DYNAMICS OF PATENT ACTIVITY OF SMALL GROUPS OF AUTHORS IN THE FIELD OF «AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES» FROM 2017 TO 2022

The aim of the study: to assess the dynamics of patent activity of small groups of authors in the field of «agricultural sciences» from 2017 to 2022 in connection with the peculiarities of organization and localization of the authors’ team. Based on data from the scientometric database e-library, an array of data was formed, including: the number of patent authors, the size of the city and federal district in which the patentee is located, the form of ownership, as well as the industry to which the patent relates. Compared to the 2017–2019 interval, the total number of patents on the topic under study is actually unchanged 56 for 2017–2019, and 57 for 2020–2022, but their distribution has changed significantly. The number of patents issued by a triad, dyad, and single author (from 26 to 14) and by a group of 10 or more authors decreased significantly. At the same time, the number of patents issued by a small group increased (from 20 to 35 patents). The patents issued in cities with a population of more than one million people are almost completely represented by the products of small groups. On the part of budget educational organizations, there is a decrease in the share of patents with authorship of two or three people from 41% in the 2018–2020 interval to 23% in the 2020–2022 interval, caused by an increase in patents with authorship of a small group of authors. Given the transition of authors from the most «labile» dyads to small scientific groups that are more «inert» to new scientific challenges, as well as an increase in the share of basic research due to a decrease in the share of one of the most high-tech and innovative directions, «biotechnology», there is a growing danger of stagnation of inventive activity and its development along the extensive path, especially in cities with populations of less than 1 million people.