JP5976244B1 - Patentee evaluation device - Google Patents

Abstract

It is difficult to determine whether or not a company is an NPE (non-patent subject) based on a patent right held by the company. A transfer history of a patent right is acquired, and a specified patentee who is one of the transfer parties in the transfer history first assigns the patent right in the transfer history related to a patent right, and A transfer mediation index value that increases as the frequency of becoming a transferee who is a transfer party other than the final assignee who lastly assigned the patent right increases and the transfer mediation index value is large. Judge that there is. [Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a patent owner evaluation apparatus that extracts a right holder who mediates transfer of a patent right from patent right transfer history information.

  Patent evaluation that evaluates a company based on a technical evaluation value obtained by evaluating a patent right held by the company from a technical aspect and an inventor evaluation value obtained by evaluating an inventor's invention level of a patented invention An apparatus (hereinafter also referred to as “conventional apparatus”) is described in Patent Document 1.

  The technical evaluation value is based on whether the patented invention held by the company is a basic invention, whether it can be applied to a wide range of technical fields, and whether it can be used over a long period of time. Is calculated. On the other hand, the inventor evaluation value is calculated based on whether the inventor has made an invention with a high technical evaluation value.

  According to the conventional apparatus, various companies can be rated from the viewpoint of possessed patent rights, and thus it is possible to provide a useful index relating to company evaluation.

JP 2013-25702 A

  By the way, companies having patent rights include NPEs (Non-Practicing Entity) that do not make patent inventions themselves. Companies that manufacture and sell products or provide services to customers (so-called business companies) need to pay attention to patent rights held by NPEs in order to reduce legal risks. However, some NPEs recognize that they are NPEs, and some companies conceal that they are NPEs due to their external shapes.

  Companies that conceal that they are NPEs often transfer their patent rights to another company when they file lawsuits using the patent rights they hold as odd coins. Therefore, it is generally difficult to detect the trend of NPE. According to the conventional device, it is possible to evaluate the value of a company that holds a patent right, but whether the purpose of the patent right is the implementation of a patented invention or the filing of a lawsuit against another company. It is difficult to evaluate.

  Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to assign a patent owner (hereinafter, a person whose patent right has been lost and a patent right that has already been assigned) based on information relating to the published patent. It is to provide a patentee evaluation apparatus that can extract a right holder who is highly likely to be an NPE.

In order to achieve the above object, a patentee evaluation apparatus according to the present invention (hereinafter also referred to as “the present apparatus”) includes an information acquisition unit, an index value calculation unit, a determination unit, and a storage unit. .
The information acquisition unit acquires information related to a patent right transfer history.

  The index value calculation unit is configured so that a specific patentee who is one of the transfer parties in the transfer history “the first assignee who first assigned the patent right in the transfer history related to a certain patent right” and “the patent right Any information included in the information related to the transfer history includes an index value calculation process for calculating a transfer mediation index value that increases as the frequency of becoming a transfer party other than the last transferee who has transferred The patent right holder is executed as the specific right holder.

The determination unit determines that the specific right holder whose transfer mediation index value is greater than a predetermined threshold is a specific mediator.
The storage unit stores information on the specific mediator.

  The transfer mediation index value is such that the specific right holder mediates the transfer of the patent right from the original assignee to the final assignee (that is, the patent right reaches the final assignee from the initial assigner through the specific assignee). The higher the value)

  In general, NPEs do not conduct research and development and are rarely the first transferees. In addition, NPEs rarely become final assignees because they do not implement the patented invention. Furthermore, as mentioned above, when an NPE files a patent infringement lawsuit, the patent right is often transferred to another company under control. Accordingly, the frequency (degree) of NPE is likely to be higher than that of companies that conduct research and development, companies that implement patented inventions, and the like.

  Therefore, when the specific rights holder is an NPE, the transfer mediation index value for the specific rights holder is a large value. In other words, a specific rights holder (that is, a specific mediator) having a large transfer mediation index value is likely to be an NPE.

  Therefore, according to the apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to extract right holders who are highly likely to be NPEs among the patent right holders based on “patent information” acquired by the information acquisition unit.

