| Current technological development necessitates | | | | Also, in order to promote the use of patents, it is |
| conducting searches of patent information to avoid | | | | necessary for related institutions to deepen their |
| unnecessary investment as well as gaining the seeds | | | | understanding of patent information and strive to |
| for technological development and the applicable fields | | | | achieve efficient use of the information. The |
| contained in the patent information. In order to | | | | effectiveness of patent maps has also attracted |
| accomplish this, visual representation of related | | | | attention with respect to this point as well. However, |
| patent information (hereinafter "Patent Map") attracts | | | | since experts are required for the gathering of |
| the attention of the persons concerned. A patent | | | | patent information etc. and analyzing, it is not always |
| map is produced by gathering related patent | | | | easy for the production of patent maps to be carried |
| information of a target technology field, processing, | | | | out by venture companies, small and medium sized |
| and analyzing it. | | | | companies or universities and other research |
| In simple terms, patent landscape mapping (PLM) is a | | | | institutions on their own because they are unable to |
| tool to analyze existing IP to determine the risks and | | | | sufficiently invest human resources, economic |
| opportunities of participating in a given technology | | | | resources and time. |
| and/or product space. It describes the technologies | | | | The production of patent maps is conducted in the |
| and alternative solutions that have been applied to a | | | | form of a joint project by experts on patent |
| particular product category. PLM identifies | | | | information analysis and specialists on each |
| competitors based on their issued and filed IP, and | | | | technology field. Twenty to thirty thousand patents |
| outlines their strategies, strengths and | | | | are extracted for each technology field then analyzed |
| problem-solving approaches. PLM enables a company's | | | | using various methods in order to perform this work. |
| scientific and commercial management teams to | | | | The overall image of a title technology field, relevant |
| identify the best opportunities for investment in a | | | | technology classification (categories), structures for |
| selected product area, to create a strategy to | | | | related proliferating technology, comparisons between |
| protect their IP, and to establish differentiation with | | | | US and Japanese patents, structures of patent rights |
| respect to their competitors. | | | | are introduced. |