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.