Citation  and Reverse Citation Analysis of Patents

Elaboration by Sam Mishra, President, Franteractive

Reverse citation analysis is a standard technique used by IP (Intellectual Property) marketing firms; and by high-tech and biotech firms evaluating patents prior to licensing / productizing them. However, if a patent is newly issued, the analyst cannot find other patents referencing this new patent; in other words, a reverse-citation analysis will yield nothing until some time passes. And the analyst can't wait.  So, how does the analyst proceed?

In the simple illustration below, group 1 patents are those which are referenced by the patent being analyzed. Group 2 patents are those, which like the original patent, cite or reference patents in group 1. Further, group 2 patents also cite / reference patents in group 4. Finally, group 3 patents cite / reference the group 2 patents as well.


Here, patents in groups 2, 3, and 4 are all candidates for scrutiny. In particular, if any of these patents have been issued not to individual inventors but big firms / fortune 500 companies, those companies should be contacted by the patent holder of the original patent being analyzed for licensing / partnering opportunities.

What is illustrated above is a simple approach. This can be combined with more sophisticated analysis of other existing patents, including keyword searches, referencing patent applications in addition to issued patents, etc.

Please refer to the Biotech Case in our Solved Cases section to understand the role patents play when it comes to key business decisions such as marketing and strategy. For engaging Franteractive consultants in conducting reverse citation analyses / technology valuations, please contact us.