Every year , the number of patents filed worldwide explodes . According to the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) 2023 annual report, 3.5 million patent applications were filed worldwide in 2022, with the majority of titles filed with the Chinese Patent Office (46.8%), an increase of 2.1% compared to 2021.
The French Patent Office (INPI), for its part, recorded the filing of 14,747 new applications in 2022, a stable level compared to 2021.
Across the Atlantic, the Canadian Patent Office reported a 7% increase in national filings in 2022, with just over 39,700 patent applications.
In this context, it is difficult to organize precise and effective "Patent" monitoring . Because the challenges are numerous: how to quickly identify relevant innovations among hundreds or thousands of patents filed worldwide, on the themes that interest you? How to find the right information in this constantly evolving and expanding mass of information? How to detect over time the weak signals , warning signs of a significant technological evolution in your markets?
In the particular case of SMEs or start-ups, if they fail to control this information, they run the risk of finding themselves, without knowing it, in a situation of counterfeiting and thus potentially being prohibited from producing and marketing their own products?
The response now inevitably lies in the adoption of powerful technological monitoring tools , capable of filtering, analyzing and synthesizing this information in an intelligent and personalized manner.
Specialized monitoring tools such as those offered by TKM allow R&D or Industrial Property departments of large groups and mid-sized companies, as well as SME managers, to limit the risks of missing a weak signal or important competitive information and to have the right information to support their innovation, R&D and industrial property strategies. And all this without having to spend a lot of time or dedicate inaccessible resources and budgets.
New patents: the challenge of the mass of information to analyze
Just by looking at the numbers, we can see the ferocity of competition in the field of innovation. So, how can we effectively manage this massive influx of information?
The increase in the number of patent applications poses major challenges in terms of technological monitoring.
Furthermore, it is often no longer enough to monitor developments in a specific area, as it also becomes useful to discern emerging trends and opportunities linked to what is happening in other technical areas that are sometimes further removed from the day-to-day operations of the company.
Being able to identify trends, innovations, competitors , and emerging players is becoming a necessity. In this context, the ability to analyze and interpret this information without becoming overwhelmed is becoming a competitive advantage for innovative companies.
In this context, the adoption of advanced technology monitoring tools, such as those offered by TKM , becomes essential. These tools, thanks to artificial intelligence and natural language processing (NLP) technologies, not only allow us to manage the growing volume of information, but also to sort and filter with extreme precision the truly relevant documents among a massive flow most often made up of a lot of noise (irrelevant documents).
Raw data requires extensive cleaning and enrichment prior to analysis and internal dissemination. Without the right working methods and tools, it is now unrealistic to imagine producing relevant and useful strategic (and/or tactical) analyses for strategic decision-making.
Please note that, coupled with its monitoring and analysis software platform, TKM also offers a whole range of services that allow companies of all sizes to have great flexibility in meeting their regular or one-off monitoring needs (mapping, patent landscapes, state of the art, benchmarks, etc.).
→ Read also – DPI: How AI will change the approach to patents
Can AI provide a satisfactory solution?
Generative AI (ChatGPT, Mistral, etc.) is full of promise and worthy of interest for specific tasks, for superficially exploring new themes or for exploiting internal knowledge bases (automatic summaries, natural language searches, exploitation of an existing documentary fund, etc.).
At TKM, however, we believe that precision AI that effectively targets personalized use cases can have a much greater impact on patent monitoring than generative AI, which has been in the news for the past two years.
As for its use in a regular patent and competitive intelligence process, generative AI will not lead to productivity gains for R&D or intelligence teams. On the contrary, and without even mentioning the risks of loss of confidentiality, it can lead to hallucinations that can be misleading and the verification of which can waste valuable time.
In this context, other forms of AI, such as Machine Learning, hold infinitely more interesting promises and are available today, including for SMEs.
The value of intelligence lies not only in the collection of information, but also in its analysis and interpretation. In the context of information overload, precision AI such as that designed and developed by TKM allows for the preparation and filtration of relevant data with considerable time savings.
It significantly improves the quality of information disseminated internally while considerably reducing the time and resources devoted to patent monitoring.
The integration of AI into technology monitoring processes is transforming the way information is processed and used. For example, advanced algorithms can detect trends and weak signals , automate the classification and synthesis of information , and personalize information flows according to the specific needs of different monitoring recipients.
