JP6998093B1 - Patent utilization support device, patent utilization support method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a patent utilization support device capable of socially effectively utilizing a patent. SOLUTION: An input unit 2 in which identification information of a target patent to be utilized is input, a patent information database 20 is searched based on the input identification information, and patent classification information indicating the patent classification of the target patent is acquired. The classification information acquisition unit 3, the document extraction unit 4 that searches the patent information database 20 based on the acquired patent classification information, and extracts a plurality of patent documents that are highly related to the target patent, and the extracted plurality of patent documents. It is generated by the utilization information generation unit 5 that generates utilization information for the owner or the inventor who has a high need for the target patent by ranking the owner or the inventor based on the information of the owner or the inventor. It is a patent utilization support device 1 including an output unit 6 that outputs utilization information. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to a patent utilization support device, a patent utilization support method and a program.

Research institutes such as universities are so-called non-patenting institutions that generally do not implement their own patents even if they obtain patents as a result of research and development. It is necessary to connect to social implementation. Therefore, each research institution prepares a collection of technology seeds and distributes them widely to companies in order to promote the utilization of patents held, and matches research seeds with corporate needs by experts (coordinators) in promoting industry-academia collaboration. We are doing things such as promoting.

Creating a collection of technical seeds is efficient as the amount of public relations work spent on one company because the same material containing various seeds can be distributed to a wide range of companies, but it is sufficient for the receiving company. The content is not targeted to corporate needs. Therefore, even if a patent that is valuable to the company is listed in the technology seeds collection, the recipient of the receiving company may not be aware of the value, or the relevant developer within the company may not know the information. There is a risk that public relations will not function properly, such as not being delivered.

In addition, since the matching of seeds and needs is promoted by the coordinator, the above-mentioned low-risk and effective publicity can be realized, while the coordinator investigates the needs of individual companies for various companies and is suitable for them. It is necessary to extract patents and link corporate developers and researchers at research institutes based on the points of agreement in the technical field, which will take a large amount of time and effort for the investigation. There is a limit to acquiring more talented coordinators, and there is a problem in expanding the scope of public relations.

For this reason, it has been conventionally considered to efficiently select a matching company by using the published patent information. For example, the information processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 calculates an evaluation value for each class for each class by using attribute information of patent data belonging to each class in which a plurality of patent data are classified for each predetermined technical field. , Generate information for selecting a partner by using the information obtained from the distribution tendency of the evaluation value for each class for each company.

Republished Patent No. 2008/07544

The above-mentioned conventional information processing device is a partner that enhances the complementary relationship between companies by calculating the degree of technical complementation between the company and each other company based on the patent data owned by the company and multiple other companies. It is not suitable for the purpose of individually considering the utilization destination of patents held by patent non-executive organizations.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a patent utilization support device, a patent utilization support method, and a program capable of effectively utilizing patents in society.

The object of the present invention is a patent utilization support device that uses a patent information database in which a plurality of patent information is stored, and is an input unit in which identification information of a target patent to be utilized is input and an input identification. The classification information acquisition unit that searches the patent information database based on the information and acquires the patent classification information indicating the patent classification of the target patent, and the patent information database based on the acquired patent classification information, and is related to the target patent. Needs of target patents by ranking the holders or inventors based on the information of the document extraction unit that extracts multiple patent documents with high characteristics and the holders or inventors of the extracted patent documents. It is provided with a utilization information generation unit that generates utilization information for a holder or an inventor who has a high value, and an output unit that outputs the generated utilization information. The utilization information generation unit is a patent document extracted by the document extraction unit. The patent importance of the patent document is obtained from the information accompanying the above, and the matching index of the patent classification with the target patent is calculated using the technical relevance and the patent importance indicating the relevance of the patent classification information. Achieved by a patent utilization support device that ranks holders or inventors based on indicators .

In this patent utilization support device, a plurality of utilization destination candidates of the target patent may be further input to the input unit, and the document extraction unit is a patent document in which the input utilization destination candidate is the holder or the inventor. Patent documents can be extracted from the above.

The importance of the patent is preferably calculated based on the presence or absence of a co-owner of the patent, the presence or absence of rights acquisition, and the degree of deterioration over time.

