Originally Published
MX September/October 2006
MARKET ANALYSIS
Keeping Score
Published on an annual basis, the ipIQ Patent Scorecard tracks the U.S. patent portfolios of more than 2500 of the world's top technology firms. A company must have a minimum of 45 granted utility patents in the previous five years to be eligible for inclusion in the scorecard.
Produced by intellectual property research and advisory services firm ipIQ (Chicago), the scorecard draws from a proprietary warehouse of patent data that has been compiled for almost 30 years on more than 50,000 companies across 15 industries. All scorecard data are based on granted U.S. patents within ipIQ's data collection. The full collection includes patent information from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office. Companies on the scorecard include all their subsidiaries.
ipIQ employs a mathematically based analysis to rank a company's overall intellectual property and innovation strength using a series of indicators. The proprietary indicators are described as follows.
Technology strength is the basis of the scorecard rankings and provides an overall assessment of a company's intellectual property and innovation strength and breadth.
Current impact index (CII): This measure showcases the broader significance of a company's patent portfolio by examining the impact its patents have across the industry and in specific product categories. The CII score indicates the role each company's patents play in serving as a foundation for other patents and technologies.
Science linkage: This measure reflects the core science referenced in a company's U.S. patents. The score indicates the average number of science literature references listed in a company's patents. A higher score indicates that the company's technology is closer to the cutting edge than its competitors with lower scores.
Technology cycle time: This measure indicates a firm's speed in turning proprietary research and innovation into intellectual property. A higher score indicates a slower turnaround time.
Patent count: The most obvious of the indicators, this measure reflects the number of U.S. patents awarded to a company in a given year. The patent count excludes design and other special-case inventions.
More information about the Patent Scorecard and additional data from this year's report can be found at www.ipiq.com.
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