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Patent documents as a source of information for the transfer of technology
Edward
Armitage
Patent Documents as a Source of Information for the Transfer of Technology Extract
of a lecture
given at the Industrial
Summary
Property
Seminar
in Seoul, October
16 & 17, 1978
Patent specifications have some advantages as information carriers in the context of technology transfer: e. g. full, precise and early disclosure and uniform presentation; but they also have some disadvantages e. g. an enormous number of publications many of which are of doubtful value. The consequences of both for the use are analysed. Finally patent information retrieval for technology transfer is analysed. Les fascicules de brevet ont des avantages dans le cadre du transfert technologique, par exemple: publication enti&e, precise et rapide, ainsi qu’une presentation uniforme. Mais il y a tgalement des inconvenients, par exemple: un nombre enorme de publications dont une grande partie est de valeur douteuse. Les consequences de leur utilisation sont analysees suivant les deux points de vue. Finalement, la recherche d’informations dans le domaine des brevets pour le transfert technologique est analysee. Patentschriften bieten im Rahmen des Technologietransfers einige Vorteile, wie z.B. die voile, prazise und friihzeitige Offenbarung und die uniforme Darstellung. Es gibt aber such einige Nachteile, z.B. die groRe Zahl derjenigen Schriften, welche von zweifelhaftern Wert sind. Die sich aus beiden Gesichtspunkten fiir die Benutzung ergebenden Konsequenzen werden analysiert. SchlieRlich wird die Patentinformationsrecherche fiir den Technologietransfer untersucht
Some considerations of technology
on the transfer
To get the role of patent documents in technology transfer in the proper perspective, I should like to start by, taking a look at what is involved in the transfer of technology. Everybody now knows that what developing countries need is transfer of technology. These three words are very easily stated and the expression is very easy to use in conversation or in writing. This can lead the uninitiated to the conclusion the operation itself is a simple one. But it is not. Technology is not transferred to a country like sacks of corn. It is not even necessarily achieved by dismantling an industrial plant in one country and re-assembling it in another. What we are really concerned with is the introduction into a country of new industrial manufacturing techniques, whether in the shape of a new industry, a new product manufacture or the improvement of the techniques in an existing industry. To achieve such changes a number of things are necessary. First, someone (whether the local government, local industry or foreign industrialists) must identify the industrial developments which are needed in the country, e.g. power stations or processing plants for local materials, or which are likely to succeed economically in manufacturing goods for export or for importsubstitution, having regard to the availability of raw materials and power and the educational level of the local workers. Then it is necessary to select among the alternative technologies (i.e. different manufacturing techniques) available for the purpose in question. World Patent Information
2 (1980)
No. 1
Amitagc
Again, questions of suitability for local conditions arise. Additionally, it has to be considered whether the technology is patented in that country (and hence will probably be subject to royalty payments) or whether it is patentfree and can be introduced without any royalties. A further consideration is whether it will pa)’ to purchase or license know-how from those who are already exploiting the technology in question in other countries. The probability is that for anything at all it will pay to acquire existing know-how complex, rather than develop it locally. There is then the need to train local technicians and workers to employ the new’ technology efficiently. Finally there is the big question as to who is going to pay: government, domestic industry or foreign capital. Transfer of technology can also arise within a country from one firm or organisation to another in a particular technical field and also, very fruitfully, by the adoption by industry in one field of techniques developed for quite different purposes by industry in a different field. Of course, I have over-simplified. Things are more complicated than that in practice. But the point 1 want to make is this. A basic requirement for any continuing transfer of technology, in any of the cases I have mentioned, is the availability of technological information in an accessible form. It is evident that although such information may be regarded as the base and foundation of technology transfer, it is indeed only the base and all depends on the use made of such information.
