Measuring knowledge persistence: a genetic approach to patent citation networks

The aim of this paper is to propose a new empirical method for identifying technologically important patents within a patent citation network and to apply it to the telecommunication switching industry. The method proposed is labelled the genetic approach, as it is inspired by population genetics: as geneticists are interested in studying patterns of migration and therefore the common origins of people, in innovation studies we are interested in tracing the origin and the evolution of today knowledge. In the context of patent and citation networks, this is done by calculating the patent’s persistence index, i.e., decomposing patent’s knowledge applying the Mendelian law of gene inheritance. This draws on the idea that the more a patent is related (through citations) to “descendent” patents, the more it affects future technological development and therefore its contribution persists in the technology. Results show that the method proposed is successful in reducing the number of both nodes and links considered. Furthermore, our method is indeed successful in identifying technological discontinuities where previous knowledge is not relevant for current technological development.     

基于K-means与技术生命周期的技术预见方法研究——以水体净化技术为例

预见水体净化技术发展趋势有助于实现“美丽中国”建设目标。已有技术预见方法缺乏定量客观依据,相关评判指标也不够全面。从Innography数据库检索2008-2019年发布的3552个污水处理技术专利,运用多维标度分析和K均值聚类法,基于专利静态指标分析专利技术发展潜力,采用技术生命周期分析法从动态视角判断每类技术的发展前景。研究发现：①污水与污染物双重回收可持续性技术在多个静态评价指标方面均优于其它技术,且处于从引入期到发展期的过渡阶段,具有较大的发展空间;②以去除特定污染物为目标的功能单一技术已被淘汰,市场开始应用污水处理原理不同的多种技术联合处理方式。据此,提出企业应选择污染物回收率高、二次污染物排放少、整体“净效益”为正的污水处理技术,并采取新旧技术联合处理方式降低企业采用新技术的转换成本。     

基于客户价值导向的高校专利运营研究

高校专利技术管理的快速发展和不断创新要求从一个全新的视角对其有了更系统的了解.目前对高校专利的研究主要集中在专利成果转化方面,而社会的市场化要求我们必须把高校作为一个运营主体去研究高校在市场中面对特殊的客户如何运营专利,从而提高专利的转化实施率.本文首先对国内外学者的研究作了梳理,总结了研究成果及不足;接着分析了我国高校专利转化的现状及问题,在充分分析客户价值的基础上构建了高校专利运营模式;最后,在此基础上对基于客户价值的高校专利运营进行了初步探讨.     

The process of technology evolution : Multitechnology innovations as the driving force

Technological innovations are the substance of technology and the drivers of its evolution. This process was studied by analyzing the US patent data base, getting information on types of innovation and on their trends.It was found that the evolution of a technology depends upon its annexing multitechnology innovations. Ascending technologies utilize wide-range innovations, while mature technologies utilize narrow-range innovations. The findings are summed up in a model that shows the life cycle of a technology, from emergence to maturity.The model can be applied at a laboratory level, at a firm strategy level, as well as at the national level. Some examples are presented to illustrate applications.     

Technological complexity and economic development

Although technological complexity seems to be a crucial determinant of economic development, it remains insufficiently explored. Relying on microinformation stored in individual patent applications and by applying the network view of countries linked to the technologies they develop, we create a global technology space and derive complexity measures that position countries in this space. We use then the measures of technological diversification and the ubiquity of technologies present in a country’s technology portfolio as an input to explain the role of technological complexity in countries’ income and economic development. We show that a country’s position in the global technology space affects its level of income and growth. The main channel through which it happens is the exclusiveness and uniqueness of the technological portfolio a country has, as compared to the remaining countries.     

A dynamic framework for analyzing technology standardisation using network analysis and game theory

As more technologies and industries converge, technology standards are more likely to be a strategic factor for firms and governments that are interested in the market with standards-based competition. From the previous research, a new standardisation framework was proposed by combining network analysis and the game theory model but was constrained by feasibility and dynamic approach. In this study, the case of the standards war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray was analyzed with patent data as an empirical case considering a dynamic framework. With this framework, we observed a change in a firm’s technology relations and could predict the decline in a firm’s preference and the shift of equilibrium ahead of Toshiba’s resignation.     

