Entrepreneurs and investors seeking patent protection for intellectual property or looking to build future growth strategies should consider patent intelligence reports–also commonly known as patent landscape reports, or PLRs. These reports are designed to provide researchers with an overview of a specific global, national or regional technology. Here are important points for you to remember about patent intelligence reports and how they may affect your business interests.

Learning About Existing Patents

Patent intelligence research can help patent applicants, RD departments, and business leaders plan market strategies by analyzing industry data on companies and products. They present a picture of what patents already exist within a field, as well as patent pending claims. This information is useful for developing business plans, cornering markets and filling market holes. The reports can further be used for competitive analysis.

While patent intelligence reports provide a wide variety of comprehensive data presented in text and graph forms, they are meant to simplify a market profile. Not only do they reveal valuable industry insights, they help speed up decision-making. A patent intelligence report differs from a state-of-the-art (SOA) patent search, which provides a broader view of prior art and current industry technology, while a PLR is much more detailed and specific. This analysis can also identify what technology opportunities are available for licensing.

Risk Management

Patent landscaping is a form of risk management that provides a higher level of confidence about what can or cannot be patented. It can help direct your attention toward market weaknesses where demand is not being met or where consumer or industry problems are not being resolved. The risk of not conducting enough thorough research is that it can lead to developing a product that faces an infringement lawsuit. You may have a compelling new idea that fixes problems, but if you’re not careful there may already be a patent pending product in the system that hasn’t materialized on the market yet.

Investors who fund new inventions want to know they aren’t pouring money into a lost cause or something that creates a liability. By examining a detailed industry report that focuses on a specific area of technology, investors will be more confident they are not competing with new market players that filed a similar patent first.

Indicator of Patent Approval Probability

Another reason to seek a patent intelligence report is that it can give you a clearer idea on what your chances are for patent approval. Remember that a patent must be unique, novel and useful. If there’s already a similar patented invention, the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will reject it.

Call GPS for a Professional Patent Intelligence Report

Conducting a patent landscape report is one of the key building blocks to understanding a market better, thereby developing a competitive edge. Contact us at Global Patent Solutions at 877.424.9039 to learn more about patent intelligence reports and any other issues relating to high quality patent research. We produce unbiased, accurate, and reliable data as a basis for forming objective decisions about prior art versus new innovations under the umbrella of intellectual property.