Patent Publication Number: US-2023162285-A1

Title: Method and system for providing investment information of company through patent quality evaluation

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C 119(a) to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0162886, filed on Nov. 24, 2021, No. 10-2021-0169729, filed on Dec. 1, 2021, and No. 10-2022-0047393, filed on Apr. 18, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a method and a system for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation, and more specifically, to a method and a system for providing investment information of a company by calculating a patent quality index of the company based on various patent information, and calculating a ratio of market capitalization to patent quality based on the market capitalization and patent quality index of the company. 
     2. Related Art 
     In the past, stock price prediction and analysis of a company were conducted with an investment index calculated based on the tangible assets of the company. In recent years, as many economic activities change from a production base driven by workers to a service base operated by knowledge workers, important factors in production activities of the company have also changed, thereby increasing the importance of intangible intellectual assets such as patents. 
     In this regard, a technology has been developed to analyze the relationship between a company&#39;s value or stock price and patents using several patent indicators such as patent citations. However, since the prior art fragmentarily uses the patent-related indicators, it does not sufficiently reflect various information of patents that change according to the development of science and technology, and the passage of time. 
     Therefore, in order to fully utilize the patent information which has been fragmentarily handled in the prior art, it is necessary to develop technologies that may generate information which may help comprehensively calculate and optimize various patent quality indicators, timely and accurately evaluate the quality of patents owned by the company, and predict the stock price of the company using the evaluation results. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure is provided to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object thereof is to provide a method and a system for providing investment information of a company through a patent quality evaluation in which a quality index of patents owned by the company is calculated by using various patent information, and a ratio of market capitalization to patent quality is calculated based on the market capitalization and patent quality index of the company. 
     The technical problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems of the present disclosure may be derived from the following description. 
     As technical means for solving the above-mentioned technical problems, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for providing investment information of a company through a patent quality evaluation performed by a server. The method includes a step of calculating a numerical value of each of a plurality of patent quality indicators for each valid patent, and performing the first principal component analysis on the calculated numerical values to select a plurality of main quality indicators from among the patent quality indicators; a step of calculating numerical values of the main quality indicators for the analysis target patents whose rights have not expired in a specific period among the valid patents, calculating weights of the main quality indicators for computing a patent score based on principal component coefficients obtained by conducting the second principal component analysis on the calculated numerical values, and calculating the patent scores of the analysis target patents based on the weights and numerical values of the main quality indicators; a step of calculating weights for computing the patent quality index based on the market size of the technology sector to which the analysis target patent belongs, and calculating the patent quality index of the company corresponding to the right holder of the analysis target patents by weighted-summing patent scores with the weights; and a step of calculating a price-to-patent quality index ratio of the company by using the market capitalization and patent quality index of the company. 
     In addition, as technical means for solving the above-mentioned technical problems, according to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a system for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation with communication connection to a terminal. The system includes a communication module that performs transmission and reception of information with the terminal; a memory that stores a company investment information providing program; and a processor that executes the program stored in the memory. The processor executes the company investment information providing program to calculate a numerical value of each of a plurality of patent quality indicators for each registered valid patent, and perform the first principal component analysis on the calculated numerical values to select a plurality of main quality indicators from among the patent quality indicators, to calculate numerical values of the main quality indicators for the analysis target patents whose right have not expired in a specific period among the valid patents, calculate weights of the main quality indicators for computing a patent score based on principal component coefficients obtained by conducting the second principal component analysis on the calculated numerical values, and calculate the patent scores of the analysis target patents based on the weights and numerical values of the main quality indicators, to calculate weights for computing the patent quality index based on a market size of the technical field to which the analysis target patent belongs, and weighted-sum the patent scores with the weights to calculate the patent quality index of the company corresponding to the right holder of the analysis target patents, and to calculate a price-to-patent quality index ratio of the company by using the market capitalization and patent quality index of the company. 
     According to the means for solving the above-mentioned technical problems of the present disclosure, the patent quality indicators were fragmentarily handled in the prior art, whereas the present disclosure classifies the patent quality indicators into a technological significance indicator, an inventor expertise indicator, a marketability indicator, a novelty indicator, a patent scope indicator, and a patent right indicator, and optimizes them comprehensively. Therefore, it is possible to generate the company investment information based on main patent quality indicators suitable for representing changes in patent quality. 
     In addition, according to the present disclosure, it is presented a methodology capable of applying optimal weights obtained from the principal component analysis to main patent quality indicators to synthesize a patent score and continuously tracking the patent quality that changes over time. 
     In addition, according to the present disclosure, a methodology is presented in which the patent quality index that may evaluate a patent portfolio of the company is calculated, and predictive power for stock returns through the price-to-patent quality index ratio (PPR), which is a relative evaluation index that expresses the stock price as a ratio to patent quality index, is excellent. 
     In addition, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide company investment information that non-experts may easily utilize for stock price prediction by providing users with the company investment information such as the corresponding patent quality index and the price-to-patent quality index ratio. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent in view of the attached drawings and accompanying detailed description, in which: 
         FIG.  1    is a diagram illustrating a system for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation connected to a terminal in communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the system for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation shown in  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of a method for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIGS.  4  to  6    are flowcharts illustrating detailed steps included in the steps of the system for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation shown in  FIG.  3   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in various different forms, and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In addition, the accompanying drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, and the technical ideas disclosed in the present specification are not limited by the accompanying drawings. All terms including technical terms and scientific terms used herein have to be interpreted as meanings commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. Terms defined in the dictionary have to be interpreted as having additional meanings consistent with the related technical literature and the presently disclosed content, and are not interpreted in a very ideal or limiting sense unless otherwise defined. 
     In order to clearly explain the present disclosure in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and the size, form, and shape of each component shown in the drawings may be variously modified. The same/similar reference numerals are attached to the same/similar parts throughout the specification. 
     The suffixes “module” and “portion” for components used in the following description are given or mixed in consideration of only the ease of writing the specification, and do not have distinct meanings or roles by themselves. In addition, in describing the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, when it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known technologies may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. 
     Throughout the specification, when a part is “connected (coupled, contacted, or combined)” with another part, this includes not only a case of being “directly connected (coupled, contacted, or combined)” but also a case of being “indirectly connected (coupled, contacted, or combined)” with another element interposed therebetween. Also, when a part “includes (has or provides)” a configuration element, it means that other configuration elements may be further included (had or provided), rather than excluding other configuration elements, unless otherwise stated. 
     Terms indicating an ordinal number such as first and second used herein are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another, and do not limit the order or relationship of the components. For example, a first component of the present disclosure may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a first component. Forms of the singular expression used herein has to be construed to include forms of the plural expression as well, unless the meaning is clearly opposite. 
       FIG.  1    is a diagram illustrating a system for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation (hereinafter, referred to as a company investment information providing system  100 ) connected to a terminal  200  in communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , the company investment information providing system  100  and the terminal  200  may be interconnected through a wired or wireless communication network. The company investment information providing system  100  may be formed of a cloud computing server such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The terminal  200  may refer to, for example, all types of handheld-based wireless communication devices such as a notebook, a desktop, and a laptop equipped with a web browser, and a wireless communication device, a smartphone, and a touchpad with guaranteed portability and mobility. A communication network may be implemented with a wired network such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or a value added network (VAN), or all types of wireless networks such as a mobile radio communication network or a satellite communication network. 
     The terminal  200  may be a user&#39;s terminal. The terminal  200  may transmit a specific period and specific company information to the company investment information providing system  100 , and output and display the company investment information from the company investment information providing system  100  on a display. 
     More specifically, the terminal  200  may include a communication module, a memory, an input/output module, and a processor. 
     The communication module performs information transmission and reception with the company investment information providing system  100 . The communication module may include a device including hardware and software necessary for transmitting and receiving signals such as control signals or data signals through wired/wireless connection with other network devices. 
     The memory stores an investment analysis program. A name of the investment analysis program is set for convenience of explanation, and the name itself does not limit a function of the program. The memory may store at least one of information and data input to a communication module, information and data necessary for a function performed by a processor, and data generated according to the execution of the processor. The memory has to be interpreted as a generic term for a non-volatile storage device that continuously maintains stored information even when power is not supplied, and a volatile storage device that requires power to maintain the stored information. In addition, the memory may perform a function of temporarily or permanently storing data processed by the processor. The memory may include magnetic storage media or flash storage media in addition to the volatile storage device that requires power to maintain the stored information, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. 
