Elsevier

World Patent Information

Volume 55, December 2018, Pages 52-60
World Patent Information

Multi-cross-industry innovation patents in the USA - A combination of PATSTAT and Orbis search

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wpi.2018.10.003Get rights and content

Abstract

Knowledge and technologies from different fields will undoubtedly be combined in order to develop the products of the future. Remarkable examples thereof can already be found in the fields of interconnected „smart“ products and natural care products. Few companies have access to the entire range of available knowledge; most are required to obtain this knowledge from other companies or research institutes. One way to acquire the requisite knowledge is through co-operation. When at least three companies from different industries are cooperating for this purpose, we speak of multi-cross-industry innovation. This kind of innovation is reflected in many cases of patenting. For a deeper understanding, we identify multi-cross-industry innovation patents in the leading market of the USA, using a combined search on PATSTAT and Orbis in the period from 1980 to 2015. We apply a time series analysis, an applicant analysis, a priority country analysis, an analysis of co-operation structure, and an analysis of the application domains to the data. Our results show an increase in the occurrence of multi-cross-industry innovation patents. The major players involved in this are Japanese companies, which apply for nearly 90% of all multi-cross-industry innovation patents. Multi-cross-industry innovation covers a broad range of application domains, from electronics to material sciences.

Introduction

Today many companies extend the spectrum of their products’ functionalities, especially in highly developed markets. This purpose often requires them to go beyond the integration of knowledge and technologies from their specific areas of work within their own industries, i.e. to look for and adapt knowledge and technologies from other fields [1]. There are various opportunities for integrating such knowledge, e.g. by acquisition of other companies, by licensing patents or by co-operation with research institutions or companies.

This so called cross-industry innovation (as one means of co-operation) has become interesting for companies and academic researchers alike. There are many case studies which analyze special aspects of cross-industry innovation [[2], [3], [4]], such as the cognitive or technological distance between partners. As there are many products which combine knowledge contributed by companies from three or more industries, the question arises whether this type of innovation (which we subsequently refer to as multi-cross-industry innovation) may be underpinned and characterized by any statistics [5]. While a lot of research has been undertaken regarding innovation networks without a specific focus on the combination of industries, we are unable to find any study that analyzes the occurrence of multi-cross-industry innovation.

We consider patent data to be an accurate source of unique and valuable information for our research [6,7]. However, as patent data is limited in information regarding the industry to which an applicant belongs, a combination with data from a company database is required [8]. The respective challenges are manifold. (i) The data-field for applicants in a patent database contains mixed data; individuals may be mentioned as well as companies. (ii) Even worse, the spelling of company names is not unified. (iii) Additionally, organizations such as hospitals or research institutes, which are relevant for our research question, are not listed in the company database at all.

Our paper is organized as follows: First, to provide a theoretical background for this work, we introduce the research of open innovation and cross-industry innovation. Second, we identify multi-cross-industry patents based on a combination of patent and company data. Third, we describe our method, which involves an analysis of the time series, the applicant as well as a priority country analysis, an analysis of co-operation structure, and an analysis of application domains of multi-cross-industry innovation. Fourth, we highlight the occurrence of multi-cross-industry patents and the enormous influence of Asian companies in this field. Finally, we conclude with a description of our study's limitations, and with perspectives for further research.

Section snippets

Theoretical background: multi-cross-industry innovation

The use of external knowledge for innovation has been investigated intensively since 1980. Chesbrough [9] describes the open innovation paradigm. This is the opening of the innovation process for external sources [9] to overcome a knowledge gap. In addition, research on inter-organizational innovation [[10], [11], [12]] or cross-industry innovation [[13], [14], [15], [16], [17]] is reflected in a wide range of literature. Some studies highlight the advantages of cross-industry innovation, such

Data

In order to test the above propositions, our approach combines patent data with company data. For the identification of multi-cross-industry innovation patents, we focused on the source of knowledge, as represented by the patent applicants.1

Method

Having described our data set, we used five analyses to gain insight into the respective fields. We applied a time series analysis to show the development of multi-cross-industry innovation patents over time. In addition, we conducted an applicant and priority country analysis to point out the origins of those patents. We examined combinations of industries and related applicants to see whether there are prominent clusters of co-operation. Furthermore, we analyzed the distribution of

Results

Based on our methodical approach, we present the results of our five analyses in the following paragraphs. First, we show the time series of multi-cross-industry innovation patents. Second, we consider the leading companies in the field of multi-cross-industry innovation and their home countries. Third, we show the results of the priority country analysis. Fourth, we analyze the top industry co-operation constellations involving exactly three different industries. Fifth, we analyze the spectrum

Conclusions

We develop a method for identifying multi-cross-industry innovation patents based on a combination of patent data and company data. By means of this method, we manage to identify the very first occurrence of a multi-cross-industry innovation patent in the USA in 1973 and find 1465 relevant patents in total. Over the course of time, the number of multi-cross-industry innovation patents rises to a level of approximately 80 patents per year. This partly supports our first proposition:

Acknowledgment

We would like to thank Marcel Lange of the University of Bremen's Faculty of Business Studies and Economics for his kind support and technical assistance in providing the patent data used in this publication.

Martin G. Moehrle has been the director of the Institute for Project Management and Innovation (IPMI) at the University of Bremen since 2001 while at the same time holding the chair of Innovation and Competence Transfer. His area of work is technology and innovation management, and his preferred topics are patent management, technology roadmapping, future research, innovation process management, and methodical invention (TRIZ). He obtained his doctorate and qualified as a university lecturer on

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    Martin G. Moehrle has been the director of the Institute for Project Management and Innovation (IPMI) at the University of Bremen since 2001 while at the same time holding the chair of Innovation and Competence Transfer. His area of work is technology and innovation management, and his preferred topics are patent management, technology roadmapping, future research, innovation process management, and methodical invention (TRIZ). He obtained his doctorate and qualified as a university lecturer on transitional themes between technology management and business informatics.

    Torben A. Mahnken is a research associate at the Institute of Project Management and Innovation (IPMI) at the University of Bremen. He started his dissertation in July 2016 with a research focus on the use of patent information for generating Cross-Industry Innovation. He holds an M. Sc. degree in Business Administration and Engineering from the University of Bremen.

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