Abstract:
The present invention relates to a method for analyzing the mutual citation relationship of the patents, which are desired to be sought from the patent databases having the fields containing the patent information of the prior patents, which were cited by filing a patent application, and relates to a method for providing the analyzed results. At the present invention, the selected patents from the prior patents are distinguished and analyzed according to the one of the three cases: a first case that a user tries to analyze the patents cited as a reference by a target patent at the time of filing, a second case that a user tries to analyze the patents citing the target patent as a reference at the time of filing and a third case that a user tries to analyze the two kinds of patents.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a method for analyzing the mutual citation relationship of patents to seek from the patent databases having the fields containing the patent information of the prior arts, which were cited by filing a patent application, and relates to a method for providing the analyzed results.  
         DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART  
         [0002]    As the industry develops, the value of the intellectual properties becomes more and more important and is placed in the position of one of the biggest factors deciding the rise and fall of an enterprise. There are often the cases where one of the largest companies in the world is ruined in a moment only by a few core patents of the competitors, although the company has invested much capital and runs a productive business. Now the holding of intellectual properties have become a unique offensive and defensive measure to survive.  
           [0003]    In such an acute situation, each company tries to analyze the intellectual properties of the competitors and to establish its R &amp; D strategy based on the analysis. However, the work requires much time, even though there are generally many excellent patent analysts and patent analysis tools developed by a number of software companies in order to do the work automatically. Most of existing patent analysis tools provide only outward and quantitative analysis information without actually necessary qualitative analysis information. That is, existing analysis tools don&#39;t provide the information on how valuable the patents of a company and its competitors are, how likely a company&#39;s product is to infringe on his competitors&#39; patents and what strategy may be used to avoid the situation, and how great the possibility of the infringement of the competitors&#39; products to a company&#39;s patent is.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    It is an object of the present invention, which was invented to overcome the above-referenced problems of the prior arts, to provide a method for analyzing the mutual citation relationship between the patents from the patent databases and providing the analyzed results. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]    [0005]FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a screen composition of the backward patent analysis according to the present invention.  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a screen composition, which was fully extended after removing the filtering conditions from FIG. 1 showing a citation tree.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a screen composition of the forward patent analysis according to the present invention.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a screen composition, which was fully extended after removing the filtering conditions from FIG. 3 showing a citation tree.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a screen composition of the collateral patent analysis according to the present invention.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a screen composition, which was fully extended after removing the filtering conditions from FIG. 5 showing a citation tree. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0011]    The present invention to achieve the above objects comprises the steps of:  
         [0012]    Inputting at least one (hereinafter we call it ‘patent number’) of the filing number, the publication number and the patent number of a target patent;  
         [0013]    as a patent to be analyzed, selecting one of a Backward patent which is cited as a reference of an inputted target patent at the time of patent filing , a Forward patent which is citing the target patent as a reference at the time of patent filing and a Collateral patent which is a patent integrating the Backward patent and the Forward patent;  
         [0014]    according to the selection, searching patents that have the patent number of the target patent described directly in the reference-cited field of the prior patent databases (hereinafter called ‘direct-relation patent’) and further searching patents that have the patent number of the searched direct-relation patent described directly in the reference-cited field of the prior patent databases (hereinafter called ‘indirect-relation patent’);  
         [0015]    if the Backward patent analysis was selected, generating a citation tree and displaying the citation tree on a specific region of a screen, wherein the citation tree illustrates graphically the relationship between the target patent, the searched direct-relation Backward patents and the searched indirect-relation Backward patents;  
         [0016]    if the Forward patent analysis was selected, generating a citation tree and displaying the citation tree on a specific region of a screen, wherein the citation tree illustrates graphically the relationship between the target patent, the searched direct-relation Forward patents and the searched indirect-relation Forward patents;  
         [0017]    if the collateral patent analysis was selected, generating a citation tree and displaying the citation tree on a specific region of a screen, wherein the citation tree illustrates graphically the relationship between the target patent, the searched direct-relation Backward patents and the searched indirect-relation Backward patents, and the relationship between the target patent, the searched direct-relation Forward patents and the searched indirect-relation Forward patents;  
         [0018]    according to a user&#39;s selection, enlarging or reducing at least a portion of the citation tree and displaying the enlarged or reduced citation tree on a screen;  
         [0019]    searching further the patents that are directly or indirectly related to the target patent by using one of applicants, inventors, IPC (international patent classification), UPC (U.S. patent classification) and patent registration year, and grouping the further-search results and providing the capability to add their relationship to the citation tree;  
         [0020]    according to a user&#39;s selection, storing or printing the citation tree displayed on a screen;  
         [0021]    according to a user&#39;s selection, storing or printing all the searched direct- and indirect-relation patents; and  
         [0022]    providing documents or charts to a user after making out documents edited only with the fields selected by a user among bibliographical items as to the stored patents or making out charts about a specific field.  