     The input/output module may receive information, data, or the like transmitted from the outside to the terminal  200 , or may output information, data, or the like possessed by the terminal  200  to the outside. For example, the input/output module may include a display, a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. 
     The processor may include various types of devices for controlling and processing data. The processor may refer to a data processing device embedded in hardware having a physically structured circuit to perform a function expressed as code or instructions included in a program. In one example, the processor may be implemented in a form such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The processor is configured to execute an investment analysis program for each company stored in the memory to perform the following functions and procedures. 
     The processor generates a search information input interface in the input/output module, inputs the specific period and specific company information to be searched in the interface, and transmits the input to the company investment information providing system  100 . 
     The processor may receive company investment information corresponding to the specific period and specific company information from the company investment information providing system  100 . 
       FIG.  2    is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the company investment information providing system  100  through patent quality evaluation. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  and  2    together, the company investment information providing system  100  includes a communication module  110 , a memory  120 , and a processor  140 , and may further include a database  130 . 
     The communication module  110  may transmit and receive information to and from the terminal  200 . The communication module  110  may include a device including hardware and software necessary for transmitting and receiving signals such as control signals or data signals through wired/wireless connection with other network devices. 
     The memory  120  stores the company investment information providing program. The name of the company investment information providing program is set for convenience of explanation, and the name itself does not limit the function of the program. The memory  120  may be configured to store at least one of data input to the communication module  110 , data necessary for a function performed by the processor  140 , and data generated according to the execution of the processor  140 . The memory  120  has to be interpreted as a generic term for a non-volatile storage device that continuously maintains stored information even when power is not supplied, and a volatile storage device that requires power to maintain the stored information. The memory  120  may perform a function of temporarily or permanently storing data processed by the processor  140 . The memory  120  may include magnetic storage media or flash storage media in addition to the volatile storage device that requires power to maintain the stored information, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. 
     The database  130  may be a place in which data necessary for generating the company investment information is stored. The database  130  may be built in a part of the memory  120  or implemented as separate hardware. 
     The processor  140  is configured to execute the company investment information providing program stored in the memory  120 . The processor  140  may include various types of devices for controlling and processing data. The processor  140  may refer to a data processing device embedded in hardware having a physically structured circuit to perform a function expressed as a code or an instruction included in a program. In one example, the processor  140  may be implemented in a form such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. 
     The processor  140  is configured to execute the company investment information providing program to perform the following functions and procedures. 
     The processor  140  calculates a numerical value of each of a plurality of patent quality indicators for each registered valid patent. More specifically, the processor  140  may extract a patent evaluation factor for calculating the patent quality indicator from valid patents, and calculate a numerical value of each patent quality indicators based on the patent evaluation factor. The valid patents may be information received and stored from a patent office and a patent search database. The patent quality indicator includes a technological significance indicator, an inventor expertise indicator, a marketability indicator, a novelty indicator, a patent scope indicator, and a patent right indicator. The processor  140  selects a plurality of main quality indicators from among the patent quality indicators by performing the first principal component analysis on the calculated numerical value of each of the plurality of patent quality indicators. More specifically, the processor  140  performs the first principal component analysis on the numerical value of each of the plurality of patent quality indicators to calculate principal component coefficients (loadings) of the principal components generated by a linear combination of the patent quality indicators. The processor  140  selects the patent quality indicator having a principal component coefficient equal to or greater than a preset value from among the principal component coefficients as the main quality indicator. 
     The processor  140  calculates numerical values of the main quality indicators on the analysis target patents whose rights have not expired during a specific period among the valid patents. The processor  140  calculates weights for computing a patent score based on the principal component coefficients obtained by performing the second principal component analysis on the corresponding numerical values. The processor  140  calculates the patent score of the analysis target patent based on the weights for computing the patent score and the numerical values of the main quality indicators for the analysis target patents. More specifically, the processor  140  calculates the principal component coefficients (loadings), a variance proportion and a cumulative variance proportion of each principal component generated by a linear combination with the main quality indicators through the second principal component analysis on the main quality indicators for the analysis target patents. 
     The processor  140  selects principal components of which the cumulative variance proportion explained is equal to or less than a preset value as the main principal components, and calculates the variance contribution of each main principal component based on the variance proportions and cumulative variance proportions of the main principal components. The preset value may be 90% or less. The processor  140  calculates weights for computing a patent score based on the coefficients and calculated variance contribution of the main principal components. The processor  140  calculates the patent score of the analysis target patent based on the corresponding weights and numerical values of main quality indicators on the analysis target patent. 
     The processor  140  weighted-sums the patent scores for each patent holding company based on the market size of the technology sector to which the corresponding patent belongs to calculate the company&#39;s patent quality index (hereinafter, referred to as “patent index”). In order to calculate the market size for each technology sector, the processor  140  counts the number of patents for each technology sector to which the analysis target patent belongs, the number of patents for each company, and sales for each company having the analysis target patents. The processor  140  calculates the average sales per patent for each technology sector based on the number of patents and sales for each company. The processor  140  calculates the market size for each technology sector based on the average sales per patent and number of patents for each technology sector. The processor  140  calculates a weight for computing the patent index, which is the ratio of the market size for a specific technology sector to the total market size for the entire technology sector, and calculates the patent index for each company based on the patent scores and the weights. The processor  140  may collect information such as the number of patents and the patent index for each company based on information on the applicant and the right holder included in the patent information. 
     The processor  140  derives the price-to-patent index ratio for each company by using the patent index and market capitalization of each company. 
     The processor  140  may receive the specific period and specific company information from the terminal  200 , and generate company investment information including at least one of the valid patent information corresponding to the specific period and specific company information, the stored company information, the numerical values of the main quality indicators, the patent index for each company, and the price-to-patent index ratio for each company, and provide the corresponding information to the terminal  200 . 
       FIG.  3    is an operation flowchart for explaining a method for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIGS.  4  to  6    are flowcharts illustrating detailed steps included in some steps of the method for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation. Hereinafter, the method for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation will be described with reference to  FIGS.  3  to  6   . Each step of the method for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation to be described below may be performed by the company investment information providing system  100  through patent quality evaluation described above with reference to  FIGS.  1  to  2   . Accordingly, the contents of the embodiment of the present disclosure described above-mentioned with reference to  FIGS.  1  and  2    may be equally applied to the embodiment to be described below, and hereinafter, the contents overlapping with the above descriptions below will be omitted. The steps described below do not necessarily have to be performed in order, the order of the steps may be set in various ways, and the steps may be performed almost simultaneously. 
     Referring to  FIG.  3   , the method for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation includes a step of selecting main patent quality indicators S 1100 , a step of calculating patent score for each company S 1200 , a step of calculating patent quality index for each company S 1300 , a step of calculating price-to-patent quality index ratio for each company S 1400 , and a step of providing company investment information S 1500 . 
     The step of selecting main patent quality indicators S 1100  is a step in which a numerical value of each of a plurality of patent quality indicators for registered valid patents is calculated, and the first principal component analysis is performed on the corresponding numerical value to select a plurality of main quality indicators among from the patent quality indicators. More specifically, in the step of selecting main patent quality indicators S 1100 , a patent evaluation factor for calculating a patent quality indicator may be extracted from the valid patents, and the patent quality indicator may be calculated based on the corresponding patent evaluation factor. The valid patents may be information received and stored from a patent office and a patent search database. The patent quality indicator includes a technological significance indicator, an inventor expertise indicator, a marketability indicator, a novelty indicator, a patent scope indicator, and a patent right indicator. The technological significance indicator includes indicators such as forward-citations, adjusted forward-citations, forward-citations by foreign assignees, self-forward citations, and an average forward-citation interval. The inventor expertise indicator includes indicators such as the number of applications, the number of registrations, a registration ratio, the number of adjusted forward-citations, the number of patent families, the number of continuing patents, an average pending period, the total number of claims, and the total remained life of patents. All values of the inventor expertise indicators are averaged across inventors assigned to the patent. The marketability indicator includes indicators such as the patent family size based on the application, the patent family size based on the distinct authorities, and intended worldwide protection. The novelty indicator includes indicators such as backward-citations and self-backward citations. The patent scope indicator includes indicators such as forward-citations by examiners, self-forward citations by examiners, forward-citations by examiners based on five or more domestic family patents, forward-citations by examiners based on three or more foreign family patents, forward-citations by examiners based on the top 10% assignees in the technology sector concerned, citations by patents registered by applicants who are in the top 10% of registered patents in the past two years in the same technical field among citations, forward-citations by examiners based on the patents currently owned by companies with more than 500 patent applications, backward-citations by examiners, and self-backward citations by examiners. The patent right indicator includes indicators such as the number of continuing patents, the number of claims, the number of added net claims, the number of multiple applicants, the size of inventors, the number of patent classifications, and the patent maturity. The detailed descriptions of the patent quality indicators may be shown through Table 1 below. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Patent 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 quality 
               
