When applying to multiple countries based on a domestic application (original application), all patents and applications related to the original application are called patent family. It refers to all literature created by the first patent application filed at the patent office and the same patent application filed within the priority period at the patent office of another country. For companies, global strategies can be predicted by whether or not domestic patents are applied for in other countries. Since it is important to secure patent rights to conduct business in overseas markets, looking at the trends of patent family applications for companies can help predict which countries they will be active in.
The importance of patent family analysis can be summarized as follows:
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Identifying Technology Trends: By analyzing patent
families, organizations can track the direction of technological advancements
and identify key trends in specific industries. If multiple countries file
patents for the same technology, it indicates that the technology is developing
and gaining importance in that field.
. Competitive Analysis: Patent family analysis allows companies to assess the patenting patterns of competitors, providing insights into their R&D strategies, technological capabilities, and market focus. This helps organizations identify areas where they can achieve a competitive advantage.
. Market Entry Strategy: When a particular technology is protected by patents in multiple countries, it signals that the technology is likely to be valuable in those markets. This information can help companies develop market entry strategies or prioritize certain countries for patent filings.
. Patent Portfolio Management: Analyzing patent families helps companies evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their patent portfolios. By identifying valuable patents or redundant filings, businesses can make strategic decisions, such as acquiring additional patents or abandoning less relevant ones.
. Preventing Patent Disputes: Through patent family analysis, companies can identify whether a technology is already protected by patents in other regions or if competitors hold patents in key markets. This can help prevent costly patent litigation and conflicts by ensuring freedom to operate.
. Increasing R&D Efficiency: Patent family analysis helps avoid unnecessary duplication in research and development by identifying existing patents in other countries. This enables organizations to focus their efforts on innovative areas where protection is not already in place, improving overall R&D efficiency.
For these reasons, patent family analysis is a valuable tool for technology strategy, enhancing competitiveness, legal protection, and overall decision-making in the innovation process.
WIPS Global has newly launched the ‘Family Diagram’ feature that allows quick and efficient review of patent family. In order to conveniently view the relationships between complex patent families, we provide a map-typed diagram that divides the relationships between documents into generations without restrictions on years or countries.
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| wipsglobal.com> Family analysis |
You can see the overall structure at a glance by diagramming the family relationship in a map format. The picture above is a horizontally expanded relationship diagram in simple mode.
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| wipsglobal.com> Family analysis |
The two
screens above are relationship diagrams that can be viewed by year. They are
provided based on the filing year of the family document. If one application
has entered multiple countries, we recommend viewing it in a horizontal mode,
and if one application continues to be divided, continued, or partially
continued, we recommend viewing it in a vertical mode.
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| wipsglobal.com> Family analysis |
If you select the ‘Details’ mode, you can examine the important items of the document in more detail. You can check information such as status, date, and number of claims. You can freely move the location of the document box.
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| wipsglobal.com> Family analysis |
This is a case where there are many documents and the relationship types are diverse and complex. The colors are distinguished by relationship type, so you can intuitively understand what kind of relationship is formed by document. Eight types are provided, and only the types that exist in the family relationship are activated and displayed.
* 8 types -
Provisional, priority, international application, division, continuation,
continuation in part, re-issue, etc.
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| wipsglobal.com> Family analysis |
When you select a specific document, the connection line showing the relationship between patents is highlighted, making it really convenient to review.
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| wipsglobal.com> Family analysis |
If you need to review the contents of the patent document in detail, click the document box. The list of documents you clicked will be displayed on the right. Clicking on the patent number in the document list will link to the ‘View Details’. In addition, the document list can be linked to Easy Viewer, My Folder, Smart Angle, etc. to review or analyze.
So far, we have looked at the Family Diagram newly provided by WIPS Global. It is a really convenient feature that allows you to review complexly intertwined family relationships at a glance. Be sure to use it for family analysis.
