Future trends and emerging technologies in patent communication

Patents in their modern, systematized form have existed since the 1400s. Over their long history, not only have patent systems changed to meet various demands, but also the inputs and stakeholders have changed considerably. For example, universities have become major contributors to the patent ecosystem. Varying patent standards and increasing interaction between inventors, policymakers, researchers, patent offices, and industry partners have necessitated the development of effective patent communication.

Patent communication is the process of creating and sharing patent information among the various stakeholders. It plays a vital role in fostering innovation, promoting collaboration, and enhancing transparency in the global knowledge economy. However, it also faces many challenges, such as how to ensure data quality, security, and interoperability.

In this article, I will explore how patent communication is changing to overcome these obstacles and introduce emerging key trends in the patent landscape, especially those relevant to universities.

See also: How Universities Can Develop a Patenting Culture

Blockchain based patent communication systems

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that enables secure and transparent transactions between parties without intermediaries. Essentially, a blockchain is a distributed database. If you’ve heard of blockchain, you’ve most likely heard of it in discussions on cryptocurrency, but it has various other uses. Blockchain technology has been applied for various purposes, including supply chain, health care, and digital identity. Recently, blockchain has also attracted attention from the intellectual property (IP) community, especially for patents.

Blockchain can offer several benefits for patent communication systems, such as:

• Improving the efficiency and reliability of patent registration and verification by eliminating intermediaries and reducing human errors.
• Enhancing the security and privacy of patent data by encrypting and storing them on distributed nodes that are tamper-proof and immutable.
• Promoting the transparency and liquidity of patent assets by enabling peer-to-peer transactions and tokenization of patents as non-fungible tokens
• Facilitating the collaboration and innovation among patent stakeholders by creating smart contracts that automate the execution of agreements and rules.

Scientific Reports published two articles in 2022 that proposed frameworks to protect patent data and list patents as NFTs using blockchain technology. These frameworks aim to address the issues of data security, privacy, ownership, and monetization in patent communication systems.

Open access and open science in patent collaboration

The open access (OA) and open science movements are moving from strength to strength. These movements advocate for making scientific research outputs, such as publications, data, or code, freely available online for anyone to access and use as they wish, thereby fostering innovation, collaboration, and social impact by removing barriers to the flow of knowledge.

OA may also have implications for patent collaboration. OA may increase the visibility and accessibility of patent information. Additionally, sharing data, code, or methods can enhance the quality and reproducibility of patent research by encouraging the stakeholder engagement. Furthermore, OA can help organizations align their patents with public interest and

OpenAIRE, a European network that supports open science and open innovation in Europe, provides access to over 30 million publications and 1.4 million datasets from various sources, such as Horizon 2020, Zenodo, and DataCite. OpenAIRE also offers services for linking publications and datasets with patents, monitoring the impact of research outputs, and facilitating collaboration between researchers and innovators.

See also: Crafting a Patent Communication Strategy: Tips for Universities

Advances in patent analytics and visualization

Recently, data mining, machine learning, natural language processing, and other methods are being applied to extract, process, and present patent information in meaningful and insightful ways. Patent analytics and visualization can help users understand the trends and patterns, discover opportunities and threats, and support their decision-making in patent communication. These technologies can be used to find relevant patents based on keywords, topics, or citations. Patents can be grouped into categories or clusters based on similarity and subjected to mapping and network analyses to visualize the relationships among patents or stakeholders using graphs or networks. Finally, patent data can be used to evaluate the importance of patents based on indicators or models to predict future trends or outcomes based on historical data or scenarios.

PatentSight by LexisNexis is one service providing an extensive suite of analytics and visualization services to help users evaluate patent portfolios. It uses a proprietary metric called the Patent Asset Index (PAI) to evaluate patents based on their technological relevance, market coverage, and legal status. PatentSight also offers various tools for patent search, benchmarking, landscaping, and monitoring.

See also: How Universities Have Successfully Harnessed Social Media to Promote Patents

Improved patent education and training

Patent education and training can enhance the knowledge, skills, and competencies of patent stakeholders, improving their patent literacy, awareness, and performance in various aspects of patent communication, including the creation, management, and exploitation of patents.

WIPO Academy is the education and training arm of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). WIPO Academy offers various online and face-to-face courses on IP topics aimed at various audiences.

Another example is IPRMENTLAW, an initiative to share knowledge on media and entertainment laws in India specifically. It covers various topics related to patent law in India through regular updates and news articles. IPRMENTLAW also organizes webinars and workshops on patent-related issues.

Advances in patent data integration

With improved integration of existing data sources, stakeholders can improve communication by enhancing the quality and completeness of patent data. Dealing with different data types and formats requires efforts to resolve conflicts or discrepancies among data sources such as duplicated, ensure that data is in compatible formats, and that the systems used to handle such extensive data sources are scalable. To address these challenges various methods and technologies have been developed or proposed, including data harmonization standards such as WIPO ST.36 and using Lens.org to integrate ORCID iDs and other data sources into patents.

In Japan, the National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training (INPIT) provides J-PlatPat. This platform not only brings together the Japanese patent data in a free and easy-to-use resource, but it also integrates information from various outside sources, including machine translated abstracts of patents from Chinese and Korean sources, improving the knowledge of overseas innovations despite the language barrier.

Automation of patent application and retrieval systems

Historically, patent applications and other patent-related tasks were labor intensive and involved working with stacks of paper and complex filing systems. Digitization of patent systems is now commonplace, but there remain opportunities to improve efficiency.

KIPOnet is a web-based system by the Korean Intellectual Property Office that allows users to handle all stages of IP management and communication. It provides various services such as online application, examination, registration, and maintenance of patents and other IPs. Since 2019, KIPOnet has included AI technologies to further improve its search functionality. Given the interest in using AI in patent applications, we may see more applications of AI in patent communication.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the field of patent communication is experiencing significant transformations driven by technological advancements and evolving global dynamics. From the rise of AI-powered tools that streamline patent searches and analysis to the increasing importance of visual and interactive communication formats, the landscape is becoming more inclusive, accessible, and efficient. Moreover, the growing emphasis on collaboration, transparency, and open innovation is reshaping the way patents are communicated and shared among inventors, researchers, and businesses worldwide. As we move forward, it is crucial to embrace these trends, adapt to emerging technologies, and foster a culture of effective patent communication that promotes innovation, encourages collaboration, and protects intellectual property rights. By staying ahead of the curve and harnessing the power of modern communication tools, we can unlock new possibilities, drive progress, and contribute to a thriving global innovation ecosystem.

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