Unlocking the value of patent data: Patent Informatics services at the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO)

The UK-IPO has expanded its range of non-statutory services to include Patent Informatics: the macroscopic analysis of patent data to derive technical information. This article describes the genesis of Patent Informatics at the UK-IPO in line with Government strategy and the potential applications of Patent Informatics including informing policy decision making, horizon-scanning and responding to technology sector enquiries. Patent Informatics is a flexible technique for mining patent data; examples graphically presented include e-paper patent filings over time and a carbon capture and storage technology landscape map. Reference is made to other Patent Informatics work under taken by the UK-IPO and covers the databases, analysis tools and methodology employed. The article concludes that in a knowledge driven economy, unlocking technical information from patent data through Patent Informatics enhances Government and industry strategy, innovation and success.