As another aspect of the device of the present invention,
The index value calculation unit
“The total number of transfers that is the number of patents transferred from the“ first patent owner ”as one of the transfer parties in the transfer history to the“ second patent owner ”as one of the transfer parties” The “mediation rate”, which is the ratio of the number of patents (number of intermediary transfers) transferred from the first patentee to the second patentee via the specified patentee among the patents related to the total number of transfers Calculate for each combination of any first patentee and second patentee comprised by the transfer parties in the transfer history,
It is preferable that the process of calculating the total value of the calculated “mediation rate” as “the transfer mediation index value” for the specific rights holder is executed as “the index value calculation process”. is there.

  According to this aspect, the transfer mediation index value for each patentee can be calculated as the sum of mediation rates, and therefore the transfer mediation index value can be obtained quantitatively by a relatively simple calculation method. Become.

As another aspect of the device of the present invention,
The information acquisition unit
It is preferable to be configured to acquire information related to “patent transfer history excluding assignment from the inventor”.

  When a patent right established by applying an inventor as an applicant is assigned to a company where the inventor works, the inventor becomes the initial assigner. In this case, if the company that is the assignee further assigns the patent right, the transfer mediation index value of the company becomes a large value even though the company conducts its own research and development (that is, not the NPE). End up. However, according to this aspect, since the company that has received the patent right from the inventor becomes the initial assigner, it can be avoided that the company that conducts research and development is erroneously determined to be an NPE.

As another aspect of the device of the present invention,
The device of the present invention comprises an information transmitting unit that transmits specific mediator information, which is information relating to the specific mediator, to a user registered in advance,
The information transmitting unit
Preferably, when the information regarding the patent right held by the specific mediator matches a predetermined extraction condition, the specific mediator information is transmitted to the user corresponding to the extraction condition. is there.

  For example, the extraction condition is a word (word) included in a specification relating to a patent right and an international patent classification (IPC) described in the application relating to the patent right. A user can receive information from the apparatus of the present invention when an NPE acquires a patent right related to the business area by setting extraction conditions corresponding to the technical area in which the business is developed. it can. Therefore, according to this aspect, it is possible to extract the information of the NPE having the patent right related to the specific technical area and provide it to the user.

It is the schematic showing the structure of the patentee evaluation apparatus (this evaluation apparatus) which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing a mode that each of patent rights transfers. It is a flowchart showing the patent information acquisition process which this evaluation apparatus performs. It is a flowchart showing the peculiar mediator extraction process which this evaluation apparatus performs. It is a flowchart showing the information transmission process which this evaluation apparatus performs.

  Hereinafter, a patentee evaluation apparatus 11 (hereinafter also referred to as “the evaluation apparatus”) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A schematic configuration of the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 is shown in FIG. The patentee evaluation apparatus 11 is a general-purpose computer, and includes a CPU 21, a RAM 22, a hard disk drive (HDD) 23, a network interface 24, and an operation interface 25.

  The CPU 21 reads data, performs numerical calculations, outputs calculation results, and the like by sequentially executing a predetermined program. The RAM 22 temporarily stores data. The HDD 23 stores programs executed by the CPU 21, a database (DB), and the like.

  The network interface 24 can communicate with an external intellectual property information disclosure server 42 and an e-mail server 43 via a known network 41 (for example, the Internet). The IP information disclosure server 42 is a Web server (http server) that publishes patent information registered at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as needed and maintains the publication in a state where it can be acquired via the network 41. . For example, the intellectual property information disclosure server 42 is a bulk data disclosure site published by the US Patent and Trademark Office and a Web server for a patent information service provided by a private company.

  The e-mail server 43 transmits an e-mail to a desired destination (e-mail address) in response to a request (for example, an SMTP request) from the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 (specifically, the network interface 24). be able to.

  The operation interface 25 can communicate with an input device 26 and an output device 27 connected to the patentee evaluation device 11. The input device 26 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and the output device 27 includes a display device. The operator of the patentee evaluation device 11 operates the patentee evaluation device 11 using the input device 26 and acquires the operation result via the output device 27.

(Database)
The DB stored in the HDD 23 includes a patent information DB 31, a peculiar mediator DB 32, and a distribution destination information DB 33. In the patent information DB 31, information related to patent rights acquired (downloaded) from the intellectual property information disclosure server 42 is registered. In the specific mediator DB 32, information on a patent owner (specific mediator) that is highly likely to be an NPE extracted by a specific mediator extraction process described later is registered.

