Project Steps

• Terms of Reference drafted to include specific
  tutorial subjects, e.g. patent searching,
  analysis, landscaping drafting, etc.
• Selection of institution/expert for drafting the
  tutorial subjects
• Selection of graphics designer to make the
  tutorial user-friendly and accessible
• Publication

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Regional Patent Information TISC Network
Conferences

• Exchange best practices between IPOs, TISCs,
  stakeholders
• Regular (annual or biannual) events
• Comprising
• Plenary sessions
• Training workshops

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Regional Patent Information TISC Network
Conferences

• Regional conferences
• Africa and Arab region (planned for 2011)
• Asian and Pacific region (planned for 2010)
• Latin American and Caribbean region (planned for
  2011)
• One participant financed by WIPO to attend
  conference
• Speakers/experts financed by WIPO

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Thank you for your attention!