               
                 No. 
                 indicator 
                 Effects 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Technological significance 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                  *1 
                 Forward- 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of forward 
               
               
                   
                 citation 
                   
                 citations that a given patent receives over time. It 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 reflects the technological importance of the patent 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 for the development of subsequent technologies 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 and mirrors the economic value of the 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 technological innovation. (Trajtenberg, 1990; Hall 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 et al., 2005; Harhoff et al., 2003) 
               
               
                  *2 
                 Adjusted 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the forward-citation count of a 
               
               
                   
                 forward- 
                   
                 patent scaled by the average number of forward 
               
               
                   
                 citation 
                   
                 citations received by patents in the same 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 technological sector, in the same grant year, and 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 in the same citing year of the patent. This 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 adjustment follows Gu (2005) to help control for 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 citation propensity attributed to differences in 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 technology sector, grant year, and citing year. 
               
               
                  3 
                 Forward- 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the number of total forward- 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 citations made by foreign assignees, indicating 
               
               
                   
                 foreign 
                   
                 strong influences beyond the local area. 
               
               
                   
                 assignees 
               
               
                  4 
                 Self-forward 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of forward 
               
               
                   
                 citations 
                   
                 citations made by patents filed by the same 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 applicant. Hall et al. (2005) suggest that self- 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 forward citations are generally more valuable than 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 citations from external patents. 
               
               
                  5 
                 Average 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the average of months elapsed 
               
               
                   
                 forward- 
                   
                 between the grant date and the cited date. The 
               
               
                   
                 citation 
                   
                 longer duration of citations, the longer 
               
               
                   
                 interval 
                   
                 technological life of a patent. 
               
               
                   
                 (months) 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Inventor expertise 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                  *6 
                 Number of 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of applications 
               
               
                   
                 applications 
                   
                 that an inventor has filed. A large number of 
               
               
                   
                 (inventor 
                   
                 applications indicates that inventors keep doing 
               
               
                   
                 average) 
                   
                 patenting activities intensively for a long time. 
               
               
                  *7 
                 Number of 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of applications 
               
               
                   
                 registrations 
                   
                 that an inventor has registered. A large number of 
               
               
                   
                 (inventor 
                   
                 registered applications indicates inventors&#39; 
               
               
                   
                 average) 
                   
                 achievement in innovation. 
               
               
                  8 
                 Registration 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the number of registrations 
               
               
                   
                 ratio (inventor 
                   
                 divided by the number of applications, measuring 
               
               
                   
                 average) 
                   
                 the efficiency of patenting activities of inventors. 
               
               
                  *9 
                 Number of 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of adjusted 
               
               
                   
                 adjusted 
                   
                 forward citations of patents that an inventor has 
               
               
                   
                 forward- 
                   
                 registered, indicating that the inventor has 
               
               
                   
                 citations 
                   
                 participated in the influential invention. 
               
               
                   
                 (inventor 
               
               
                   
                 average) 
               
               
                 *10 
                 Number of 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of patents 
               
               
                   
                 patents with 
                   
                 assigned to an inventor that are in the patent 
               
               
                   
                 family 
                   
                 family. The patent family&#39;s aggregate number of 
               
               
                   
                 (inventor 
                   
                 patents indicates that the inventor has 
               
               
                   
                 average) 
                   
                 participated in the critical invention to the 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 assignee. 
               
               
                  11 
                 Number of 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of patents 
               
               
                   
                 patents with 
                   
                 assigned to an inventor that are in the part of 
               
               
                   
                 continuing 
                   
                 continuing patents. The number of continuing 
               
               
                   
                 patents 
                   
                 patents that an inventor has registered indicates 
               
               
                   
                 (inventor 
                   
                 that the inventor has done innovation activities in 
               
               
                   
                 average) 
                   
                 the focused technological sector and those 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 innovations tend to be at a higher technological 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 level. 
               