  In the distribution destination information DB 33, “information regarding a transmission destination of information regarding a specific mediator” is registered. The information related to the transmission destination includes a combination of extraction conditions and an e-mail address applied to the patent right held by the specific mediator. Each of the extraction conditions includes one or more words (search terms) included in the description or the like, or an international patent classification (IPC), or a combination of the search terms and the international patent classification. As will be described later, information on a specific mediator having a patent right that meets any of the extraction conditions is transmitted to an e-mail address combined with the extraction conditions.

(Outline of processing)
The processing executed by the CPU 21 (hereinafter also simply referred to as “CPU”) includes patent information acquisition processing, specific mediator extraction processing, and information transmission processing. When executing the patent information acquisition process, the CPU acquires information related to “registered patent (that is, a patent application for which a patent has been assessed and paid for a patent)” from the intellectual property information disclosure server 42, and the patent information DB 31. Register with.

  After completion of the patent information acquisition process, the CPU executes a specific mediator extraction process, and a person who is highly likely to be an NPE based on the acquired information on the patent (including legal entities, hereinafter referred to as “specific mediator”). Also called) and is registered in the specific mediator DB 32. After the end of the specific mediator extraction process, the CPU executes an information transmission process, and based on the contents registered in the distribution destination information DB 33, the extracted information about the specific mediator and the patent possessed by the specific mediator Send information.

(Outline of specific mediator extraction process)
The CPU, when executing the peculiar mediator extraction process, excludes the transfer of patent rights excluding “transfer from the inventor to another person (in many cases, the company (corporation) where the inventor works)”. The information regarding is extracted from the patent information DB 31. For the sake of convenience, the transfer (transfer) of patent rights other than the inventor transfer is also referred to as “inter-company transfer”. However, transfer between companies includes cases where a natural person and a corporation other than the company are the transferor, and cases where a corporation other than the natural person and the company is the transferee.

  In addition, the parties (assignee and assignee) of the transfer between companies are also referred to as “transfer parties”. Among the transfer parties, the person who first assigned the patent (for example, the person who assigned the patent right from the inventor) is also called the “initial assignee”, and the person who finally assigned the patent right is the “final assignee”. Also called. Transfer parties other than the original assignee and final assignee are also referred to as “intermediary transferors”.

  Next, the CPU calculates a transfer mediation index value Q for each transfer party. First, a method for calculating the transfer mediation index value Q (V) for the right holder V who is one of the transfer parties (specific rights holder) will be described.

Transfer mediation index value Q (V) for right holder V is
“Patents related to the total number of transfers N” for “the total number of transfers N, which is the number of patents transferred from the first patentee, one of the transfer parties, to the second patentee, another one of the transfer parties” Mediation rate R, which is the number M of intermediary transfers that is the number of patents transferred from the first patent owner to the second patent owner via the specified patent owner,
It is obtained by executing a process (index value calculation process) for calculating an arbitrary combination of the first patentee and the second patentee and calculating the total value of the calculated mediation ratio R.

For example, the number of patent rights in which the first patent owner is the right holder X and the second patent right is the right holder Y is the total number of transfers N _{x, y,} and from the right holder X who is the first patent owner. Assuming that the number of patent rights transferred to the right holder Y who is the second patent right through the right holder V (the transferee), the transfer number M _{x, y} (V), The mediation rate R _{x, y} (V) related to the combination of “a right holder X” and “a right holder Y who is the second patent right” is calculated as M _{x, y} (V) / N _{x, y} (ie, , R _{x, y} (V) = M _{x, y} (V) / N _{x, y} ).

  Further, the mediation rate for any combination of the first patentee and the second patentee other than “rightholder X who is the first patentee” and “rightholder Y who is the second patentee” When R (V) is calculated, the total value of the mediation rates R (V) is calculated as the transfer mediation index value Q (V) (that is, M (V) = ΣR (V)).

  An example of the transfer of patent rights between companies is shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 2, each of the right holder A to the right holder H is a transfer party, and each of the patent right 1 to the patent right 7 is a patent right subject to assignment between companies. For example, patent right 1 is directly assigned from right holder A, which is the initial assignee, to right holder B, which is the final assignee. On the other hand, the patent right 2 is assigned from the right holder A (initial assignee) to the right holder B (final assignee) through the right holder C (mediator assignee).