         [0023]    And in case the Backward or the Forward analysis was selected, because there may be many searched direct- and indirect-relation patents, if they are displayed at one time through a citation tree, it is difficult for a user to use the information effectively. Therefore considering such a case it is preferable that the present invention further comprises the steps of:  
         [0024]    Selecting the depth (or number of branch relations) of a patent to display on a citation tree at the range of the searched patent, wherein a patent having a direct-relationship with the target patent is defined as ‘depth  1  patent’, and a patent having a direct-relationship with the depth  1  patent is defined as ‘depth  2  patent’; and  
         [0025]    notifying the user of the number of the patents corresponding to the selected depth and the estimated time required to generate and display a citation tree, making the user select the number or time, and generating a citation tree according to the user&#39;s selection conditions.  
         [0026]    Or it is preferable that after searching of the direct- and indirect-relation patent, the present invention comprises further the steps:  
         [0027]    filtering the searched direct- and indirect-relation patent by adding conditions about any search field; and  
         [0028]    if there are many searched direct- and indirect-relation patents after the filtering and they are displayed at one time through a citation tree, wherein it is difficult for a user to use the information effectively, making a user select the depth of a patent to display on a citation tree at the range of the direct- and indirect-relation patents searched through the filtering.  
         [0029]    In addition, the method may include notifying the user of the number of the patents corresponding to the selected depth and the estimated time required to generate and display a citation tree, and making the user select the number or time, whereupon after the user&#39;s selection, a citation tree is generated according to the selected conditions.  
         [0030]    In addition, the full citation tree may be showed at the removed state of the filtering conditions from the citation tree generated after the filtering according to the user&#39;s selection or there may be a capability to change over to the full citation tree without removing the filtering conditions.  
         [0031]    In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in case that the filtered search field is ‘applicant’ (or “assignee” for U.S. Patents, for example) and the filtering condition is that the more the applicant has patent applications or registered patents, the higher the priority for the applicant to be searched is, then the items to be displayed on a screen are classified according to each analysis mode as follows.  
         [0032]    Firstly, FIG. 1 illustrates the Backward patent analysis for a U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,526 as a target patent  10 .  
         [0033]    As shown in the FIG. 1, the displayed items comprise:  
         [0034]    a patent list  11  of all the searched direct-  12  and indirect-relation  14  Backward patents; and  
         [0035]    an applicant list  16  sorted in the order of the number of the patent applications or the registered patents of each applicant after counting all the searched direct- and indirect-relation Backward patents as to each applicant.  
         [0036]    After extracting the data of applicants&#39; ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd among the entire data, in order to provide only the core information for a user, a citation tree can be generated illustrating graphically only with the extracted data the relationship between a target patent  10  and the Backward patents  12 ,  14  and the relationship between the Backward patents  12 ,  14 . FIG. 2 illustrates a citation tree fully expanded after removing the filtering conditions from the citation tree of FIG. 1.  
         [0037]    Secondly, FIG. 3 illustrates the forward patent analysis for a U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,456 as a target patent  30 .  
         [0038]    As shown in the FIG. 3, the displayed items comprise:  
         [0039]    a patent list  31  of all the searched direct-  32  and indirect-relation  34  Forward patents; and  
         [0040]    an applicant list  36  sorted in the order of the number of the patent applications or the registered patents of each applicant after counting all the searched direct- and indirect-relation Forward patents as to each applicant.  
         [0041]    After extracting the data of applicants&#39; only ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd among the entire data in order to provide only the core information for a user, a citation tree can be generated illustrating relationships graphically with only the extracted data the relationship between a target patent  30  and the Forward patents  32 ,  34  and the relationship between the Forward patents  32 ,  34 . FIG. 4 illustrates a citation tree fully expanded after removing the filtering conditions from the citation tree of the FIG. 3.  
         [0042]    Thirdly, FIG. 5 illustrates the collateral patent analysis for a U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,456 as a target patent  50 .  
         [0043]    As shown in the FIG. 5, the displayed items comprise:  
         [0044]    a patent list  51  of all the searched direct-relation Backward patents  52 ;  
         [0045]    a patent list  53  of all the searched direct-relation Forward patents  54 ;  
         [0046]    a patent list of depth  1  patents and depth  2  patents among the searched indirect-relation Backward  56  and Forward  58  patents, wherein the depth  1  patents have a direct-relationship with a target patent, the depth  2  patents have a direct-relationship with the depth  1  patents.  