               
                  12 
                 Average 
                 − 
                 This index is the average of the months elapsed 
               
               
                   
                 pending 
                   
                 between the filing date and the registration date 
               
               
                   
                 period 
                   
                 of the patents filed by the inventor, and the length 
               
               
                   
                 (inventor 
                   
                 of the registration period has a negative 
               
               
                   
                 average, 
                   
                 correlation with the patent value. (Harhoff and 
               
               
                   
                 months) 
                   
                 Wagner, 2009; Regibeau and Rockett, 2010) 
               
               
                 *13 
                 Total claims 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of claims of 
               
               
                   
                 of patents 
                   
                 patents that an inventor has filed. Claims 
               
               
                   
                 (inventor 
                   
                 determine the boundaries of the exclusive rights 
               
               
                   
                 average) 
                   
                 of a patent owner. Moreover, as the patent fee is 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 proportional to the number of claims, a large 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 number of claims imply higher fees and, therefore, 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 reflect its expected market value (Tong and 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Frame, 1994; Lanjouw and Schankerman, 2001, 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 2004) 
               
               
                 *14 
                 Total 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total months left of patents 
               
               
                   
                 remained life 
                   
                 that an inventor has filed. This describes the 
               
               
                   
                 of patents 
                   
                 remaining time for a patent&#39;s protection right and, 
               
               
                   
                 (inventor 
                   
                 thus, represents that an inventor has been 
               
               
                   
                 average, 
                   
                 involved intensively in patenting activities recently 
               
               
                   
                 months) 
                   
                 for a long time. 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Marketability 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 *15 
                 Patent family 
                 + 
                 This index is the number of patents filed in 
               
               
                   
                 size 
                   
                 different countries but with the same priority, 
               
               
                   
                 (Applications) 
                   
                 which has proven valuable for large international 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 patent families. (Harhoff et al., 2003). 
               
               
                 *16 
                 Patent family 
                 + 
                 This index is the number of patent bodies in which 
               
               
                   
                 size (Distinct 
                   
                 patents in a patent family have been filed, which 
               
               
                   
                 authorities) 
                   
                 are valuable in more jurisdictions where patent 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 protection is required. (Lanjouw et al., 1998). 
               
               
                 *17 
                 Intended 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the number of PCT (patent 
               
               
                   
                 worldwide 
                   
                 cooperation treaty) filings in the patent family. If 
               
               
                   
                 protection 
                   
                 more than one PCT filing exists in the family, 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 worldwide protection is planned and, thus, the 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 market coverage of the invention is global. 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Novelty 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 *18 
                 Backward- 
                 +/− 
                 This indicator is the number of prior patents cited 
               
               
                   
                 citations 
                   
                 in the application of a patent, which help assess 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 the degree of novelty of an invention and 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 investigate knowledge transfers in terms of 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 citations network. However, its impact on patent 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 value is not conclusive. Harhoff et al. (2003) show 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 that backward citations have been found to be 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 positively related to the value of a patent, while 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Lanjouw and Schankerman (2001) suggests that 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 large numbers of backward citations may signal 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 the patent to be more incremental than more 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 innovative. 
               
               
                  19 
                 Self- 
                 − 
                 This indicator is the total number of citations made 
               
               
                   
                 backward 
                   
                 to inventions belonging to the same agent. The 
               
               
                   
                 citations 
                   
                 patent with high self-backward citation counts 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 tends to be incremental rather than innovative. 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Patent scope—Citations added by examiner as they work as a patent 
               
               
                 scope that blocks subsequent inventions and has a positive impact on 
               
               
                 renewal probability 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 *20 
                 Forward- 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of forward- 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 citations added to the citing patent by examiners 
               
               
                   
                 examiners 
                   
                 during the technical examination. This can be 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 seen to be more critical than other forward 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 citations as this confirms the validity of the forward 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 citation. 
               
               
                  21 
                 Self-forward 
                 + 
                 This indicator is a self-forward citation count 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 added by examiners. This is also more crucial 
               
               
                   
                 examiners 
                   
                 than other self-forward citations because this 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 confirms the validity of the self-forward citation. 
               
               
                 *22 
                 Forward- 
                 + 
                 This is the total number of forward-citations made 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 by domestic patents with large domestic patent 
               
               
                   
                 examiners 
                   
                 families, added by examiners during the technical 
               
               
                   
                 based on five 
                   
                 examination. This represents that a patent is cited 
               
               
                   
                 or more 
                   
                 by patents with extensive market coverage and, 
               
               
                   
                 domestic 
                   
                 thus, valuable. 
               
               
                   
                 family patents 
               
               
                  23 
                 Forward- 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of forward- 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 citations made by domestic patents with large 
               
               
                   
                 examiners 
                   
                 foreign patent families, added by examiners 
               
               
                   
                 based on 
                   
                 during the technical examination. This represents 
               
               
                   
                 three or more 
                   
                 that a patent is cited by patents with broad market 
               
               
                   
                 foreign family 
                   
                 coverage and, thus, is valuable. 
               
               
                   
                 patents 
               
               
                 *24 
                 Forward- 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of forward- 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 citations made by influential assignees in the 
               
               
                   
                 examiners 
                   
                 same technological sector, added by examiners 
               
               
                   
                 based on the 
                   
                 during the technical examination. This represents 
               
               
                   
                 top 10% 
                   
                 the high value of the cited patent. 
               
               
                   
                 assignees in 
               
               
                   
                 the technical 
               
               
                   
                 sector 
               
               
                   
                 concerned 
               
               
                 *25 
                 Forward- 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of forward 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 citations made by influential assignees in the 
               
               
                   
                 examiners 
                   
                 same technological sector, added by examiners 
               
               
                   
                 based on the 
                   
                 during the technical examination this year. This 
               
               
                   
                 top 10% 
                   
                 represents the high value of the cited patent. 
               
               
                   
                 assignees in 
               
               
                   
                 the technical 
               
               
                   
                 sector 
               
               
                   
                 concerned 
               
               
                   
                 this year 
               
               
                 *26 
                 Forward- 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of forward- 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 citations made by influential assignees in the 
               
               
                   
                 examiners 
                   
                 same technological sector, added by examiners 
               
               
                   
                 based on the 
                   
                 during the technical examination one to two years 
               
               
                   
                 top 10 
                   
                 ago. This represents the high value of the cited 
               
               
                   
                 assignees in 
                   
                 patent. 
               
               
                   
                 the technical 
               
               
                   
                 sector 
               
               
                   
                 concerned 
               
               
                   
                 one to two 
               
               
                   
                 years ago 
               
               
                 *27 
                 Forward- 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of forward- 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 citations made by patent giants, added by 
               
               
                   
                 examiners 
                   
                 examiners during the technical examination. This 
               
               
                   
                 based on the 
                   
                 represents the high value of the cited patent. 
               
