A new indicator to evaluate the quality of patent claims of additive manufacturing applicants in the US and EP

IF 2.2 Q2 INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE World Patent Information Pub Date : 2025-01-20 DOI:10.1016/j.wpi.2025.102335

Kuo-tsan Liu, Wenchuan Chang

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Abstract

The quality of patent application claims determines a patent's scope of protection and legal value. This study defines a new indicator based on claims structure to measure claim coverage, evaluate individual patents, and compare the strengths and weaknesses of competitors' patent portfolios in additive manufacturing technology. The new indicator's credibility is verified by comparing literature indicators.

Claim drafting is highly influenced by the official fees and legal regulations of national patent offices. Seven main additive manufacturing companies were selected to investigate their claim drafting strategies when applying for European patents while claiming priority in the United States. The indicators are shown on 2D maps of individual patents and patent portfolios. The ATT indicator is defined by independent claims representing attack strength, the DEF indicator is defined by dependent claims representing defense ability, and the TOT indicator is the sum of both. These indicators also represent the technical value of the patented invention, because more claims can be drafted for an invention with a wider range of technologies or more embodiments. 3D Systems and Stratasys make good use of domestic claim regulations to obtain higher patent values in the United States and Europe while minimizing fees.

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专利申请权利要求的质量决定了专利的保护范围和法律价值。本研究定义了一个基于权利要求结构的新指标，用于衡量权利要求的覆盖范围、评估单个专利以及比较竞争对手在增材制造技术领域专利组合的优劣。权利要求的撰写受国家专利局官方收费和法律规定的影响很大。我们选取了七家主要的增材制造公司，调查它们在申请欧洲专利时的权利要求撰写策略，以及在美国申请优先权时的权利要求撰写策略。这些指标显示在单个专利和专利组合的二维地图上。ATT 指标由代表攻击强度的独立权利要求定义，DEF 指标由代表防御能力的从属权利要求定义，而 TOT 指标则是两者的总和。这些指标也代表了专利发明的技术价值，因为一项发明的技术范围更广或实施方式更多，就可以起草更多的权利要求。3D Systems 和 Stratasys 充分利用国内权利要求法规，在美国和欧洲获得了更高的专利价值，同时将费用降到最低。

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来源期刊

World Patent Information INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE-

CiteScore

3.50

自引率

18.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： The aim of World Patent Information is to provide a worldwide forum for the exchange of information between people working professionally in the field of Industrial Property information and documentation and to promote the widest possible use of the associated literature. Regular features include: papers concerned with all aspects of Industrial Property information and documentation; new regulations pertinent to Industrial Property information and documentation; short reports on relevant meetings and conferences; bibliographies, together with book and literature reviews.