What Is Patent Landscaping?
Patent landscaping searches for intellectual property around a specific concept and assesses whether it presents an obstacle to successfully grant a new patent in the same space.
Other People Are Reading
-
Description
-
This mapping of the intellectual property identifies the claims of competitive inventors and the scope of their coverage.
Purpose
-
This task indicates what can be used freely from the public domain, such as expired patents. The analysis also highlights potential partners who own adjacent or competitive intellectual property.
-
Advantage
-
A patent landscape analysis is a strategic element of a new product market launch. It helps understanding the business risks (infringement) and opportunities (partnerships) presented by the intellectual property.
Disadvantage
-
A landscape analysis does not report what areas give rights to commercialize. It identifes only where competitors have excluded others from making or selling a product. There may be additional obstacles to commercialization in the unclaimed space.
Expertise
-
Patent landscaping requires an understanding of patent law and is an art performed by patent agents, or patent attorneys.
-
References
Resources
- Book: "Patent It Yourself"; David Pressman, J.D.; 2009
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
