Innovate or Perish: Managing the Enduring Technology Company in the Global Market

Selection of Research Targets

One of the first stops on the way to identifying and capturing the innovation leverage resident in an IAP portfolio is the actual selection of the research targets themselves. Using patents as shorthand for our innovation assets, there are myriad tools available for analysis and evaluation of the patent landscape. In general, though, most of these tools can be thought of as looking at patents in either the time domain or the application domain. Patent analysis of an application space across several related or even disparate domains can indicate which areas are densely populated and which are sparse. In short, it shows who is doing what and where they are doing it. Looking at the same data in the time domain can open a window into the activity in a specific field over time. It suggests growing or waning interest in an application area. Understanding how particular application areas evolve over time can help you predict opportunities to pursue and obstacles to avoid. From a competitive perspective, it can allow you to draw powerful inferences about the industry and its participants, and reveal how competitors are approaching the technology space. This is critical intelligence in determining whether to even enter that domain of inquiry, but also how you might gain advantage and avoid jeopardy. Looking at a competitor’s patent landscape chronicles intensity of research activity over time, allowing inferences about both direction and speed of travel. That ...