شاخص دارایی های ثبت اختراع - رویکرد جدید به پرتفوی های ثبت اختراع تعیین معیار

Patent metrics are increasingly used to assess the competitive position of technology-oriented firms. Patent rankings and patent scoreboards are popular methods to benchmark patent portfolios of firms against each other. Existing rankings, however, have methodological limitations that significantly reduce the meaningfulness of these benchmarks for managers, investors and other stakeholders. In this paper, we develop a new benchmarking methodology that overcomes limitations of existing approaches and offers a more accurate assessment of a firm’s patent portfolio vis-à-vis its competitors. Firms are ranked according to the Patent Asset Index, which is derived from a set of newly developed patent indicators. These indicators are empirically validated and reflect more accurately the value of patents. We apply the new benchmarking method in the global chemical industry and contrast our findings with those of other existing patent portfolio rankings.

The majority of technological improvements that companies believe to be patentable and important are documented in patent applications [1], [2], [3] and [4]. Benchmarking patent portfolios therefore promises to objectively compare the technology strength of companies. Because proprietary technology is a cornerstone of market success and a valuable asset in many industries, patent benchmarks provide useful insights into the competitive position of a company [5], [6], [7] and [8]. As patents usually precede the actual use of technologies in commercial applications [9], these benchmarks can also offer an outlook into tomorrow’s competitive landscape. Patent rankings and patent scoreboards are therefore popular methods to benchmark patent portfolios of firms against each other. The Wall Street Journal, e.g., has been regularly publishing these patent benchmarks for multiple industries. These patent rankings receive increased attention from managers, investors and the general public. A number of firms, e.g., DuPont and Halliburton, use these benchmarks to signal their innovativeness and leading competitive position to investors [10], [11] and [12]. Existing patent rankings or scorecards have methodological shortcomings regarding the quantitative and qualitative assessment of patent portfolios. The Wall Street Journal ranking, e.g., has a focus on US patents. This approach does not adequately reflect patenting activities by foreign firms and further neglects the importance of global patenting activities. The metrics used in these benchmarks to assess patent quality are dated because they do not incorporate recent advances in the development of more meaningful patent indicators that reflect the technological and commercial value of patent portfolios more accurately [13] and [14]. Assessing the value of patents is the most critical element of any patent portfolio benchmark since simple patent counts are an insufficient proxy of patent strength, innovation or competitive impact [7] and [8]. It is well-known that the majority of patents has little or no value [15], [16], [17] and [18]. According to a recent study by Gambardella et al., less than 20% of granted European patents are worth more than 3 million Euros [15]. Yet, these patents account for more than 90% of the total financial value of all granted European patents examined in this study [15]. In this paper, we develop a new benchmarking methodology that overcomes the limitations of existing approaches and offers a more accurate assessment of a firm’s patent portfolio vis-à-vis its competitors. Firms are ranked according to the newly developed Patent Asset Index, which is derived from a set of new patent indicators. These indicators are empirically validated and reflect the value of patents more accurately. We apply the new benchmarking method in the global chemical industry and contrast our findings with those of other existing patent portfolio rankings.

Managers, shareholders, investors and other stakeholders have an increased interest to assess the competitive position of firms. In technology-oriented industries, a firm’s capability to convert R&D expenditures into innovative products is a key driver of competitive advantage and hence financial performance. This critical capability is not reflected in balance sheets. Meaningful patent indicators can be an interesting proxy for assessing a firm’s capability to innovate and to gain competitive advantage. Patent data have the great charm that they are publicly available and represent objective measures of a firm’s most valuable technological assets. In this paper, we have developed, validated and tested a new methodology to assess and benchmark a firm’s technological assets. The ‘Patent Asset Index’ offers a more accurate assessment of a firm’s patent portfolio vis-à-vis its competitors than other similar methods. It could therefore become a standard method to assess the technological assets of firms as an indicator of innovativeness and sustainable competitive advantage in many industries.