Why should I care about the patent landscape?
Whether you are in a company, a university, or a research institution, the patent literature is often an untapped source of invaluable information. Obviously, this is vital when preparing, prosecuting, and exploiting your own patents. However, the patent landscape can also be used to guide research plans, identify competitors and partners, and steer your commercialization strategy.
With more than 6 new patents filed across the world every minute, how do you navigate and make sense of all this information? And how do you communicate it to people who are not patent experts, but need to use the underlying knowledge? This is where patent landscaping tools, coupled with carefully designed patent searching strategies, can help.
Elaine Eggington, Executive Director of Wellspring Consulting Services, will show you how to use patent landscaping to:
- Enhance understanding of innovation in a particular research area and guide research and development activities
- Understand whether new discoveries offer a commercial opportunity, and identify potential blocking patents
- Explore potential application areas for new technologies
- Examine the activities and patenting strategies of competing companies or academic groups
- Find potential partners and in- and out-licensing opportunities
- Support investment pitches or applications for translational funding