               
                   
                 patents 
               
               
                   
                 currently 
               
               
                   
                 owned by 
               
               
                   
                 companies 
               
               
                   
                 with more 
               
               
                   
                 than 500 
               
               
                   
                 patent 
               
               
                   
                 applications 
               
               
                   
                 filed 
               
               
                 *28 
                 Backward- 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of patents added 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 to a patent as examiners&#39; citations during the 
               
               
                   
                 examiners 
                   
                 technical examination. Backward citations missed 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 by applicants and added by examiners work as a 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 patent scope that blocks subsequent inventions. 
               
               
                  29 
                 Self- 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total citations made to 
               
               
                   
                 backward 
                   
                 inventions belonging to the same agent and made 
               
               
                   
                 citations by 
                   
                 by examiners. It works as a patent scope. 
               
               
                   
                 examiners 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Patent right 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                  30 
                 Number of 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the total number of related 
               
               
                   
                 continuing 
                   
                 continuing patents. A continuing patent is a patent 
               
               
                   
                 patents 
                   
                 that follows and claims priority to an earlier-filed 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 patent application. Any patent with a large number 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 of related continuing patents tends to be related 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 to the assignees&#39; core business. 
               
               
                  31 
                 Number of 
                 + 
                 Claims of a patent determine the boundaries of 
               
               
                   
                 claims 
                   
                 the exclusive rights of the patent owner. 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Moreover, as the patent fee is proportional to the 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 number of claims, a large number of claims imply 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 higher fees and, therefore, reflect its expected 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 market value. (Tong and Frame, 1994; Lanjouw 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 and Schankerman, 2001, 2004) 
               
               
                  32 
                 Number of 
                 + 
                 Claims added or removed during technical 
               
               
                   
                 added net 
                   
                 examination mean a change in the exclusive right, 
               
               
                   
                 claims 
                   
                 and therefore are proportional to the patent value. 
               
               
                  33 
                 Number of 
                 − 
                 Multiple assignees make the usability of a patent 
               
               
                   
                 multiple 
                   
                 more complicated, and the coverage of the claims 
               
               
                   
                 applicants 
                   
                 is smaller due to conflicts of use among involved 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 assignees., which is inversely proportional to the 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 patent value. 
               
               
                  34 
                 Number of 
                 +/− 
                 The impact of inventor size on the patent value is 
               
               
                   
                 inventors 
                   
                 not linear. The single inventor has the highest 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 frequency of all inventions, but it accounts only for 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 a small fraction of high-value patents. The bigger 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 size of inventors, however, has negative impacts 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 on the patent quality. (Kiehne and Krill, 2017) 
               
               
                  35 
                 Number of 
                 + 
                 This indicator is the number of the distinct primary 
               
               
                   
                 patent 
                   
                 and secondary 4-digit subclasses of the 
               
               
                   
                 classifications 
                   
                 CPC(Cooperative Patent Classification) to which 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 the invention is allocated. A patent&#39;s technical 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 breadth has a positive impact on a firm&#39;s value. 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 (Lerner, 1994; Hirshleifer et al., 2017) Matutes et 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 al. (1996) suggest that a patent&#39;s breadth should 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 be used to foster the early disclosure of 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 fundamental innovation. 
               
               
                  36 
                 Patent 
                 + 
                 This indicator represents the remaining time for 
               
               
                   
                 maturity 
                   
                 the protection right of a patent. Longer maturity 
               
               
                   
                 (months) 
                   
                 makes a patent more valuable. 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The step of calculating patent score S 1200  is a step in which weights for computing each patent score are calculated by performing the second principal component analysis on numerical values of the main quality indicators for analysis target patents whose right have not expired in a specific period among the valid patents, and the patent score of each analysis target patent is calculated based on the corresponding weights and numerical values of the main quality indicators. A patent score PS pt  calculated by giving a weight w it  for computing the patent score to the main quality indicators for the analysis target patents may be expressed by Equation 1 below. 
         PS   pt =Σ i=1   19   w   it   ·x   pit   [Equation 1]
 
     In Equation 1, p means a specific analysis target patent, i means the i-th main quality indicator of the patent p, and t means a specific year. x pit  is a natural logarithm of the i-th main quality indicator for patent p. 
     The step of calculating patent quality index for each company S 1300  is a step in which the market size of the technology sector to which the analysis target patent belongs is calculated and using the market size as a weight, the patent index for each company is calculated by weighted-summing the patent scores of the analysis target patents for each company. 
     The step of calculating price-to-patent quality index ratio for each company S 1400  is a step in which the price-to-patent index ratio (PPR) for each company is calculated by using the market capitalization and patent index for each company. The price-to-patent index ratio for each company is a ratio of the stock price per unit of patent quality, and if the corresponding ratio value is higher than that of another company, it may mean that the stock price is overvalued. Therefore, the price-to-patent index ratio for each company may be used as the company investment information. The market capitalization for each company may be extracted from pre-stored company information including the market capitalization of the company by year. 
     The step of providing company investment information S 1500  is a step in which the specific period and specific company information is received from the terminal, the company investment information including at least one of valid patent information corresponding to the specific period and specific company information, the pre-stored company information, the numerical values of the main quality indicators, the patent index for each company, and the price-to-patent index ratio for each company is generated, and the corresponding information is provided to the terminal. The patent index may be of great help in determining the value of a portfolio of all patents held by a particular company. 
     Referring to  FIG.  4   , the step of selecting main patent quality indicators S 1100  includes a step of calculating principal component coefficients by the first principal component analysis S 1110  and a step of selecting main patent quality indicators S 1120 . 
     The step of calculating principal component coefficients by the first principal component analysis S 1110  is a step in which the first principal component analysis is performed on the patent quality indicators to calculate principal component coefficients of principal components generated by a linear combination of the patent quality indicators. Therefore, in the step of calculating principal component coefficients by the first principal component analysis S 1110 , a statistical technique called principal component analysis is used to extract an appropriate number of indicators sufficiently explaining the change in patent quality. The principal component analysis is an analysis method commonly used for dimensionality reduction and data reduction so that, in a case where there is a strong correlation between variables, the fluctuations of the variables are concentrated on the first few principal components, and subsequent principal components are dominated by noise and may be ignored. In this process, the principal component is newly created by a linear combination of the original variables and satisfies an orthogonal relationship with no correlation. When the first principal component analysis is performed on the patent quality indicators in the step of calculating principal component coefficients by the first principal component analysis S 1110 , a principal component for representing the fluctuations of all patent quality indicators is calculated, and the corresponding principal component is expressed as a linear combination of all patent quality indicators. The coefficients of the principal component on the patent quality indicators may be calculated by Equation 2 below. 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     P 
                     ⁢ 
                     
                       C 
                       m 
                     
                   
                   = 
                   
                     
                       ∑ 
                       
                         i 
                         = 
                         1 
                       
                       k 
                     
                     
                       
                         A 
                         
                           i 
                           ⁢ 
                           m 
                         
                       
                       · 
                       
                         x 
                         i 
                       
                     
                   
                 
               
               
                 
