Harnessing the power of patent information to accelerate innovation

Access to information drives innovation. Patents are a unique source of information containing not only legal but also technical, business, and potentially policy‐related information. Mining patents for information is an acquired skill that requires training and practice, familiarity with both legal and technical nomenclature and jargon, facile knowledge of the database used, and an appreciation of strategic approaches to efficient searching and information management. Once mastered patent information can facilitate the transformation of a resource‐based economy to a knowledge‐based economy. Essential to this process in developing countries is the active participation of the country in legal and technical transfer of innovations including patent searching to identify technologies of interest, patent owners, and the extent of patent rights (geographical and claims). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This article is categorized under: Application Areas > Data Mining Software Tools Application Areas > Education and Learning Commercial, Legal, and Ethical Issues > Commercialization of DMKD Fundamental Concepts of Data and Knowledge > Data Concepts