Patent landscaping offers a snapshot of the innovations occurring in a specific area of technology at any given time, but it can also provide insight into where technology is headed, what key stakeholders are doing, and where innovation is taking place. Performing a Patent Landscape Analysis consists of sketching the details of the current technology as well as the market trends in the domain in question. Additionally, one can also obtain a competitive analysis of the past, present, and future trends in the concerned technical space that is instrumental for planning and developing research strategies. Furthermore, this facilitates the identification of white spaces in the domain of technology.

In one specific area, it involves mapping patents that are existing, pending, and in effect. In addition to providing direct insight into technology, products, and competitive landscapes in the marketplace you have selected for your search, a patent landscape analysis also helps you gain an understanding of how your search is being conducted.

Opportunity Analysis

Could there be any particular gaps in the area that could be exploited?
How can I gain momentum by partnering (collaborating with/funding/acquiring)?
Can you tell me about the in-licensing, out-licensing, and cross-licensing opportunities?
How do you determine which markets are most important?
How many top inventors are there in each subdomain?
Which association do they currently belong to?
Is there any interesting insight I can share with the R&D/product design team?

Competitor and IP Benchmarking

Your company's patent portfolio - in relation to competitors - will it tend to be younger, as well as higher quality, geographically present, and have more recent application activity?
In what ways do they patent, what are their grant rates, and what examples do they have?
What do their pipeline and products look like?
Which factors drive the market?
How do your competitors compare in terms of strengths and weaknesses?
Where does your competition invest in R&D?

Obstacles and Risk Analysis

Which of your own patents is missing from your portfolio?
Are we in the midst of a technological revolution?
How likely are legal action, opposition, and infringement to occur?
Has there been any recent merger and acquisition activity in the area?

Technical Review of Patents (and Non-Patent Literature)

Among the most successful businesses, which technologies are they using?
Which emerging technologies are currently in use?
How mature is the technology in the area?
Among the major players, who is the most dominant?
Which emerging or lesser-known players are on the rise?
How do the leading and emerging markets compare?

Following are the key contents of the presentation:

A description of the report's objectives and scope;
An overview of search methodologies;
An analysis of non-technical and technical aspects;
A trend analysis of present and emerging trends;
An analysis of the patent portfolio, including classifications and sub-classifications based on international trends and technological trends.
A brief summary of the findings.