Patent visualization is an application of information visualization. The number of patents has been increasing steadily, thus forcing companies to consider intellectual property as a part of their strategy. Patent visualization, like patent mapping, is used to quickly view a patent portfolio.
Software dedicated to patent visualization began to appear in 2000, for example Aureka from Aurigin (now owned by Thomson Reuters). Many patent and portfolio analytics platforms, such as Relecura, Innography and Patent iNSIGHT Pro, offer options to visualize specific data within patent documents by creating Topic Maps, Priority Maps, IP Landscape reports, etc.
Software converts patents into infographics or maps, to allow the analyst to “get insight into the data” and draw conclusions. Also called patinformatics, it is the “science of analyzing patent information to discover relationships and trends that would be difficult to see when working with patent documents on a one-and-one basis”.
Patents contain structured data (like publication numbers) and unstructured text (like title, abstract, claims and visual info). Structured data are processed by data-mining and unstructured data are processed with text-mining.
Unlocking and understanding your assets in a larger context can reveal your position in the market and expose roadblocks to maneuver around and opportunities for moving forward with confidence.
Our experience enables us to search prior art, literature, and relevant patents around the globe. Our mapping skills and techniques enable us to outline the applicable information in a highly accessible and easily understood format. But there is no substitute for human knowledge and experiences when interpreting the data and how it can be used to shape your IP business strategy within the context of the market. We help you understand the strength and breadth of your patents and whether obstacles are something to challenge or to design around. When you are facing a bet-the-company decision, this insight is vital to your success.