OECD Patent Statistics Manual

This 2009 edition of the OECD Patent Statistics Manual takes stock of the recent developments in the field. It provides guiding principles for the use of patent data in the context of S T measurement, and recommendations for the compilation and interpretation of patent indicators in this context. It aims to show what patent statistics can and cannot be used for, and how to count patents in order to maximise information on S T activities while minimising statistical noise and biases. Finally, it describes how patent data can be used in the analysis of a wide array of topics related to technical change and patenting activity including industry-science linkages, patenting strategies by companies, internationalisation of research, and indicators on the value of patents. Table of Content : Foreword Acronyms Chapter 1. Objectives and Scope of the Manual Chapter 2. Patents as Statistical Indicators of Science and Technology -2.1 Introduction -2.2. Legal foundations of patents -2.3 Administrative routes for protection -2.4. Economic foundations of patents -2.5. The information content of patent documents -2.6. Patents as statistical indicators of inventive activity -2.7. Patent databases -2.8. Topics of investigation -Annex 2.A1. Front page of an EPO patent application -Annex 2.A2. Front page of a JPO patent application -Annex 2.A3. Front page of a USPTO patent application Chapter 3. Patent Systems and Procedures -3.1. Introduction -3.2. The core patenting procedure -3.3. National and regional procedures -3.4. International patent applications Chapter 4. Basic Criteria for Compiling Patent-Based Indicators -4.1. Introduction -4.2. Reference Date -4.3. Reference country -4.4. PCT applications -4.5. Patent families -4.6. Normalised country-level patent indicators -Annex 4.A1. Other definitions of patent families Chapter 5. Classifying Patents by Different Criteria -5.1. Introduction -5.2. Technology fields -5.3. Industry classification -5.4. Regional classification -5.5. Institutional sectors -5.6. Patents by companies -5.7. Patents by inventors Chapter 6. The Use and Analysis of Citations in Patents -6.1. Introduction -6.2. What are citations? -6.3. Uses and applications of citations indicators -6.4. Citations practices in patent offices -6.5. Citation-based indicators -6.6. Non-patent literature -6.7. Other indicators based on the categories of citations (EPO and PCT search reports) Chapter 7. Indicators of Internationalisation of Science and Technology -7.1. Introduction -7.2. Indicators -7.3. Ownership and research strategies Chapter 8. Indicators of Patent Value -8.1. Introduction -8.2. Forward citations -8.3. Indicators based on procedural information and applicants' behaviour -8.4. Other indicators Glossary