                   [ 
                   
                     Equation 
                     ⁢ 
                         
                     2 
                   
                   ] 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     In Equation 2, m means the m-th principal component (m=1, . . . , and k), and i means the i-th patent quality indicator. A im  means the principal component coefficient of the i-th patent quality indicator on the m-th principal component, and x i  is a natural logarithm of the i-th indicator. 
     The step of selecting main patent quality indicators S 1120  is a step in which the patent quality indicator, which is linearly combined with the principal component coefficient equal to or greater than a preset value among the principal component coefficients A im  calculated in the step of calculating principal component coefficients by the first principal component analysis S 1110 , is selected as the main patent quality indicator. For example, in a case where the first principal component analysis is performed on 36 patent quality indicators for valid patents applied and registered from the end of 1980 to the end of 2017, the principal component coefficients for the patent quality indicators may express as shown in Table 2 below. In the step of selecting main patent quality indicators S 1120 , since the principal component coefficient in Table 2 generally has ranges from −0.14 to 0.36, 19 main quality indicators may be selected by setting the preset value to 0.27 or more. The range of the preset value may be the top 19 coefficients having the highest principal component coefficient. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Group 
                 No. 
                 Patent quality indicator 
                 PC 1   
                 PC 2   
                 PC 3   
                 PC 4   
                 PC 5   
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Technological 
                 1 
                 Forward-citation 
                 0.30 
                 −0.13 
                 −0.04 
                 −0.04 
                 0.09 
               
               
                 significance 
                 2 
                 Adjusted forward-citation 
                 0.29 
                 −0.11 
                 0.02 
                 −0.01 
                 0.08 
               
               
                   
                 3 
                 Forward-citations by foreign 
                 0.10 
                 −0.07 
                 0.01 
                 −0.09 
                 0.15 
               
               
                   
                   
                 assignees 
               
               
                   
                 4 
                 Self-forward citations 
                 0.22 
                 0.02 
                 0.11 
                 0.11 
                 −0.20 
               
               
                   
                 5 
                 Average forward-citation 
                 0.20 
                 −0.12 
                 −0.11 
                 −0.06 
                 0.10 
               
               
                   
                   
                 interval (months) 
               
               
                 Inventor 
                 6 
                 Number of applications 
                 0.10 
                 0.36 
                 −0.12 
                 −0.04 
                 0.00 
               
               
                 expertise 
                   
                 (inventor average) 
               
               
                   
                 7 
                 Number of registrations 
                 0.09 
                 0.36 
                 −0.14 
                 −0.06 
                 0.03 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (inventor average) 
               
               
                   
                 8 
                 Registration ratio (inventor 
                 −0.06 
                 −0.07 
                 −0.07 
                 −0.07 
                 0.11 
               
               
                   
                   
                 average) 
               
               
                   
                 9 
                 Number of adjusted forward- 
                 0.09 
                 0.34 
                 −0.10 
                 −0.04 
                 0.03 
               
               
                   
                   
                 citations (inventor average) 
               
               
                   
                 10 
                 Number of patents with family 
                 0.09 
                 0.36 
                 0.00 
                 −0.05 
                 0.07 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (inventor average) 
               
               
                   
                 11 
                 Number of patents with 
                 0.04 
                 0.20 
                 −0.03 
                 −0.03 
                 0.06 
               
               
                   
                   
                 continuing patents (inventor 
               
               
                   
                   
                 average) 
               
               
                   
                 12 
                 Average pending period 
                 0.02 
                 0.06 
                 0.05 
                 0.10 
                 0.02 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (inventor average, months) 
               
               
                   
                 13 
                 Total number of claims (inventor 
                 0.11 
                 0.32 
                 −0.10 
                 −0.04 
                 0.04 
               
               
                   
                   
                 average) 
               
               
                   
                 14 
                 Total remaining period of 
                 0.10 
                 0.36 
                 −0.13 
                 −0.06 
                 0.02 
               
               
                   
                   
                 patents (inventor average, 
               
               
                   
                   
                 month) 
               
               
                 Marketability 
                 15 
                 Patent family size (Applications) 
                 0.04 
                 0.09 
                 0.34 
                 0.01 
                 0.14 
               
               
                   
                 16 
                 Patent family size (Distinct 
                 0.03 
                 0.08 
                 0.33 
                 0.00 
                 0.13 
               
               
                   
                   
                 authorities) 
               
               
                   
                 17 
                 Intended worldwide protection 
                 −0.01 
                 0.03 
                 0.27 
                 0.01 
                 0.09 
               
               
                 Novelty 
                 18 
                 Backward-citations 
                 0.02 
                 0.03 
                 0.28 
                 0.18 
               
               
                   
                 19 
                 Self-backward citations 
                 0.07 
                 0.14 
                 0.21 
                 0.20 
                 −0.10 
               
               
                 Patent scope 
                 20 
                 Forward-citations by examiners 
                 0.30 
                 −0.13 
                 −0.04 
                 −0.04 
                 0.08 
               
               
                   
                 21 
                 Self-forward citations by 
                 0.21 
                 0.02 
                 0.11 
                 0.11 
                 −0.21 
               
               
                   
                   
                 examiners 
               
               
                   
                 22 
                 Forward-citations by examiners 
                 0.27 
                 −0.08 
                 0.04 
                 −0.03 
                 0.07 
               
               
                   
                   
                 based on five or more domestic 
               
               
                   
                   
                 family patents 
               
               
                   
                 23 
                 Forward-citations by examiners 
                 0.19 
                 −0.10 
                 −0.01 
                 −0.09 
                 0.17 
               
               
                   
                   
                 based on three or more foreign 
               
               
                   
                   
                 family patents 
               
               
                   
                 24 
                 Forward-citations by examiners 
                 0.30 
                 −0.05 
                 0.01 
                 0.02 
                 −0.11 
               
               
                   
                   
                 based on the top 10% 
               
               
                   
                   
                 assignees in the technical 
               
               
                   
                   
                 sector concerned 
               
               
                   
                 25 
                 Forward-citations by examiners 
                 0.30 
                 −0.05 
                 0.01 
                 0.02 
                 −0.11 
               
               
                   
                   
                 based on the top 10% 
               
               
                   
                   
                 assignees in the technical 
               
               
                   
                   
                 sector concerned this year 
               
               
                   
                 26 
                 Forward-citations by examiners 
                 0.30 
                 −0.05 
                 0.01 
                 0.02 
                 −0.11 
               
               
                   
                   
                 based on the top 10 assignees 
               
               
                   
                   
                 in the technical sector 
               
               
                   
                   
                 concerned one to two years ago 
               
               
                   
                 27 
                 Forward-citations by examiners 
                 0.31 
                 −0.07 
                 −0.01 
                 0.01 
                 −0.05 
               
               
                   
                   
                 based on the patents currently 
               
               
                   
                   
                 owned by companies with more 
               
               
                   
                   
                 than 500 patent applications 
               
               
                   
                   
                 filed 
               
               
                   
                 28 
                 Backward-citations by 
                 0.02 
                 −0.02 
                 0.20 
                 0.15 
                 0.31 
               
               
                   
                   
                 examiners 
               
               
                   