  First, a transfer mediation index value Q (A) for the right holder A is calculated. In the example of FIG. 2, there is no patent right in which the right holder A is an intermediary assigner. Therefore, the number of intermediary transfers M (A) for any combination of the first patentee and the second patentee composed of each of the rightsholders other than the rightsholder A (that is, rightsholders B to H). ) = 0. Therefore, since the mediation rate R (A) = 0 for any combination of the first patentee and the second patentee, the transfer mediation index value Q (A) = 0.

  As can be understood from the example of the right holder A, the transfer mediation index value Q for a right holder who has no history of being an intermediary transferer is “0”. Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 2, as with the right holder A, the transfer mediation index values Q for the right holder B and the right holder F are each “0”.

Next, a transfer mediation index value Q (C) for the right holder C is calculated. In the example of FIG. 2, the patent right whose right holder C is an intermediary assigner is the patent right 2. Similarly to the patent right 2, the patent right in which the first patentee is the right holder A and the second patent right is the right holder B is the patent right 1. Therefore, the total number of transfers N _{A, B} = 2 (patent right 1 and patent right 2).

Of patent right 1 and patent right 2, right holder C is the only transferee of patent right 2, so that the number of intermediate transfers M _{A, B} (C) = 1. That is, the mediation rate R _{A, B} (C) = M _{A, B} (C) / NA _{, B} = 1/2.

In addition, there is no transfer of the patent right in which the right holder C is an intermediary assignee other than the combination in which the first patent right is the right holder A and the second patent right is the right holder B. That is, the mediation ratio R (C) is “0” for the combination of the first patent holder and the second patent owner other than the right holder A and the right holder B. Accordingly, the transfer mediation index value Q (C) is “1” equal to the mediation rate R _{A, B} (C).

Similarly, a transfer mediation index value Q (D) for the right holder D is calculated. In the example of FIG. 2, the patent rights for which the right holder D is an intermediary assigner are the patent right 4 and the patent right 5. The total number of transfers N _{A, E} related to the combination of the first patent right holder (right holder A) and the second patent right holder (right holder E) related to the patent right 4 is “1”. On the other hand, the mediation transfer number MA _{, E} (D) of the right holder D for the combination of the first patent holder and the second patent owner is “1”. Therefore, the mediation rate R _{A, E} (D) = M _{A, E} (D) / NA _{, E} = _1/1 = 1.

Similarly, the total number of transfers N _{B, F} related to the combination of the first patent right holder (right holder B) and the second patent right holder (right holder F) related to the patent right 5 is “1”. On the other hand, the mediation transfer number M _{B, F} (D) of the right holder D with respect to the combination of the first patent right (right holder B) and the second patent right (right holder F) is “1”. Therefore, the mediation rate R _{B, F} (D) = MB _{, F} (D) / NB _{, F} = _1/1 = 1.

Further, the total number of transfers N _{B, E} related to the combination of the first patent right holder (right holder B) and the second patent right holder (right holder E) related to the patent right 5 is “1”. On the other hand, the mediation transfer number M _{B, E} (D) of the right holder D with respect to the combination of the first patent holder (right holder B) and the second patent owner (right holder E) is “1”. Therefore, the mediation rate R _{B, E} (D) = MB _{, E} (D) / NB _{, E} = _1/1 = 1.

In addition, there is no transfer of the patent right in which the right holder D is an intermediary assignee other than the combination of the first patent right holder and the second patent right holder relating to the patent right 4 and the patent right 5. Therefore, the transfer mediation index value Q (D) = mediation rate R _{A, E} (D) + mediation rate R _{B, F} (D) + mediation rate R _{B, E} (D) = 1 + 1 + 1 = 3.

On the other hand, the transfer mediation index value Q (E) for the right holder E is calculated based on the transfer history of the patent right 5 and the patent right 6. The total number of transfers N _{B, F} related to the combination of the first patent right holder (right holder B) and the second patent right holder (right holder F) related to patent right 5 is “1”. The intermediary transfer number M _{B, F} (E) of the right holder E with respect to the combination of the first patent right (right holder B) and the second patent right (right holder F) is “1”. Therefore, the mediation rate R _{B, F} (E) = MB _{, F} (E) / NB _{, F} = _1/1 = 1.