It is preferable that the utilization information includes information on a technical field and an inventor having a high relevance to the target patent determined based on the matching index in the technical field and the matching index of the inventor. The utilization information may include information indicating a holder or an inventor who has a high need for the target patent for each of the plurality of target patents, or a plurality of target patents which have a high need for a specific holder or the inventor. Information indicating that may be included.

Further, the present invention is a patent utilization support method executed by a computer using a patent information database in which a plurality of patent information is stored, and is an input step in which identification information of the target patent to be utilized is input. , The patent information database is searched based on the input identification information, the classification information acquisition step for acquiring the patent classification information indicating the patent classification of the target patent, and the patent information database is searched based on the acquired patent classification information. By ranking the holders or inventors based on the document extraction step of extracting a plurality of patent documents highly related to the target patent and the information of the holders or inventors of the extracted patent documents. A utilization information generation step for generating utilization information for a holder or an inventor who has a high need for a target patent and an output step for outputting the generated utilization information are provided , and the utilization information generation step is performed by the document extraction step. The patent importance of the patent document is obtained from the information accompanying the extracted patent document, and the matching index of the patent classification with the target patent is obtained by using the technical relevance and the patent importance indicating the relevance of the patent classification information. It is achieved by a patent utilization support method that calculates and ranks holders or inventors based on the matching index .

Further, the present invention is achieved by a program for causing a computer to execute the above-mentioned patent utilization support method.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a patent utilization support device, a patent utilization support method and a program capable of socially effectively utilizing a patent.

It is a block diagram which shows the function of the patent utilization support apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the patent utilization support method. It is a figure which shows an example of utilization information. It is a figure which shows other example of utilization information. It is a figure which shows still another example of utilization information. It is a figure which shows still another example of utilization information. It is a figure which shows still another example of utilization information. It is a figure which shows still another example of utilization information. It is a figure which shows still another example of utilization information. It is a figure which shows still another example of utilization information.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a function of a patent utilization support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the patent utilization support device 1 includes an input unit 2, a classification information acquisition unit 3, a document extraction unit 4, a utilization information generation unit 5, and an output unit 6, and is composed of a computer such as a server. can do. The patent utilization support device 1 is connected to the patent information database 20 via a network 10 such as the Internet.

The input unit 2 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and inputs various information by the operation of the user. The classification information acquisition unit 3, the document extraction unit 4, and the utilization information generation unit 5 are executed by the CPU based on the programs and data stored in the memory. The output unit 6 includes a display, a printer, and the like, and displays and prints output information on the screen. The input unit 2 may input information received from a terminal 30 such as a smartphone or a PC connected via the network 10, and the output unit 6 may output information to the terminal 30.

The patent information database 20 is a database for storing patent information. The patent information includes a patent classification (index), a filing date, a holder (applicant or patentee), an inventor, associated with identification information (for example, a patent number, a publication number, etc.) that identifies a plurality of patents. It contains information such as the status of rights (whether or not the rights have been granted). The patent information database 20 can be created using information published by the JPO in Japan and other countries, and is up-to-date by adding patent information newly issued by the JPO through regular updates. It is preferable to maintain. The patent information database 20 may be a database of a private business operator or the like that provides a patent information providing service. The patent information database 20 may be provided in the external device of the patent utilization support device 1 as in the present embodiment, or may be provided inside the patent utilization support device 1.

Next, the operation of the patent utilization support device 1 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the patent utilization support method executed by the patent utilization support device 1. This procedure is executed by a program stored in the memory of the patent utilization support device 1.

First, the user inputs the identification information of the target patent that he / she wishes to utilize, such as an unused patent held by a patent non-execution organization, from the input unit 2, and also selects a plurality of potential utilization destination candidates. Input from the input unit 2 (step S1).

The target patent may be a patent that has been granted rights, or may be a pending patent for which examination has not been completed. As described above, the identification information may be input from the terminal 30 connected to the patent utilization support device 1 via the network 10. In addition, the candidate for utilization may be entered individually in the required number of company names and individual names suitable for utilization, or an external database for storing company information (for example, a company information database or). You may narrow down by company size, region, etc. using the database of qualified persons who have acquired bid participation qualifications such as the list of qualified persons with unified qualifications of all ministries and agencies, and extract an appropriate number of candidates for utilization.

