Appunti methods and tools for systematic innovation - Parte C

Additional Information and Patent Classification

Sometimes classes provide additional information, by referring to what is the contest of the patent. Normally, inventions are classified as whole, and not as detailed.

When the patent search is presented, it is important to also deliver the keywords and the classifications that have been used for the search.

CPC, which stands for "Cooperative patent classification", is an alternative patent classification.

IPC has 70.000 classes, the number of European patents is over 10 million, all over the world there are almost 80 million documents. Classify them is very difficult, so, CPC, tries to adopt a different logic with a better classification.

Today, CPC is the most used classification, but is related only to the most recent patents. It counts 250.000 classes and is the most detailed classification. It is also constantly updated.

123 - Patent breaking

Patent breaking (or patent circumvention) is the minimum modification that should be done in order to exploit the invention of the patent.

itaddresses the same problem. The second test checks if the solution adopts the same way to solvethe problem if it adopts the same way to deliver the function (same working principle). The finaltest has to evaluate if the two solutions obtain the same result: in terms of values and benefits,the kind of advantage of the two solutions are the same. If through a small modification we areable to obtain a huge improvement in performance, we can claim that we are not infringing theexisting patent.

3.1 - Functional analysis of a patent

The functional analysis of a patent is a process that is made in order to better understand how aninvention works, and then look for possible way to use it without commit patent infringement.Functional analysis follows these steps:

• Identification of the components of the invention
• Classification of the components
• Definition of the functional interactions

The first step to perform in the functional alaysis of a patent is to identify the

components of the invention and their alternative denomination. We use the description to better understand how to interpretate the claims, so, we can use it to understand how the components are called in the claims. The rules of patent writing establish that a component must always be named in the same way, and in the description, there should be a description of the name of the component and the figure. The vast majority of papers have figures, the only exception are typically patents related to the chemical/medical field.

The first thing that we have to do is to collect all the names of the components of a patent. Then, the second operation is to classify the components, so, identify the hierarchy. When we perform the function analysis, in fact, we have to understand very well which is the duty of each component, and how it is related to the others.

The third part consists in identifying functional interactions. In this phase we have to exclude interactions which don't deliver a

function (example: interactions about position). Not all the relevant functional interactions are “inside” the invention, for example, the main object of the function: if we are describing a refrigerator, we do not insert food in the patent, but still, this is the main object of the invention.

For each independent claim, we perform a functional analysis. During this phase, we have to distinguish between prior art, and the invention covered in the patent. The claims represent a hierarchy: the first claim is typically an independent one, the following ones instead are dependent on the previous. At the end, the resulting hierarchy can be very complex.

In order to circumvent a patent, the most efficient way is to trim any component that appear in the original patent: if we are able to perform the same function by eliminating components, it becomes extremely easy to demonstrate that the two solutions are not the same. If this is not possible, the alternative is to radically modify at

4 - Patent Strategies - Statistical Analysis of Patent

4.1 - Patents: uses and misuses

There are companies that grow thanks to IP management: investing in research and patents, could be very convenient. If properly managed, a patent allows a small organization to grow up. When we look for the very first invention of a company, it is vey probably that the applicant is not the company, because it didn't exist yet.

Most of the time, companies use patents just to protect their idea. This just partially works, since there are no authorities that check if any other company is using your patent, but it's up to you to monitor what competitors are doing. However, sometimes it can be difficult to do that, so, before applying for a patent, it is better to be sure to have a way to see if competitors are using your invention, in particular, in countries where it is difficult to have representatives.

Due to the cost increase related to patent application, companies that

are dealing with many onesalso try to minimize costs; for this reason, sometimes they abandon a patent, or they do not applyfor it in some countries. This means that sometimes it is possible to find a valid idea, that isabandoned by a company due to economic reasons. Some company decide to have an IPdepartment, which has the duty to organize and administrate all the patents; typically, only thebiggest companies with many patents do that.

It is possible to make money also by selling to others the license to use an invention. The licensecan have a limited validity in time, or it can be valid just in some territories. The application of apatent is also useful for attracting investors, and for building a reputation of the company. Thenumber of patents owned by a company, is one of the parameters used by financial authorities toevaluate the convenience of investing in a particular company.

Another fundamental parameter is the value of the patent. If the value of the patent is lower thenthe

costs sustained to obtain it, the patent is a loss. Even in the case in which the patent allows to cover the costs, but does not generate any additional profits, it is still considered as a loss.

A patent can also be used for offensive purposes: some are created just to create problems to competitors and not allow them to develop some ideas.

The information contained in a patent, can be used for several purposes. Monitoring patents, and what competitors are doing, could be useful to anticipate their moves, avoid patent infringement, and decide how to manage future investments.

4.2 – Patent strategies

The Picket fence strategy is one of the most commonly used strategy: if someone is interested in the invention patented by a competitor, in order to avoid that the competitor will exploit this invention, a company can submit a lot of "small" patents, each one introducing a small improvement of the initial idea. By making many inventions "around" the initial idea, the

initial company won't be able to enter the market, since it will infringe one of the patents that the other company has presented. Even if these patents are in practice useless, they will generate a barrier that will be impossible to cross.

An antidote strategy can be used in order to protect the patent. Knowing that the competitors can use the picket fence strategy against an invention, a company can use this strategy itself in order to protect the invention, by presenting first the small patents that potentially can be a problem.

The Tall gate strategy is adopted against a competitor's patent. This strategy consists in studying the state of the art, in order to understand what the general trend of the field is, and then submit a patent for the general improvement of the idea, even if we only have a vague concept of it. This patent will work like a gate, that will block the product development to that level of advancement.

One of the ways to estimate the value of a patent is counting citations.

A patent which has never been cited after many years, probably has no impact at all. This means that when we are going to analyse patents, it can be better to give the priority to those that have the highest number of citations. We should remember that 70% of patents have not been cited more than two times, this means that citations provide a strong filter in the research.

155 - Types and Patterns of Innovation

We want to understand which are the typical dynamics of the innovation process. A first distinction is the one between product innovation and process innovation: a product innovation is a significant increase of the performances of a product, or the introduction of new functions. With process innovation instead, we typically refer to changes in the way through a particular process is done, these changes can regard cost optimization, increase of reliability, increase of productivity etc…

Product and process innovation do not happen randomly, but it is often possible to identify

During the development of a new product, there are several specific phases that need to be considered.

At the beginning, the most important aspect is that the new product is able to deliver the function for which it has been created. For this reason, there is a lower interest in the efficiency and cost reduction. The main objective is to produce a new function which was not available before.

Typically, during the initial phase, there are several competitors that propose different architecture and different ways to deliver that particular function. This phase will continue until a dominant design is identified. The dominant design will be the best way to deliver the function, and this will cause a standardization of the design. At this point, all the different competitors will start to realize the product in the same way, by adopting the architecture of the dominant design. As a result, the differences between the different products will be minimal.

Once everything has become consolidated, the competition will focus on cost reduction and production optimization.