A technology opportunities analysis model: applied to dye-sensitised solar cells for China

Technology opportunities analysis (TOA) can support policy-makers or managers in making strategic technical decisions so as to enhance their technological innovation capability and international competitiveness. This paper presents a multi-level framework to support and systematically identify technological opportunities. Patent data as a key component of technology innovation are used to enable TOA within the framework in the present research. At the research and development (R&D) level, we anticipate the directions of technology development based on technology morphology. Countries’ development emphases can also be investigated in order to help identify their R&D strengths and weaknesses and to seek promising development pathways. At the level of competition, we devise the assignee-technology analysis to obtain insight into competitive participants’ technical emphases and intents. It is also used to explore possible collaboration opportunities among them. At the market level, we apply patent family analysis to understand countries’ target markets and to assess prospects for the commercialisation of their technology. We pursue TOA to explore China's opportunities and challenges in dye-sensitised solar cells. The empirical case analysis supports the effectiveness of the TOA model. We believe it can be adapted well to fit other emerging technologies.     

太阳能技术的合作专利分析及对策

低碳经济已经成为国际经济发展的新要求,因此,低碳技术开发日益受到世界各国的重视。太阳能技术是一种典型的低碳技术,我国经过10几年的发展,在太阳能领域取得了举世瞩目的成就,但因缺乏核心技术,目前面临着严峻的挑战。由于专利分析能客观地评价技术创新与合作水平,因此,为更好地促进我国太阳能技术的发展,基于专利分析法,对我国太阳能合作专利数据进行了分析。结果表明:我国太阳能技术的跨机构技术联系较少,"产学研"创新体系尚不成熟;政策扶持对于太阳能这种新兴低碳技术有较大的影响力;国内太阳能专利授权的技术领域主要集中在太阳能热利用,而在光伏领域的合作较少;太阳能合作专利存在较大的区域差异,应该进一步加强区域之间的技术合作和技术转移:应该加强国际技术合作。     

Exploring potential R&D collaboration partners through patent analysis based on bibliographic coupling and latent semantic analysis

The aim of the present research is to provide a new systematic methodology to explore potential Research and Development (R&D) collaboration partners using patent information. The potential R&D collaboration partners are visualised as a patent assignee level map based on technological similarity between patents by using the network analysis. The proposed framework utilises two analytic methods to measure technological similarity. The first method, bibliographic coupling analysis, measures technological similarity based on the citation relationship using patent bibliographic information. Second, latent semantic analysis is utilised based on semantic similarity using patent textual information. The fuel cell membrane electrode assembly technology field is selected and applied to illustrate the proposed methodology. The proposed approach allows firms, universities, research institutes and governments to identify potential R&D collaborators as a systematic decision-making support tool.     

专利家族视角下技术演化路径依赖研究——以光刻技术为例

以专利家族为研究视角,阐述技术路径动态演化过程中的路径依赖。专利家族自引会对技术主路径造成干扰,通过对主路径进行调整,提出一种修正技术主路径的新思路。研究发现：光刻技术在“投影对准和曝光系统—浸没式投影物镜—浸没式光刻材料—光刻胶”4个阶段经历了“路径消解—路径产生与路径依赖—路径消解与突破”的动态演化过程。在此过程中,以荷兰阿斯麦、德国蔡司和日本东京电子为代表的专利家族发挥重要作用。其中,以阿斯麦为核心的利益联盟垄断核心技术,强化光刻技术发展的路径依赖作用,占据市场领先地位。研究结论有助于深化对路径依赖理论的认知,通过揭示光刻技术路径演化过程及企业演化格局,为后发国家突破技术路径依赖提供实践启示。     

Technological innovation strategy: how do technology life cycles change by technological area