The classification information acquisition unit 3 searches the patent information database 20 based on the identification information input from the input unit 2, and indicates the patent classification described in the patent document (for example, patent gazette, published gazette, etc.) of the target patent. Acquire information (step S2). The patent classification is an index given by the patent offices of each country as an indicator of the technical field of a patent and used in the examination and search of patents. As a specific patent classification, IPC, F-term, FI, theme code and the like can be exemplified, and only a part of the patent classification such as the upper hierarchy may be used as an index. When a plurality of patent classifications are granted to the target patent, the classification information acquisition unit 3 acquires all the patent classification information.

The document extraction unit 4 searches the patent information database 20 based on the utilization destination candidate information input from the input unit 2, and uses the holder (applicant, right holder) or the inventor as a search key to relate to the utilization destination candidate. Narrow down patent documents. Further, the document extraction unit 4 has a high relationship between the target patent and the technical field using the patent classification as a search key from a plurality of patent documents narrowed down based on the patent classification information acquired by the classification information acquisition unit 3. The patent document is extracted (step S3).

For example, when five patent classification information of A, B, C, D and E are set as the patent classification information of the target patent, the patent granted to the patent document in which the company a, which is one of the utilization destination candidates, is the owner. Extract patent documents whose classification is common to the patent classification information of the target patent. Examples of patent documents having a common patent classification include those in which the patent classification matches at least one of A to E (search formula: A + B + C + D + E), but the patent classification matches all of A to E (search formula: A + B + C + D + E). Search formula: A * B * C * D * E) may be used. Further, if the patent classifications are described in an order in which the relevance to the target patent is taken into consideration, this relevance may be taken into consideration. For example, when the patent classification A is the first IPC, the first FI, or the like most suitable for the technical field, patent documents containing at least A in the patent classification can be extracted (search formula: A, search formula: A *). B, search formula: A * (B + C + D + E), etc.).

The utilization information generation unit 5 ranks the holders or inventors based on the information of the holders or inventors of a plurality of extracted patent documents, so that the holders or inventors who have high needs for the target patents can do so. Utilization information including information is generated (step S4). More specifically, the utilization information generation unit 5 has a technical relevance degree indicating the relevance degree of the patent classification information and a patent importance indicating the importance of the patent for each holder or the inventor of the extracted patent document. The matching index with the target patent is calculated using the degree, and the holder or the inventor is ranked based on the matching index.

The degree of technical relevance can be calculated after weighting the description order when a plurality of patent classifications of the target patents are shown in descending order of relevance in the technical field. For example, when the number of patent classifications described is N, all the weights of the first to Nth patent classifications are set to 1,1 / √2, 1 / √3, ..., 1 / √N. When standardized so that the total weight is 1.0, the weight j of the patent classification described in the jth position is obtained by the following formula 1.

The degree of technical relevance between the extracted patent document (extracted document) and the target patent determines whether or not the patent classification of the extracted document matches the patent classification of the target patent, and the matching patent classification is weighted as described above. Therefore, it can be calculated. That is, for the extracted document _ik having mk patent classifications _jk (jk = 1, ..., Mk), the technical relevance degree _ik between the target patent and the extracted document _ik can be obtained by the following mathematical formula 2. In Equation 2, the degree of agreement _ik is set to 1 when the patent classifications of the target patent and the extracted document _ik match, and 0 when the patent classifications do not match.

As an example, if four patent classifications of the extracted document are described and the patent classification with the third description order matches the patent classification of the target patent, the weight of the patent classification is 0.21 and the degree of matching is 1. Therefore, the degree of technical relevance is 0.21 (= 0.21 × 1). Further, if two patent classifications of the extracted documents are described and both of them match the patent classification of the target patent, the weight and the degree of matching of the patent classifications are both 1, so the degree of technical relevance is 1 (= 1). × 1).

As for the weight of the patent classification, the weight of the first patent classification, which has high suitability in the technical field such as the first IPC and the first FI, is increased, and the weight of the second and subsequent patent classifications is reduced to the same weight. It may be set. