How to Use Patent Datasets for More Accurate IP Portfolio Evaluations

Disruptive technologies—from cryptocurrencies and medical breakthroughs to electric vehicles and artificial intelligence—are reshaping every layer of the global economy. A flurry of patenting activity takes place every single day, and any business hoping to achieve and maintain an advantage in its respective industry needs an in-depth understanding of this activity and its implications.

That’s where a mastery of patent data comes into play. But before we dive into how patent data can help your organization, first here’s a quick baseline definition of what a patent is:

A patent, also known as an intellectual property (IP) asset, is a legal title of an invention. It grants its bearer the exclusive right to use that specific invention for commercial gain within a limited geographic region and time span.

Patent data, then, is exactly what it sounds like: Datasets containing bulk information on invention patents. Your organization can use patent data to improve its understanding into the IP portfolios of market rivals, business partners, and possible acquisitions. And with access to the right breadth and depth of qualitative and quantitative patent data, you stand to greatly improve your analyses and benefit from highly informed investment decisions and market moves.

But the reality is patents and the trail of paperwork they leave behind can be as complex as the disruptive technologies they protect. Combining that with the fact that patent transactions and new market developments take place seemingly by the second, how exactly can you move swiftly enough to capitalize on IP opportunities the moment those opportunities arise? You need a way to quickly and effectively evaluate both foreign and domestic patent portfolios, so you can understand the true value an IP portfolio holds, in the precise moment you need to.

And you can do just that with LexisNexis PatentSight.

PatentSight is a comprehensive scoring system that uses a scientifically validated methodology to accurately and effectively evaluate the vast collection of highly complex, global patent portfolios. PatentSight builds its scores using all standard patent measures, as well as our own unique innovation KPIs, so that you can confidently understand the real value of a patent and the overall strength of an IP portfolio.

To dig a little deeper, here are two capabilities we consider critical for accurately evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of an IP portfolio—and how PatentSight enables both of them.

Utilizing a Breadth and Depth of High-Quality Datasets

While patent data is publicly available and can be sourced from patent offices around the world, the quality of this raw data is unknown and unreliable. A large gap in this data is the incomplete ownership information. Patents don’t necessarily list the entity that ultimately controls them. True ownership can be buried under various names of subsidiaries or inventors. And if you don’t know who or what has ownership over a patent, your analysis becomes moot.

That’s why, for an accurate evaluation of an IP portfolio, you need access to large volumes of clean, curated datasets that have been checked for both quality and veracity.

PatentSight scores the value of an IP portfolio using content aggregated from multiple sources, content that is then enhanced and standardized into a single format. One of these sources is LexisNexis IP DataDirect (IPDD), which provides full-text patent datasets from 105 authorities around the world.

IPDD compiles bibliographic patent data from these authorities, delivering more than 100 million patent documents in English (as well as their original language), approximately 700 million drawings and illustrations of inventions, and nearly 100 million searchable and downloadable PDFs. All of this data is continuously checked for legal status changes, and you can always learn the ultimate owner of a patent and what the remaining life of a patent is.

Reliance on a Proven Benchmark Methodology

As more companies are turning to patent metrics to assess the competitive positions of themselves and their competitors, the more abundantly clear it becomes that traditional patent scoring methodologies are ripe with limitations. For example, some patent ranking systems only focus on US-based patents, meaning zero visibility into the patent activities of foreign entities.

PatentSight uses the Patent Asset Index™ methodology. This methodology uses a myriad of nuanced KPIs and relies on broader volumes of data for a more accurate view of the aggregate strength of an IP portfolio.

To be a bit more specific, the Patent Asset Index for a company or an IP portfolio is calculated as the sum of the competitive impact of all active patents that are either owned by a company or contained within a portfolio. Using the unique algorithm of the Patent Asset Index, PatentSight can offer an objective, transparent, and empirically validated strength score.

What you can achieve with PatentSight

Ultimately, the comprehensive, enriched data and proven benchmark methodology of PatentSight will make it possible for you to:

• Improve innovation with a clearly defined business strategy connected to IP
• Base decision-making on true patent portfolio strength and quality indicators
• Answer critical questions to define your international patent filing strategy
• Optimize the value of your own IP portfolio
• Use patent analytics to identify disruptive innovations and promising startups
• Efficiently assess the value and risk of acquisition targets
• Evaluate your most valuable patents for licensing and identify potential licensees
• Proactively detect disruptive trends and better prepare to capitalize on market shifts

Make sure you have a mastery over the flurry of patent activity taking the world by storm. Learn more about how PatentSight can help improve your business intelligence and achieve better investment outcomes.