Discussions on the patterns of technological innovation have significant implications in terms of the efficient distribution of national R&D resources and the establishment of corporate managerial strategies. This study is focused on calculating and analysing technology cycle time (TCT) by technological area based on patent data that can be used as easily accessible objective indicators for the purpose of modelling the patterns of technological innovation by period and technological area. The main technological areas handled by the study include medical science, vehicles, metallurgy, and computing. Of the patent data registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office from 1990 to 2014, International Patent Classification sub-class codes representing each technological area were selected to collect patent data, and to generate TCT statistics every five years. The TCT statistics generated is interpreted as the technological life cycle, to be used in modelling technological innovation patterns individualised by technology and period.     

Biases in patent examination and firms’ responses: Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry

Empirical analysis of matched patent application data in the world’s major patent offices has shown considerable variation in patent granting probability and examination duration across different countries. This phenomenon is attributed to institutional misclassifications or patent examiners’ mistakes by some authors. Others argued that cross-country heterogeneity could also be caused by deliberate manipulation of patent examination procedures with the goal to foster native inventors through suppressing foreign patent applicants. To explore whether manipulation exists, this study presents a case study of pharmaceutical patents granted by the US patent office and approved by the US FDA. Especially it focuses on the filing behavior of pharmaceutical companies in Korea, Japan and China. The regression results show that the granting ratio of the previous applications of a foreign company is correlated with the company’s probability of lodging a new patent application, which provides a supplementary evidence of the existence of the manipulated patent examination procedures.     

网上技术交易趋势预测模型及应用研究

网上技术交易平台开展交易趋势预测和交易潜力识别，可提高平台技术信息管理水平和网上技术市场运作效率。从网上技术市场和专利情报分析理论出发，提出网上技术交易趋势预测分析指标，设计构建预测模型和相关流程方法，并以广州知识产权交易中心的网上挂牌专利数据为例，进行定量测度和评价分析，从而提出发展网上交易服务能力的建议。结果表明，提出的技术交易趋势预测模型与流程具有适用性和可操作性，可针对网上平台技术资源确定差异化预测类型及其关键影响指标，建立基于技术领域分类的平台分析体系。研究结论可为网上平台设计基于自身特点的技术信息管理策略，提高信息服务专业化能力提供参考。     

International comparison of technological activities and specializations: a patent-based monitoring system

Based on patent-based indicators, this study aims to an analyze the positions of a number of western contries in a broad spectrum of technology fields. Particular attention is focused on the Netherlands. Patent-based indicators reflect results of research and developement activities and may provide an insight into developement of possible economic interest. Earlier studies have shown a positive correlation between a country's patent position and the development of, for instance, foreign trade. We applied patent indicators to analyze a country's patenting activity in a field of technology as compared with the world average (or an average for a specific group of countries). It indicates to what extent a country ‘specializes’ in that field. Such an analysis yields a country's ‘profile’ as an ‘inventor country’. Monitoring all fields, covering the whole area of technology for an extended period of time, by patent analysis provides an insight into the technological position of a particular country relative to other countries. The results of the analysis performed in this study are represented in a specific graphical form, covering both absolute and relative (‘specializations’) technological activites. Thus a monitoring system useful for technology policy and research and developement management is constructed.     

网上技术交易趋势预测模型及应用研究

网上技术交易平台开展交易趋势预测和交易潜力识别，可提高平台技术信息管理水平和网上技术市场运作效率。从网上技术市场和专利情报分析理论出发，提出网上技术交易趋势预测分析指标，设计构建预测模型和相关流程方法，并以广州知识产权交易中心的网上挂牌专利数据为例，进行定量测度和评价分析，从而提出发展网上交易服务能力的建议。结果表明，提出的技术交易趋势预测模型与流程具有适用性和可操作性，可针对网上平台技术资源确定差异化预测类型及其关键影响指标，建立基于技术领域分类的平台分析体系。研究结论可为网上平台设计基于自身特点的技术信息管理策略，提高信息服务专业化能力提供参考。     

