Global analysis: Who is doing what in China ?

Purpose and goal

The aim was to map the Chinese innovation landscape for metallic materials by analysing patent applications. A second aim was to evaluate to what degree that metod would be useful for global business intelligence. The mapping was successful, as it presented a clear picutre of the amout of patent applications, their georaphic distribution and company affiliations. As the keywords used were of a general nature, however, the value was deemed average. The usefulness of the method is likely to be higher when searching for more specific technologies.

Results and expected effects

A large number of metal producers have had the opportunity to evaluate a novel tool for business intelligence. This increases the companies´, as well as the innovation area at large, ability to obtain business intelligence, which is a target set for ´Step 1´ in the strategic agenda ´National action for metallic materials´.

Approach and implementation

The study was conducted by companies providing their typical keywords used for patent searches. These were used to search the Chinese patent database. The results obtained were analysed by KairosFuture by means of an in-house tool. The companies then proposed (after voting) one area for deepened analysis. Perhaps the usefulness of the method could have been tested more in depth if the companies had agreed on one specific area for analysis beforehand, as this is probably the case where the method has its most significant strengths.