In addition, the total number of transfers N _{D, F} related to the combination of the first patent right holder (right holder D) and the second patent right holder (right holder F) related to patent right 5 and patent right 6 is “2”. . The mediator transfer number MD _{, F} (E) of the right holder E for the combination of the first patent holder (right holder D) and the second patent owner (right holder F) is “1” (patent right 5). . Therefore, the mediation rate R _{D, F} (E) = M _{D, F} (E) / N _{D, F} = 1/2.

Therefore, the transfer mediation index value Q (E) = mediation rate R _{B, F} (E) + mediation rate R _{D, F} (E) = 1 + 1/2 = 3/2.

Further, a transfer mediation index value Q (D) for the right holder G is calculated. The total number of transfers NB _{, A} corresponding to “a combination of the first patentee (right holder B) and the second patent owner (right holder A) relating to patent right 3 and patent right 7” is “2”. . On the other hand, the mediator transfer number M _{B, A} (G) of the right holder G with respect to the combination of the first patent holder (right holder B) and the second patent owner (right holder A) It is “2” because it has been twice as a mediator. Therefore, the mediation rate R _{B, A} (G) = MB _{, A} (G) / NB _{, A} = 2/2 = 1.

In addition, the total number of transfers N _{B, G} related to the combination of the first patent right holder (right holder B) and the second patent right holder (right holder G) related to the patent right 7 is “1”. The mediator transfer number M _{B, G} (G) of the right holder G with respect to the combination of the first patent holder (right holder B) and the second patent owner (right holder G) is “1”. Therefore, the mediation rate R _{B, G} (G) = MB _{, G} (G) / NB _{, G} = _1/1 = 1.

In addition, the total number of transfers N _{B, H} related to the combination of the first patent right holder (right holder B) and the second patent right holder (right holder H) related to the patent right 7 is “1”. The intermediary transfer number M _{B, H} (G) of the right holder G with respect to the combination of the first patent right (right holder B) and the second patent right (right holder H) is “1”. Therefore, the mediation rate R _{B, H} (G) = MB _{, H} (G) / NB _{, H} = _1/1 = 1.

In addition, the total number of transfers _{NG, A} related to the combination of the first patent right holder (right holder G) and the second patent right holder (right holder A) related to the patent right 7 is “1”. The mediator transfer number M _{G, A} (G) of the right holder G for the combination of the first patent holder (right holder G) and the second patent owner (right holder A) is “1”. Therefore, the mediation rate R _{G, A} (G) = _{MG, A} (G) / _{NG, A} = _1/1 = 1.

In addition, the total number of transfers _{NG, G} related to the combination of the first patent right holder (right holder G) and the second patent right holder (right holder G) related to the patent right 7 is “1”. The intermediary transfer number M _{G, G} (G) of the right holder G with respect to the combination of the first patent right (right holder G) and the second patent right (right holder G) is “0”. Therefore, the mediation rate R _{G, G} (G) = M _{G, G} (G) / _{NG, G} = 0/1 = 0.

In addition, the total number of transfers N _{H, A} related to the combination of the first patent right holder (right holder H) and the second patent right holder (right holder A) related to the patent right 7 is “1”. The intermediary transfer number M _{H, A} (G) of the right holder G with respect to the combination of the first patent holder (right holder G) and the second patent owner (right holder G) is “1”. Therefore, the mediation rate R _{H, A} (G) = M _{H, A} (G) / N _{H, A} = _1/1 = 1.

Therefore, the transfer mediation index value Q (G) = mediation rate R _{B, A} (G) + mediation rate R _{B, G} (G) + mediation rate R _{B, H} (G) + mediation rate R _{G, A} (G) + Mediation rate R _{G, G} (G) + mediation rate R _{H, A} (G) = 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 0 + 1 = 5.

  When the CPU calculates the transfer mediation index value Q for each of the transfer parties, the transfer mediator (right holder) whose transfer mediation index value Q is larger than a predetermined threshold value Qth is extracted as a specific mediator. The process ends.

(Significance of transfer mediation index value)
As can be understood from the example of FIG. 2 described above, the transfer mediation index value Q for a certain right holder increases as the number of patent rights for which the right holder is an intermediary assigner increases. In general, since NPE does not conduct research and development, there are few cases where NPE is the initial transferor. In addition, since the NPE does not implement the patented invention, the NPE is rarely the final assignee.