Artificial intelligence, thus mastered and personalized, then plays a decisive role in the innovation and R&D strategies of companies of all sizes.
The importance of technological monitoring
Technology intelligence is the strategic process that allows companies to monitor, analyze, and exploit information related to technological innovations, competitors' technical strategies, and market developments . It is crucial for informed decision-making, strategic management of the company, and the identification of opportunities and threats, as well as for maintaining a competitive advantage.
In this context, patent monitoring is one of the components of technological monitoring. It allows industrial property departments and management teams of mid-sized and small businesses to follow developments in their field, monitor competitors' activities, detect new trends , limit the risks of costly legal conflicts and anticipate market changes. This monitoring also makes it possible to identify potential partners, start-ups or new competitors, and to assess the risks associated with the deployment of new technologies.
Ideally, patent monitoring relies not only on comprehensive and global sources of information on patents, but also extends to scientific publications, collaborative projects, conferences and even theses.
At TKM, we continuously build and update a DataLake of scientific literature, including a patent section, structured from reliable, multilingual, and standardized international sources. Our goal: to enable companies to access a comprehensive patent database, enriched and ready for analysis, without having to manage the technical complexity of processing raw data.
Would you like to learn more about our patent databases and our tailor-made solutions? Discover our offers.
Indeed, not everything can be patented... Furthermore, some players deliberately choose not to file patents, and to protect their interests by other means.
Finally, remember that a patent remains “secret” for a period of 18 months after the application is filed .
Relying solely on patents to track innovation therefore amounts, in the best case scenario, to observing your competitors with a lag of almost two years: by the time the information becomes available, it reflects past R&D work and a new competing product may already be in production.
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The 6 criteria to know to choose an effective technology monitoring tool
To navigate the complex landscape of patents and technological innovations, it's essential to choose a technology monitoring tool that effectively meets your business needs. Here are 6 key criteria to consider...
1. Automation and intelligent processing of raw data
The tool must be able to automatically manage large volumes of data , and heterogeneous data! Feeding technological monitoring solely or mainly on patent information can be problematic.
The tool must then be able to filter and classify this data accurately and efficiently. The use of artificial intelligence, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Machine Learning (ML) is essential for analyzing data thoroughly, sorting it, and saving monitoring teams considerable time.
But it is also the use and more systematic recourse to the fruits of monitoring that is then improved. Monitoring, thus organized and equipped, regains its decisive role at the heart of the strategic management of the company.
→ Read also – How Machine Learning is revolutionizing the monitoring process
2. Global and multilingual coverage
A good monitoring tool must provide global coverage, including data from different sources, formats and languages. This ability to process heterogeneous information is essential and few tools actually .
3. Personalization and flexibility
The ability to customize monitoring settings to meet the company's specific needs is a major asset. The tool must offer flexibility to adapt to changing monitoring needs and objectives and avoid "black box" effects at all costs.
4. Interoperability with your business tools
Depending on its size and organization, your company has very specific needs, and a single software suite is rarely well-designed to address this diversity. That's why it's important for your intelligence partner to have several complementary solutions and a willingness to integrate as best as possible into your internal processes. This is a service dimension that may be lacking with some publishers.
5. Interface and user experience (UX)
An intuitive interface and a user experience integrated from the design stage are essential to facilitate the adoption and regular use of the tool by teams. Your provider's ability to adapt to your specific requests and needs will be a significant plus: your company is unique, and business processes must be adaptable and customizable.
This can also take the form of co-development on new features. Few publishers have this approach because it can disrupt "their" development pipeline. Does your partner have a "service" approach that contributes to their ability to listen to your daily needs?
6. Support and training
Reliable technical support and the availability of dedicated user service teams are also key aspects to ensure effective use and ownership of the tool.
IPMetrix by TKM: high-performance software for Industrial Property
As you can see, to stay competitive , focusing your technology monitoring on patent analysis is not enough. You need a monitoring tool capable of processing heterogeneous data : scientific articles, conferences, symposia, theses, collaborative projects, web articles, economic information, etc. IPMetrix is a multi-source monitoring tool, capable of offering you a 360° vision of your entire innovation ecosystem.
By leveraging AI , it allows you to automate data processing, simplifying and optimizing the time spent on monitoring. This gives you all the keys to identifying opportunities and risks and refining your intellectual property strategy accordingly. Want to know more about our tools? Contact us!
