Citation Strategies: Identifying Opportunities or Threats

What are Patent Citations?

ktMINE has recently enhanced our platform to include Backward and Forward Citation data. Backward Citations are patent numbers that are being referenced by another patent as being necessary for its existence. Whereas Forward Citations are the patent numbers that mention the current patent as a necessary Backward Citation. 

How are Patent Citations Useful?

Patent Citation data is extremely powerful in identifying opportunities or threats that could exist within a patent portfolio. Being able to search a patent or portfolio within our Backwards or Forward Citation filters and see which patents are either citing or being cited by your assets can provide tremendous value. 

Forward Citation Value Add: Identifying Opportunities

If you are a user that enters a patent number or portfolio of patents into the Forward Citation filter, you would instantly see a list of patents from other entities that have referenced the use of your portfolio as critical to theirs. These patents are a tremendous business development opportunity providing a target list. Any entity with a patent that references your own becomes an opportunity for partnering, licensing, or litigation. 

Backward Citation Value Add: Identifying Threats

By entering a patent or portfolio into the Backward Citation filter, a user would be provided a list of all the patents that their own patents are dependent on. These assets are immensely valuable for risk mitigation activities. Identifying potential threats to a portfolio is paramount to protecting a client’s assets. Knowing who your patents are potentially threatened by allows the opportunity to get ahead of any issues and contact those patent owners to either obtain a license, negotiate a deal, or even a target for acquisition to avoid future litigation. 

Get in touch with our team of ktMINE experts to see the Forward and Backward Citations in action:

Coming to ktMINE Soon

The value of Citation data is evident when considering the opportunities it presents. To find out how ktMINE will be bringing even more value in the coming months, stop by our AALL booth in Boston to hear about our upcoming Companies Page!