  On the other hand, when NPE files a patent infringement lawsuit, it assigns the patent right to another company (so-called shell company (dull shell company, dummy company)) established for each lawsuit in order to carry out the proceedings. There are many cases. Alternatively, the NPE may transfer the patent right to another person such as a patent broker when determining that sufficient profit cannot be obtained even if a lawsuit concerning the patent right held is filed. In other words, the NPE often acts as a hub in transferring a plurality of patents in terms of its outer shape.

  Therefore, a transfer party (unique mediator) whose transfer mediation index value Q is larger than the threshold value Qth is likely to be an NPE. In other words, the threshold value Qth is set to a value larger than the value that the transfer mediation index value Q can take when a business company transfers a patented invention between group companies in order to manufacture and sell patented products. .

(Specific operation-patent information acquisition processing)
Next, a specific operation of the CPU will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The CPU executes a “patent information acquisition processing routine” represented by a flowchart in FIG. 3 every time a predetermined period elapses. Therefore, when the appropriate timing is reached, the CPU starts processing from step 300 in FIG. 3 and proceeds to step 305.

  In step 305, the CPU obtains (downloads) information (bibliographic items, description, etc.) regarding the patent right whose application date is “date 20 years before the current date” or later from the IP information disclosure server 42. Next, the CPU proceeds to step 310 and extracts information related to the transfer (transfer) of the patent right from the acquired information related to the patent right.

  Further, the CPU proceeds to step 315 to register information relating to the patent and information relating to the transfer of the patent right in the patent information DB 31. Next, the CPU proceeds to step 395 to end this routine.

(Specific operation-specific mediator extraction process)
When the above-described patent information acquisition process ends (that is, after proceeding to step 395 in FIG. 3), the CPU executes a specific mediator extraction process. Specifically, the CPU starts the process from step 400 of FIG. 4, sequentially performs the processes of steps 405 to 430 described below, and proceeds to step 435.

Step 405: The CPU reads information related to the history of transfer of patent rights between companies from the patent information DB 31.
Step 410: The CPU extracts an intermediary transfer person from information related to a patent right transfer history.
Step 415: The CPU selects one of the extracted mediators whose mediation index value Q has not yet been calculated.

Step 420: The CPU selects one “combination of the first patentee and the second patentee” for which the total number of transfers N and the number of intermediate transfers M have not yet been calculated for the selected transferee. .
Step 425: The CPU calculates the total transfer number N and the intermediate transfer number M for the selected intermediary transferor and the combination of the first patentee and the second patentee.
Step 430: The CPU calculates a mediation rate R based on the calculated total number of transfers N and mediation transfer number M.

  Next, the CPU proceeds to step 435 to determine whether or not the mediation rate R has been calculated for all “combination of the first patentee and the second patentee”. If there is a “combination of the first patentee and the second patentee” for which the mediation rate R has not been calculated, the CPU makes a “No” determination at step 435 to proceed to step 420.

  On the other hand, if the mediation ratio R has been calculated for all “combination of the first patentee and the second patentee”, the CPU makes a “Yes” determination at step 435 and proceeds to step 440. Then, the total value of the calculated mediation rate R is calculated as the transfer mediation index value Q.

  Next, the CPU proceeds to step 445 to determine whether or not the transfer mediation index value Q has been calculated for all the mediators. If there is an intermediary transferer whose transfer mediation index value Q has not been calculated, the CPU makes a “No” determination at step 445 to proceed to step 415.

  On the other hand, if the transfer mediation index value Q has been calculated for all the transferees, the CPU makes a “Yes” determination at step 445 to proceed to step 450 where the transfer mediation index value Q is equal to the threshold value Qth. A larger transferor is extracted as a specific transferor. Next, the CPU proceeds to step 455 to register the extracted specific mediator in the specific mediator DB 32. Further, the CPU proceeds to step 495 to end this routine.

(Specific operation-information transmission processing)
When the above-described specific mediator extraction process ends (that is, after proceeding to step 495 in FIG. 4), the CPU executes an information transmission process. Specifically, the CPU starts the process from step 500 in FIG. 5 and proceeds to step 505.