         [0047]    In order to provide only the core information for a user, a citation tree may be generated graphically illustrating the relationship between the depth  1  Backward patents and the Forward patents having direct-relationship with the depth  1  Backward patents, where the depth  1  Backward patents are the Backward patents having the direct-relationship with the target patent centering around the target patent. In addition, the relationship between the depth  1  Forward patents and the Backward patents having direct-relationship with the depth  1  Forward patents may be illustrated, where the depth  1  Forward patents are the Forward patents having the direct-relationship with the target patent on the other side centering around the target patent. FIG. 6 illustrates a citation tree fully expanded after removing the filtering conditions from the citation tree of the FIG. 5.  
         [0048]    At the above embodiment, in case that the Backward patent analysis or the Forward patent analysis was selected, if a user selects the data of an applicant ranked 4 th  and below, the invention generates a citation tree again according to the selection and displays it.  
         [0049]    The present invention also comprises generation of a citation tree comprising the steps of:  
         [0050]    Sorting firstly the searched patents according to one (hereafter we call it ‘patent year’) of a filing year, a publication year and a registration year of a patent and secondly sorting in the order of the patent number the firstly sorted patents belonging to the same patent year and aligning the sorted patents.  
         [0051]    Then, the central coordinate values of the sorted patents (hereafter we call it ‘element’) are allocated on the basis of the sorted positions and the element is displayed on a screen with the allocated coordinate values.  
         [0052]    Citation lines are also displayed connecting the central coordinate values between the elements having direct- and indirect-relationship with each other among the elements. The direct-relationship and the indirect-relationship are distinguished by making the type and the color of the lines different. Starting points and the arriving points of the citation lines on the corresponding elements are distinguished according to the cited front and rear relationships for display;  
         [0053]    If there are multiple citation relationships and the citation lines overlap, in order to distinguish the citation lines, a virtual circle is generated centering around the central coordinate value of the element corresponding to the starting point of the citation lines. The circumference of the circle is fractioned at predetermined intervals and as for each of the fractioned intervals the starting point of the citation lines is set up differently for display.  
         [0054]    If a user changes the displayed conditions, the central coordinate values of each element to be displayed on a citation tree are recalculated according to the changed conditions for display.  
         [0055]    At this time, each element to be displayed on a citation tree is displayed by using one of the applicant, the inventor, the UPC, the IPC and the patent year of a corresponding patent. If a mouse pointer is positioned on an element, the bibliographic information of the corresponding patent is displayed.  
         [0056]    And also on each element to be displayed on a citation tree, buttons for extension and close are displayed and if a user clicks one of the buttons, an element of a patent having a direct-relationship with the corresponding element is displayed further or the original element is displayed again.  
         [0057]    At this time, the extension and the close buttons are displayed by using ‘+’ and ‘−’ and it is possible to display the number of the patents or the number of the citation lines illustrated by extension.  
         [0058]    In addition, in the citation tree of the present invention, if a user puts the mouse pointer on each element displayed on the citation tree and clicks the right button of the mouse, then the user can select one of the following six modes of display:  
         [0059]    Display the full document of a patent for a corresponding element patent.  
         [0060]    2) Emphasize only a patent having a relationship with the corresponding element patent and display it on a citation tree.  
         [0061]    Extend or close further a direct-relation patent as to the corresponding element patent on a citation tree.  
         [0062]    4) Remove the group to which the corresponding element patent belongs on a citation tree.  
         [0063]    5) Combine the patent having the same applicant, inventor, IPC, UPC as the corresponding element patent into the same group and display them together on a citation tree.  
         [0064]    Change the corresponding element patent into a new target patent and generate a new Backward-, Forward- or Collateral-citation tree again.  
         [0065]    In addition, in order to distinguish the multiple citation lines as to the same element, the circumference of a virtual circle may be fractioned and the fractioned circumference displayed Thus:  
         [0066]    A virtual circle centering around the central coordinate values of the element is generated, wherein the circle&#39;s area is the same or less than the area of the element displayed on a citation tree.  
         [0067]    The virtual circle&#39;s circumference is fractioned into 13 intervals and assigning a different citation line to each interval in sequence for display.  
         [0068]    If there are more than 13 citation lines, each fractioned interval is sub-fractioned into 3 sub-intervals and a different citation line is assigned to each sub-interval in sequence for display.  
         [0069]    Each citation line is made to start from the circumference of the virtual circle, thus making the display begin from the outside of the area occupied by the element.  
         [0070]    From the present invention&#39;s analysis method, we can get the information of that how the patents of a company and its competitors are valuable, how great the possibility of the infringement of a company&#39;s product to the competitors&#39; patents is and what the strategy to avoid them is, and how great the possibility of the infringement of the competitors&#39; products to a company&#39;s patent is.