                 29 
                 Self-backward citations by 
                 0.07 
                 0.12 
                 0.19 
                 0.18 
                 −0.08 
               
               
                   
                   
                 examiners 
               
               
                 Patent right 
                 30 
                 Number of continuing patents 
                 0.01 
                 0.06 
                 0.07 
                 0.01 
                 0.09 
               
               
                   
                 31 
                 Number of claims 
                 0.05 
                 0.03 
                 0.08 
                 0.06 
                 0.05 
               
               
                   
                 32 
                 Number of added net claims 
                 0.00 
                 0.00 
                 0.00 
                 0.00 
                 0.00 
               
               
                   
                 33 
                 Number of multiple applicants 
                 −0.02 
                 0.01 
                 0.03 
                 0.04 
                 0.02 
               
               
                   
                 34 
                 Number of inventors 
                 0.04 
                 0.08 
                 0.11 
                 0.04 
                 −0.03 
               
               
                   
                 35 
                 Number of patent classifications 
                 0.02 
                 0.01 
                 0.11 
                 −0.01 
                 0.13 
               
               
                   
                 36 
                 Patent maturity (months) 
                 −0.09 
                 0.09 
                 0.18 
                 0.10 
                 −0.09 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Variation proportion explained (%, accumulated) 
                 23% 
                 40% 
                 47% 
                 54% 
                 60% 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Referring to  FIG.  5   , the step of calculating patent score S 1200  includes a step of calculating principal component coefficients by the second principal component analysis S 1210 , a step of selecting main principal components S 1220 , a step of calculating variance contribution S 1230 , and a step of calculating weights for patent score computation S 1240 . 
     The step of calculating principal component coefficients by the second principal component analysis S 1210  is a step in which the principal component coefficients, the variance proportion, and the cumulative variance proportion of the principal components generated by a linear combination with the main quality indicators through the second principal component analysis on the main quality indicators for the analysis target patents are calculated. The step of selecting main principal components S 1220  is a step in which principal components having a cumulative variance proportion of 90% or less are selected as the main principal components. The step of calculating variance contribution S 1230  is a step in which the variance contributions of the main principal components are calculated based on the variance proportions and cumulative variance proportions of the main principal components. The step of calculating weights for patent score computation S 1240  is a step in which the weights for computing the patent score is calculated based on the principal component coefficients and variance contribution of the main principal components. Here, the weight w it  for calculating the patent score may be expressed by Equation 3 below. 
         w   it =Σ m=1   k   A   imt ·θ mt   [Equation 3]
 
     In Equation 3, m means the m-th main principal component (m=1, 2, 3, . . . , and k), i means the i-th main quality indicator for the analysis target patent, and t means a specific year. A imt  means the principal component coefficient of the i-th main quality indicator for the m-th main principal component, and θ m  means the variance contribution of the m-th main principal component. 
     As an example of the weight for calculating the patent score, if the second principal component analysis is performed on the main quality indicators for the analysis target patents at the end of 2000, the coefficient values for the main principal components linearly combined with the main quality indicators for the analysis target patents may be shown in Table 3 below. PC1 to PC4, which have a cumulative variance proportion of 90% or less shown in Table 3, are selected as the main principal components, and, for example, the influence coefficient of the “Number of applications (inventor average)”, the analysis target indicator No. 6, on determining the first main principal component PC1 is expressed as A number of applications (inventor average),1,2000 =0.125. Since the variance contribution θ 1,2000  of the first main principal component PC1 is 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 variance 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 proportion 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 of 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 first 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 main 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 principal 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 component 
               
               
                 total 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 variance 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 proportion 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 of 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 main 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 principal 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 component 
               
             
             , 
           
         
       
     
     it is calculated by 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 3 
                 ⁢ 
                 5 
                 ⁢ 
                 % 
               
               
                 8 
                 ⁢ 
                 8 
                 ⁢ 
                 % 
               
             
             = 
             
               0 
               . 
               4 
               . 
             
           
         
       
     
     Therefore, the weight of the analysis target indicator No. 6 is calculated as follows. 
         w   number of applications (inventor average),2000 =Σ m=1   4   A   number of applications (inventor average),m,2000 ·θ m,2000 =0.125*0.4+0.387*0.34+(−0.077)*0.14+(−0.001)*0.12=0.170
 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 3 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Weight 
               
               
                 Group 
                 No. 
                 Patent quality indicator 
                 PC 1   
                 PC 2   
                 PC 3   
                 PC 4   
                 PC 5   
                 (W it ) 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Technological 
                 1 
                 Forward-citation 
                 0.333 
                 −0.151 
                 −0.021 
                 0.025 
                 0.340 
                 0.083 
               
               
                 significance 
                 2 
                 Adjusted forward-citation 
                 0.313 
                 −0.130 
                 0.011 
                 0.065 
                 0.420 
                 0.092 
               
               
                 Inventor 
                 6 
                 Number of applications 
                 0.125 
                 0.387 
                 −0.077 
                 −0.001 
                 0.026 
                 0.170 
               
               
                 expertise 
                   
                 (inventor average) 
               
               
                   
                 7 
                 Number of registrations 
                 0.124 
                 0.392 
                 −0.094 
                 0.004 
                 0.047 
                 0.169 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (inventor average) 
               
               
                   
                 9 
                 Number of adjusted 
                 0.127 
                 0.375 
                 −0.089 
                 0.037 
                 0.066 
                 0.170 
               
               
                   
                   
                 forward-citations (inventor 
               
               
                   
                   
                 average) 
               
               
                   
                 10 
                 Number of patents with 
                 0.119 
                 0.383 
                 0.102 
                 −0.058 
                 0.003 
                 0.184 
               
               
                   
                   
                 family (inventor average) 
               
               
                   
                 13 
                 Total number of claims 
                 0.123 
                 0.376 
                 −0.057 
                 0.047 
                 0.038 
                 0.174 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (inventor average) 
               
               
                   
                 14 
                 Total remaining period of 
                 0.130 
                 0.387 
                 −0.096 
                 0.002 
                 0.034 
                 0.170 
               
               
                   
                   
                 patents (inventor average, 
               
               
                   
                   
                 month) 
               
               
                 Marketability 
                 15 
                 Patent family size 
                 0.027 
                 0.092 
                 0.585 
                 −0.189 
                 −0.066 
                 0.101 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (Applications) 
               
               
                   
                 16 
                 Patent family size (Distinct 
                 0.026 
                 0.078 
                 0.584 
                 −0.211 
                 −0.052 
                 0.094 
               
               
                   
                   
                 authorities) 
               
               
                   
                 17 
                 Intended worldwide 
                 −0.032 
                 0.034 
                 0.429 
                 −0.051 
                 0.279 
                 0.053 
               
               
                   
                   
                 protection 
               
               
                 Novelty 
                 18 
                 Backward-citations 
                 0.004 
                 0.023 
                 0.201 
                 0.672 
                 −0.064 
                 0.118 
               
               
                 Patent scope 
                 20 
                 Forward-citations by 
                 0.333 
                 −0.151 
                 −0.022 
                 0.024 
                 0.338 
                 0.083 
               