  In step 505, the CPU reads information related to the specific mediator from the specific mediator DB32. Next, the CPU proceeds to step 510 to determine whether or not the extracted unique mediator exists. If there is a peculiar mediator, the CPU makes a “Yes” determination at step 510 to proceed to step 515.

  In step 515, the CPU reads the extraction condition registered in the distribution destination information DB 33. Next, the CPU proceeds to step 520 and selects one specific mediator related to the patent right to which the extraction condition has not yet been applied. Further, the CPU proceeds to step 525, and reads from the patent information DB 31 information relating to the patent right possessed by the selected specific mediator.

  Next, the CPU proceeds to step 530 to determine whether there is a patent right that matches the extraction condition. If there is a patent right that matches any of the extraction conditions, the CPU makes a “Yes” determination at step 530 to proceed to step 535, where a specific mediator is addressed to the e-mail address associated with the matching extraction condition. And information on patent rights. If a plurality of search conditions are met, the CPU transmits information to the e-mail addressed to each of the matched search conditions.

  Further, the CPU proceeds to step 540 and determines whether or not the extraction condition is applied to all the specific mediators (specifically, the patent right held by the specific mediator). If there is a specific mediator to which the extraction condition has not yet been applied, the CPU makes a “No” determination at step 540 to proceed to step 520.

  On the other hand, if the extraction condition is applied to all the specific mediators, the CPU makes a “Yes” determination at step 540 to proceed to step 595 to end the present routine.

  If there is no specific mediator, the CPU makes a “No” determination at step 510 to directly proceed to step 595. In addition, if the patent of the specific mediator selected at that time does not match any extraction condition, the CPU makes a “No” determination at step 530 to proceed directly to step 540.

As described above, this evaluation apparatus (patent owner evaluation apparatus 11)
An information acquisition unit (step 405 in FIGS. 3 and 4) for acquiring information related to the transfer history of the patent right;
A specific patentee who is one of the transfer parties in the transfer history, other than the initial assignee who first assigned the patent right in the transfer history related to a patent right and the final assignee who last assigned the patent right An index for executing an index value calculation process for calculating a transfer mediation index value that increases as the frequency of becoming an intermediary transferer who is a transfer party as the specific rights holder, respectively. A value calculation unit (steps 415 to 445 in FIG. 4);
A determination unit (step 450 in FIG. 4) that determines that the specific right holder whose transfer mediation index value is greater than a predetermined threshold is a specific mediator;
A storage unit (HDD 23) for storing information on the specific mediator;
It has.

Further, the index value calculation unit
The number of patents related to the total number of transfers is the number of patents transferred from the first patentee who is one of the transfer parties in the transfer history to the second patentee who is one of the transfer parties. Any first patent right constituted by the transfer party in the transfer history is a mediation rate, which is the ratio of the number of patents transferred from the first patent holder to the second patent holder via the specified patent holder. And a process of calculating the total of the calculated mediation rates as the transfer mediation index value for the specific rights holder as the index value calculation process. Steps 415 to 445 in FIG. 4 are configured.

Furthermore, the information acquisition unit
Information regarding the transfer history of the patent right excluding the assignment from the inventor is acquired (step 405 in FIG. 4).

Furthermore, this evaluation device
An information transmission unit (FIG. 5) that transmits specific mediator information, which is information related to the specific mediator, to a registered user;
The information transmitting unit
When the information regarding the patent right held by the specific mediator matches a predetermined extraction condition, the specific mediator information is transmitted to the user corresponding to the extraction condition (steps 530 and 535 in FIG. 5). ) Is configured as follows.

  According to this evaluation apparatus, based on the characteristic of NPE that the frequency (degree) of being an intermediary transferor is high, the “patent information” is analyzed by analyzing “information on patents” acquired from the intellectual property information disclosure server 42. It becomes possible to extract right holders who may be NPEs as specific mediators.

  In addition, according to the present evaluation apparatus, since a specific mediator is extracted after eliminating the history of inventor transfer, it is possible to avoid erroneously determining that a company conducting research and development is an NPE. Furthermore, if an extraction condition is set in advance, the user of this evaluation apparatus can receive information on NPEs possessing patent rights belonging to a specific technical field.

  The embodiments of the patentee evaluation apparatus according to the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the object of the present invention. For example, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 according to the present embodiment acquires information related to a patent from the intellectual property information disclosure server 42. However, the patentee evaluation apparatus may receive information relating to utility model registration.