The effect of internal and external technology sourcing on firm performance throughout the technology life cycle

In studies about the impact of technology sourcing on firm performance, the impact of the technology life cycle has thus far received scant attention. This paper investigates this topic from the knowledge-based perspective. Data was gathered from 22 PLD (Programmable Logic Device) manufacturers in the integrated circuit industry between 1986 and 2005, and used to test two hypotheses based on panel analysis: (1) that strategic alliance networks, as a mode of external technology sourcing, have a positive effect on a firm's innovative and market performance early in the technology life cycle, and (2) that internal development as a mode of internal technology sourcing has a positive effect on a firm's innovative and market performance later in the technology life cycle. Although both hypotheses are supported as far as market performance is concerned, neither is supported when it comes to innovative performance.     

An integrated indicator system for patent portfolios: evidence from the telecommunication manufacturing industry

Against the background of ‘patent portfolio races’ in industries such as telecommunications, this paper proposes a set of patent portfolio indicators to measure patents’ scale and diversity. This indicator system is used in a time series to analyse the patenting activity and technology strategy of the world’s top 20 firms in the telecommunication manufacturing industry, based on a large data set from United States Patent and Trade Office. In combination with composite and relative measures, we identify the firms’ comparative positions in patenting activity. The paper adds to the ongoing discussion about, and enriches the theory of, patent portfolios.     

The hunt for S-shaped growth paths in technological innovation: a patent study*

Since the works by the business cycle theorists in the 1930s, no attempts have been made to study empirically the long term evolution paths of individual technologies starting with long time series. This is an empirical exploration and confirmation of the now almost assumed image or metaphor of the way technology develops; that it follows an S-shaped growth path which is commonly associated with a similar shaped diffusion function of entrepreneurial activity. The paper also confirms the diversity of technology dynamics and explores how technological cycle takeoffs appear to be clustered within certain historical epochs. The results have implications for our understanding of the evolution paths of individual technologies, and of the evolution of technological systems and waves of innovation. By use of computational statistics, logistic growth functions are fitted to US patent stocks, 1920–1990, at a detailed level of aggregation, including chemical, electrical/electronic, mechanical, transport and non-industrial technologies. Some practical considerations when developing an empirically testable model of innovation cycles are addressed in the paper as well.     

How should firms carry out technological diversification to improve their performance? An analysis of patenting of Korean firms

This research aims to analyze how a firm's technological diversification strategies influence its financial performances, in terms of ‘technological diversification’ in broad technology sectors and ‘technological concentration’ on its own core technology, especially in the case of Korean large firms. The data used in the analysis were panel data encompassing the years between 1990 and 2006, which linked Korean firms’ patent information registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office to the financial data of those firms collected from Korea Investors Service, Inc. (Kis-Value). For the estimation of the panel data, a fixed effect model, which considers the individual firms’ own effect on the financial performance, was used. Tobin's q was used as a dependent variable representing firm performance, while ‘broad technology diversity’ and ‘core technology diversity’ were used as the focal explanatory variables. The results show that a firm seeking to have more technological assets should invest in a broad technological diversification strategy in its search for new business opportunities; it should likewise concentrate on the core technology in order to maintain its financial performance.     

Factor analysis and structural equation model for patent analysis: a case study of Apple’s technology

In this study, we analyse patent data for technology analysis (TA) because patents are rich in information on developed technology. The results of TA can be used to perform more efficient research and development (R&D) planning. Most companies are trying to develop new and innovative technologies to improve their competitive positions. Research involving TA has been introduced in a variety of fields. Most of the published research analysed original variables related to a target technology. However, it is necessary to analyse the latent variables as well as the original variables included in the technology to achieve a better TA model. Therefore, we propose a factor analysis and a structural equation model for patent analysis. In addition, we use Apple’s patents to determine the target technology. In our case study, we analyse Apple’s technologies by latent variables. Our case study shows how the proposed model is applied to Apple’s R&D planning.