Patent ID: 7966328

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for facilitating performance of sequential stages of a research and development project wherein one of the stages is an idea stage, comprising: searching, by a computing device, a group of patents in a technology area related to an idea; dividing the group into subgroups according to technology classification; mapping the technology classification to a related Standard Industrial Codes classification; creating, by the computing device, a patent citation tree by performing a forward citation on the group of patents as part of a sequential stage of a research and development project, wherein the idea stage comprises: identifying, based on the group of patents, individuals or companies that are researching, developing, or commercializing ideas related to the idea; identifying relationships between the identified individuals or companies; and determining, based on the patent citation tree and the identified individuals or companies, the relative uniqueness of the idea and the number of citations to technology related to the idea; accessing, by the computing device, a tool box comprising a plurality of tools, wherein the tools are associated with one or more tasks of the sequential stages of the research and development project, and the tools are configured to perform a respective task using information from the searching; selecting a tool to perform a task associated with one of the sequential stages of the research and development project; performing, by the computing device, the task using the selected tool; and performing a second task, by the computing device, wherein the second task is associated with a subsequent stage of the research and development project using at least results from the task and information from the search results.