               
                   
                   
                 examiners 
               
               
                   
                 22 
                 Forward-citations by 
                 0.313 
                 −0.107 
                 0.063 
                 −0.011 
                 0.204 
                 0.097 
               
               
                   
                   
                 examiners based on five or 
               
               
                   
                   
                 more domestic family 
               
               
                   
                   
                 patents 
               
               
                   
                 24 
                 Forward-citations by 
                 0.344 
                 −0.079 
                 0.007 
                 −0.023 
                 −0.388 
                 0.110 
               
               
                   
                   
                 examiners based on the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 top 10% assignees in the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 technical sector concerned 
               
               
                   
                 25 
                 Forward-citations by 
                 0.348 
                 −0.079 
                 0.009 
                 −0.025 
                 −0.379 
                 0.112 
               
               
                   
                   
                 examiners based on the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 top 10% assignees in the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 technical sector concerned 
               
               
                   
                   
                 this year 
               
               
                   
                 26 
                 Forward-citations by 
                 0.349 
                 −0.080 
                 0.009 
                 −0.024 
                 −0.378 
                 0.112 
               
               
                   
                   
                 examiners based on the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 top 10 assignees in the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 technical sector concerned 
               
               
                   
                   
                 one to two years ago 
               
               
                   
                 27 
                 Forward-citations by 
                 0.355 
                 −0.095 
                 0.010 
                 −0.027 
                 −0.107 
                 0.110 
               
               
                   
                   
                 examiners based on the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 patents currently owned by 
               
               
                   
                   
                 companies with more than 
               
               
                   
                   
                 500 patent applications 
               
               
                   
                   
                 filed 
               
               
                   
                 28 
                 Backward-citations by 
                 0.004 
                 0.023 
                 0.201 
                 0.672 
                 −0.064 
                 0.118 
               
               
                   
                   
                 examiners 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Variance proportion explained (%, accumulated) 
                 35% 
                 65% 
                 77% 
                 88% 
                 92% 
                   
               
               
                 Variance proportion explained (%) 
                 35% 
                 30% 
                 12% 
                 11% 
               
               
                 Variance contribution (%) 
                 40% 
                 34% 
                 14% 
                 12% 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Referring to  FIG.  6   , the step of calculating patent quality index for each company S 1300  includes a step of counting number of patents for each technology sector and each company S 1310 , a step of deriving sales for each company S 1320 , a step of calculating average sales per patent S 1330 , a step of calculating market size for each technology sector S 1340 , a step of calculating weights for patent quality index computation S 1350 , and a step of calculating the patent quality index for each company S 1360 . 
     The step of counting number of patents for each technology sector and each company S 1310  is a step in which the number of patents for each technology sector and the number of patents for each company are counted on the analysis target patents. The technology sector may be any one of a Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) code and an International Patent Classification (IPC) code of patents. 
     The step of deriving sales for each company S 1320  is a step in which the sales for each company is derived. More specifically, the deriving step of the sales for each company S 1320  is a step in which the sales for each company having the analysis target patents. 
     The step of calculating average sales per patent S 1330  is a step in which the average sales per patent is derived based on the sales and number of patents for each company. More specifically, the step of calculating average sales per patent S 1330  is a step in which the sales per patent for each company is calculated by dividing the sales for the company by the number of patents for the company, and the average sales per patent for each technology sector is calculated by dividing the sum of sales per patent of companies that have patents in the corresponding sector by the number of the companies. Here, it is assumed that each patent of a company makes the same contribution to the company&#39;s sales regardless of its technology sector, and unlisted companies that do not publicly report sales are excluded. 
     The step of calculating market size for each technology sector S 1340  is a step in which the market size for each technology sector is calculated based on the average sales per patent and number of patents for each technology sector. More specifically, in the step of calculating market size for each technology sector S 1340 , the market size for each technology sector is calculated by multiplying the average sales per patent for each technology sector by the number of patents for each technology sector. 
     The step of calculating weights for the patent quality index S 1350  is a step in which the weight for each technology sector is calculated as the ratio of the market size for the technology sector to the total market size of all technology sectors. The weight w t   s  may be expressed by Equation 4 below. 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     w 
                     t 
                     s 
                   
                   = 
                   
                     
                       R 
                       ⁢ 
                       E 
                       ⁢ 
                       
                         V 
                         t 
                         s 
                       
                     
                     
                       
                         ∑ 
                         
                           s 
                           = 
                           1 
                         
                         
                           
                             N 
                             ⁢ 
                             SEC 
                           
                           t 
                         
                       
                       
                         REV 
                         t 
                         s 
                       
                     
                   
                 
               
               
                 
                   [ 
                   
                     Equation 
                     ⁢ 
                         
                     4 
                   
                   ] 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     In Equation 4, t means a specific year, s means a specific technology sector, and REV t   s  means the market size of the specific technology sector s in the specific year t. 
     As an example of the weight for the patent index computation, it is assumed that there are 3 patents in the year t whose CPC code, the technology sector of the analysis target patent, corresponds to A01D, and listed companies A and B, and unlisted company C each have one patent in the technology sector. In this case, if the sales of the company A are 10 billion Korean won and the number of owned patents is 100, the sales of the company A per patent is 100 million Korean won/pat. If the sales of the company B are 1 billion Korean won and the number of owned patents is 2, then the sales per patent of the company B is 500 million Korean won/pat. Here, it is assumed that the patents owned by the companies A and B make the same contribution to the sales regardless of the technology sector. The company C is excluded in calculating the sales per patent because the company is not listed and do not disclose its sales. Therefore, the average sales per patent becomes 300 million Korean won/pat, and the market size (900 million Korean won) of the technology sector A01D is derived by multiplying the average sales per patent (300 million Korean won/pat) by the number of patents belonging to the technology sector A01D (3 patents). 
     The step of calculating patent quality index for each company S 1360  is a step in which the patent index is calculated based on the patent score and the above-mentioned weight. The patent index PI jt  calculated by applying the above-mentioned weight w t   s  to the patent score (PS pt   s ) may be expressed by Equation 5 below. 
         PI   jt =Σ p∈j   w   t   s   ·PS   pt   s   [Equation 5]
 
     In Equation 5, p means a specific analysis target patent owned by company j, t means a specific year, s means the technology sector of the corresponding patent, and j means the company holding these patents. 
     The method for providing investment information of a company through patent quality evaluation according to the embodiments of the present disclosure described above may be implemented in a form of a recording medium including instructions executable by a computer, such as a program module executed by a computer. The computer-readable media may be any available media that may be accessed by a computer and includes all of volatile and nonvolatile media, and removable and non-removable media. Also, computer-readable media may include computer storage media. The computer storage media includes all of volatile and nonvolatile media, and removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains will be able to understand that it may be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present disclosure based on the above-mentioned description. Therefore, it has to be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the following claims, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents has to be construed as being included in the scope of the present disclosure. The scope of the present application is indicated by the following claims rather than the above-mentioned detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents has to be construed as being included in the scope of the present application.