- Transfer t,f 1rechnology
23
Patent specifications information
as sources of technical
The most prolific source of information is: technical literature which may take the form of books, technical journals, reports of working groups, directories, catalogues, manufacturers’ own technical leaflets and handbooks and - last but not least - patent documents. Of all these 1 would select as the most useful sources of the latest developments in any particular field: technical journals, manufacturers’ literature and patent documents. As compared with the other two sources, patent documents have some drawbacks, but they also have some very considerable advantages, as I shall endeavor to show. The inventions (or alleged inventions) which they present may be significant or insignificant; they may not be new. It must be remembered that man) patent documents are published at the application stage before they are examined and in many countries the examination is only a formal one and hence will do nothing to eliminate the trivial disclosures. The specifications are drafted by the applicants. They contain what he wishes to say, not what others may wish to read. This all sounds pretty discouraging. But it is not as bad as all that, in fact not really bad at all! All patent laws require the applicant, as a condition of having a valid patent, to give enough information in the specification to ensure that anyone who is reasonably competent in the technical field in question can put the invention into practice without having to invent any further. This means in practice a more detailed description than is likely to be provided in either technical Journals or in manufacturers’ literature for the public. In mechanical and electrical cases extensive machine drawings or circait diagrams are provided, often with several alternatives, and claims are appended which identify the principle or principles characterising the invention and define the protection to be afforded by the patent. The description will not merely say how the invention is to be put into practice; it will normally explain it by indicating the “state of the art” (often with documentary references) and saying in what way the invention constitutes a step forward. The advantages of patent documents as sources of technological information are as follows: The technological content of a patent document is likely to be fuller and much more precise as regards both the text and the drawings, than what is normally to be found in either technical journals or manufacturers’ literature. It will be much more specific, also, as to where the innovation lies. There will be background information relating to the state of the art. 24
Patent documents have a uniform presentation. both as to size of the paper, order and layout and bibliographic data. This makes them much easier to scan by the experienced searcher than an assorted collection of other technical documents. Moreover. the vast majority are drafted by expert professional people, so the standard of accuracy and fullness of disclosure is generally high. Patent documents will in general disclose information earlier than other sources of information such as technical journals. Eighteen months after the priorit), date is becoming general practice for many countries. This may seem quite a time, but In most cases it is really very early, bearing in mind that the inventor will file his patent application as soon as he possibly can. In many cases, publication will occur before the product is on the market. Patent documents bear a dare. indicating the age of the technology disclosed and whether It is likely to be still under patent protection in the country in question (this can readily be checked at rhe Patent Office) or whether it can be used freely. They further bear information facilitating access to them. In other words, they carr). their own means of information retrieval. This takes the form of classification symbols according to an International Patent Classification (IPC). Patent documents classified in a particular subdivision of the classificarion conrain a highly concentrated supply of technically advanced information on a very specialized technical matter. If one looks at technical documents generally, a complete picture of published technoloo in a particular field would come in documents in several languages. The same applies to patents, but there is this saving grace: the more important inventions are the subject of patent applications in several, or even many, countries. The result is what is known as a ‘family” of patents in which essentially the same document is published in several languages. The person who is searching through patent documents can, in these cases, choose the document which is in the language most familiar to him. Some patent documents contain an abstract. This allows the reader to get a general idea of the content of the document in minutes or even seconds, thus greatly speeding up the process of scanning a bank of such documents. Patent documents indicate the name and address of the applicant or patentee and the inventor. If the technology in question is particularly attractive, these indications enable the person interested to contact the patentee readily if the patent is in force in order to find out on what terms he might obtain a licence or to see what can be done to encourage the patentee to
World Patent Information
2 (1980)
No. 1
Amirage
- Transfer of Technology
Armitage
Patent Documents as a Source of Information for the Transfer of Technology Extract
of a lecture
given at the Industrial
Summary
Property
Seminar
in Seoul, October
16 & 17, 1978
Patent specifications have some advantages as information carriers in the context of technology transfer: e. g. full, precise and early disclosure and uniform presentation; but they also have some disadvantages e. g. an enormous number of publications many of which are of doubtful value. The consequences of both for the use are analysed. Finally patent information retrieval for technology transfer is analysed. Les fascicules de brevet ont des avantages dans le cadre du transfert technologique, par exemple: publication enti&e, precise et rapide, ainsi qu’une presentation uniforme. Mais il y a tgalement des inconvenients, par exemple: un nombre enorme de publications dont une grande partie est de valeur douteuse. Les consequences de leur utilisation sont analysees suivant les deux points de vue. Finalement, la recherche d’informations dans le domaine des brevets pour le transfert technologique est analysee. Patentschriften bieten im Rahmen des Technologietransfers einige Vorteile, wie z.B. die voile, prazise und friihzeitige Offenbarung und die uniforme Darstellung. Es gibt aber such einige Nachteile, z.B. die groRe Zahl derjenigen Schriften, welche von zweifelhaftern Wert sind. Die sich aus beiden Gesichtspunkten fiir die Benutzung ergebenden Konsequenzen werden analysiert. SchlieRlich wird die Patentinformationsrecherche fiir den Technologietransfer untersucht
Some considerations of technology
on the transfer
To get the role of patent documents in technology transfer in the proper perspective, I should like to start by, taking a look at what is involved in the transfer of technology. Everybody now knows that what developing countries need is transfer of technology. These three words are very easily stated and the expression is very easy to use in conversation or in writing. This can lead the uninitiated to the conclusion the operation itself is a simple one. But it is not. Technology is not transferred to a country like sacks of corn. It is not even necessarily achieved by dismantling an industrial plant in one country and re-assembling it in another. What we are really concerned with is the introduction into a country of new industrial manufacturing techniques, whether in the shape of a new industry, a new product manufacture or the improvement of the techniques in an existing industry. To achieve such changes a number of things are necessary. First, someone (whether the local government, local industry or foreign industrialists) must identify the industrial developments which are needed in the country, e.g. power stations or processing plants for local materials, or which are likely to succeed economically in manufacturing goods for export or for importsubstitution, having regard to the availability of raw materials and power and the educational level of the local workers. Then it is necessary to select among the alternative technologies (i.e. different manufacturing techniques) available for the purpose in question. World Patent Information
2 (1980)
No. 1
Amitagc
Again, questions of suitability for local conditions arise. Additionally, it has to be considered whether the technology is patented in that country (and hence will probably be subject to royalty payments) or whether it is patentfree and can be introduced without any royalties. A further consideration is whether it will pa)’ to purchase or license know-how from those who are already exploiting the technology in question in other countries. The probability is that for anything at all it will pay to acquire existing know-how complex, rather than develop it locally. There is then the need to train local technicians and workers to employ the new’ technology efficiently. Finally there is the big question as to who is going to pay: government, domestic industry or foreign capital. Transfer of technology can also arise within a country from one firm or organisation to another in a particular technical field and also, very fruitfully, by the adoption by industry in one field of techniques developed for quite different purposes by industry in a different field. Of course, I have over-simplified. Things are more complicated than that in practice. But the point 1 want to make is this. A basic requirement for any continuing transfer of technology, in any of the cases I have mentioned, is the availability of technological information in an accessible form. It is evident that although such information may be regarded as the base and foundation of technology transfer, it is indeed only the base and all depends on the use made of such information.
