Shann-Bin Chang

The Study of Taxonomy and Evolutional Trends of Relevant Literatures on Patent Analysis

Analysis of patent data is important tool for industrial research. Patent analysis has been used in many research fields and applied for rich topics in technology management. This study was explored the classification and research development of patent analysis literatures for 24 years (1980-2003) and applied by evolutional perspectives, and bibliometrics techniques. The research scope is focused on business and management level. There were some significant literatures retrieved from online electronic database and a citation database was built by their references. After that, the study was analyzed by multivariate methods to classify research taxonomy and literatures relative positions. The study was expected to understanding of current situation of patent analysis research. Additionally, the main purposes of this study were to synthesize core knowledge and research trends in research fields, to point out the major contributors and influential journals, to understand their positions, and to explore evolution life cycle. The research results are classified into five research fields, namely the sources of technology knowledge, patent applications and patent value, patent research and technology position, the indicators of technological and innovative activities, and interdisciplinary applications.

Exploring the Technology Diffusion Trajectories and Groups of Basic Patents of Business Methods: Using the Patent Citation Network

In the face of rapid change in technological development, the capabilities of enterprises in keeping ahead of new technologies, monitoring technological development, and acquiring the most advanced and appropriate technologies are critical to competing successfully. Among the many technology forecast indicators, patents are a mature and objective indicator. In a patent document, an inventor must describe the prior art of the invention, which is usually presented by citing former patents or previous literature. The more frequently a certain patent is cited by subsequent patents, the more the related technology can be said to be diffused, implying that technology is more widely applied and valuable. Therefore, patent citation is often regards as one of tracing the spread of technology. Since 1996, the number of patents on business methods, computer software, and electronic commerce has increased drastically. This paper is in the field of business methods technology and draws upon the largest patent database in the world - USPTO as its resource of information. This paper used patent citation network to obtain three objectives - to establish an indicator and process for finding basic patents, to find basic patents on business method technologies, and to illustrate the technology diffusion trajectories and groups of these basic patents.