  In addition, the threshold value Qth may not be a constant value (constant). For example, the patent owner evaluation apparatus 11 may set the transfer mediation index value Q for the mediation transferor who is 101st in order of the transfer mediation index value Q in descending order as the threshold value Qth. In this case, it is determined that the upper 100 transferors of the transfer mediation index value Q are specific mediators. Alternatively, the threshold Qth applied to the transfer mediator index value Q of the mediator may be changed according to the international patent classification relating to the patent right assigned by the mediator.

  In addition, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 has acquired information related to patents filed in the past 20 years. However, this period may be longer than 20 years or shorter than 20 years. Alternatively, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 may obtain information on a patent after excluding patent rights that have been extinguished due to unpaid pensions or abandonment.

  In addition, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 has acquired information related to patents registered at the US Patent and Trademark Office from the intellectual property information disclosure server 42. However, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 may acquire information on patents registered in other countries (for example, Japan).

  In addition, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 calculates the mediation rate R (and thus the transfer mediation index value Q) after excluding the inventor assignment. However, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 may calculate the mediation rate R without excluding the inventor assignment. Alternatively, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 may calculate the mediation rate R only for the party to which the patent right related to the specification including the specific word is transferred. Furthermore, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 may calculate the mediation rate R only for the parties to the transfer of patent rights included in a specific international patent classification.

  In addition, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 calculates the mediation rate R as a ratio of the mediation transfer number M to the total transfer number N. However, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 may calculate the mediation rate R by other methods. For example, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 may calculate the mediation rate R as a difference between the total transfer number N and the mediation transfer number M.

  In addition, the patent information DB 31, the peculiar mediator DB 32, and the distribution destination information DB 33 are stored in the HDD 23 provided in the patentee evaluation apparatus 11. However, these databases may be stored by a device external to the patentee evaluation device 11. For example, some or all of these databases may be stored by an external server (a so-called cloud server) connected via the network 41.

  In addition, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 has transmitted information on the peculiar mediator via the electronic mail server 43. However, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 may transmit information on the specific mediator by means other than e-mail. For example, the patentee evaluation apparatus 11 transmits (uploads) information related to the specific mediator to a Web server (http server) connected via the network 41, and the user uses the Web server to transmit information related to the specific mediator. May be acquired.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Patentee evaluation apparatus, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... RAM, 23 ... HDD, 24 ... Network interface, 25 ... Operation interface, 26 ... Input device, 27 ... Output device, 41 ... Network, 42 ... IP information disclosure Server, 43 ... an e-mail server.

Claims (4)

An information acquisition unit for acquiring information related to the transfer history of the patent right;
A specific patentee who is one of the transfer parties in the transfer history, other than the initial assignee who first assigned the patent right in the transfer history related to a patent right and the final assignee who last assigned the patent right An index for executing an index value calculation process for calculating a transfer mediation index value that increases as the frequency of becoming an intermediary transferer who is a transfer party as the specific rights holder, respectively. A value calculator,
A determination unit that determines that the specific rights holder whose transfer mediation index value is greater than a predetermined threshold is a specific mediator;
A storage unit for storing information on the specific mediator;
Patentee evaluation device comprising: In the patentee evaluation apparatus according to claim 1,
The index value calculation unit
The number of patents related to the total number of transfers is the number of patents transferred from the first patentee who is one of the transfer parties in the transfer history to the second patentee who is one of the transfer parties. Any first patent right constituted by the transfer party in the transfer history is a mediation rate, which is the ratio of the number of patents transferred from the first patent holder to the second patent holder via the specified patent holder. A process of calculating each of the combinations of the right holder and the second patent right, and calculating the total value of the calculated mediation rates as the transfer mediation index value for the specific rights holder as the index value calculation process The patentee evaluation device configured in In the patentee evaluation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The information acquisition unit
A patentee evaluation apparatus configured to acquire information related to a transfer history of a patent right excluding assignment from the inventor. The patentee evaluation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An information transmitting unit that transmits specific mediator information, which is information relating to the specific mediator, to a user registered in advance;
The information transmitting unit
Patenter evaluation configured to transmit the specific mediator information to the user corresponding to the extraction condition when the information on the patent right held by the specific mediator matches a predetermined extraction condition apparatus.

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