- Transfer t,f 1rechnology
23
Patent specifications information
as sources of technical
The most prolific source of information is: technical literature which may take the form of books, technical journals, reports of working groups, directories, catalogues, manufacturers’ own technical leaflets and handbooks and - last but not least - patent documents. Of all these 1 would select as the most useful sources of the latest developments in any particular field: technical journals, manufacturers’ literature and patent documents. As compared with the other two sources, patent documents have some drawbacks, but they also have some very considerable advantages, as I shall endeavor to show. The inventions (or alleged inventions) which they present may be significant or insignificant; they may not be new. It must be remembered that man) patent documents are published at the application stage before they are examined and in many countries the examination is only a formal one and hence will do nothing to eliminate the trivial disclosures. The specifications are drafted by the applicants. They contain what he wishes to say, not what others may wish to read. This all sounds pretty discouraging. But it is not as bad as all that, in fact not really bad at all! All patent laws require the applicant, as a condition of having a valid patent, to give enough information in the specification to ensure that anyone who is reasonably competent in the technical field in question can put the invention into practice without having to invent any further. This means in practice a more detailed description than is likely to be provided in either technical Journals or in manufacturers’ literature for the public. In mechanical and electrical cases extensive machine drawings or circait diagrams are provided, often with several alternatives, and claims are appended which identify the principle or principles characterising the invention and define the protection to be afforded by the patent. The description will not merely say how the invention is to be put into practice; it will normally explain it by indicating the “state of the art” (often with documentary references) and saying in what way the invention constitutes a step forward. The advantages of patent documents as sources of technological information are as follows: The technological content of a patent document is likely to be fuller and much more precise as regards both the text and the drawings, than what is normally to be found in either technical journals or manufacturers’ literature. It will be much more specific, also, as to where the innovation lies. There will be background information relating to the state of the art. 24
Patent documents have a uniform presentation. both as to size of the paper, order and layout and bibliographic data. This makes them much easier to scan by the experienced searcher than an assorted collection of other technical documents. Moreover. the vast majority are drafted by expert professional people, so the standard of accuracy and fullness of disclosure is generally high. Patent documents will in general disclose information earlier than other sources of information such as technical journals. Eighteen months after the priorit), date is becoming general practice for many countries. This may seem quite a time, but In most cases it is really very early, bearing in mind that the inventor will file his patent application as soon as he possibly can. In many cases, publication will occur before the product is on the market. Patent documents bear a dare. indicating the age of the technology disclosed and whether It is likely to be still under patent protection in the country in question (this can readily be checked at rhe Patent Office) or whether it can be used freely. They further bear information facilitating access to them. In other words, they carr). their own means of information retrieval. This takes the form of classification symbols according to an International Patent Classification (IPC). Patent documents classified in a particular subdivision of the classificarion conrain a highly concentrated supply of technically advanced information on a very specialized technical matter. If one looks at technical documents generally, a complete picture of published technoloo in a particular field would come in documents in several languages. The same applies to patents, but there is this saving grace: the more important inventions are the subject of patent applications in several, or even many, countries. The result is what is known as a ‘family” of patents in which essentially the same document is published in several languages. The person who is searching through patent documents can, in these cases, choose the document which is in the language most familiar to him. Some patent documents contain an abstract. This allows the reader to get a general idea of the content of the document in minutes or even seconds, thus greatly speeding up the process of scanning a bank of such documents. Patent documents indicate the name and address of the applicant or patentee and the inventor. If the technology in question is particularly attractive, these indications enable the person interested to contact the patentee readily if the patent is in force in order to find out on what terms he might obtain a licence or to see what can be done to encourage the patentee to
World Patent Information
2 (1980)
No. 1
Amirage
- Transfer of Technology