Patent Analysis of Sulfur Autotrophic Denitrification Technology in China

In order to grasp the overall status of sulfur autotrophic denitrification related patents, and better carry out sulfur autotrophic denitrification related research and intellectual property protection, based on the SooPAT Chinese patent search engine and Baiteng.com platform, from the first patent application year to the search deadline was to analyze the number, legal status, technical field distribution, and patent value of the sulfur autotrophic denitrification patents filed in China. The results showed that the number of patents filed each year had increased rapidly since 2012. The number of patents filed in 2019 was 10 times the number of patent applications from 2001 to 2011, and the patents granted were mainly concentrated in the field of sewage (waste) water treatment, accounting for 83.64% of the total number of patents. The overall patent value was in the middle and lower level, and there were no high-value patents.

Patent Value and Survival of Patents

This study investigated the effect of patent value on the renewal (survival) of patents. The private value of patents can be one of the main pillars sustaining a firm’s value, and the estimation of the value may contribute to the strategic management of firms. The current study aimed to confirm the recent research findings with survival analysis, focusing on the more homogeneous patent data samples. In this study, a dataset is constructed from a cohort of 6646 patents from the 1996 and 1997 application years, using patent data from the European Patent Office (EPO). We found that the family size and non-patent backward citations exhibited profound impacts on patent survival. This result is in line with numerous studies, indicating the positive impact of science linkages in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields. It was also found that the effect of the ex-post indicator is not as strong as the ex-ante indicators, like traditional family size and backward citations. In short, the family size matters most for the survival of patents, according to the current research.

Evaluation of patent value of military equipment based on FANP

The patent value of military equipment assets is an important index to measure military equipment assets, which reflects the technical level and economic value of military equipment assets. To evaluate the patent value of military equipment, based on the comprehensive theoretical analysis and practical investigation, this study analyzes the influencing factors of the patent value of military equipment, constructs the evaluation index system of the patent value of military equipment, and uses fuzzy analytic network process (FANP) method to evaluate the patent value of military equipment. The evaluation results show that factors such as Irreplaceability (A3), Technological added value (A2), Service military capability (A1), Scope of patent rights (L3), Advances of patent right (T2), and Innovation (T1) have considerable influence. This study discusses the value evaluation of military equipment patents to provide a reference for the creation, operation, and transformation of military equipment patents and provide a theoretical basis for the management of military equipment intangible assets.

how the quality of patents contributes to revitalising the innovation system?, evidence from the renewable energy sector

There is an intense discussion on the impact of the quality of patents on innovation and economic development. Consequently, measuring the quality of patents becomes an essential issue to understand how it affects the innovation system (IS). This paper shows a systematic review of patent quality indicators and their contribution to the literature. Additional to the systematic review, a dynamic behaviour hypothesis is developed to comprise how patent value indicators can be used to create a set of strategies to improve the innovation of the renewable energy sector. Our results show a novel framework for analysing the effects of patent value on the IS that could be useful for renewable energy diffusion in Latin-America.

The patent buyout price for human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine and the ratio of R&D costs to the patent value

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for almost all of the 570,000 new cases of cervical cancer and approximately 311,000 deaths per year. HPV vaccination is an integral component of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global strategy to fight the disease. However, high vaccine prices enforced through patent protection are limiting vaccine expansion, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. By limiting market power, patent buyouts could reduce vaccine prices and raise HPV vaccination rates while keeping innovation incentives. We estimate the global patent buyout price as the present discounted value (PDV) of the future profit stream over the remaining patent length for Merck’s HPV vaccines (Gardasil-4 and 9), which hold 87% of the global HPV vaccine market, in the range of US$ 15.6–27.7 billion (in 2018 US$). The estimated PDV of the profit stream since market introduction amounts to US$ 17.8–42.8 billion and the estimated R&D cost to US$ 1.05–1.21 billion. Thus, we arrive at a ratio of R&D costs to the patent value of the order of 2.5–6.8%. We relate this figure to typical estimates of the probability of success (POS) for clinical trials of vaccines to discuss if patent protection provides Merck with extraordinarily strong price setting power.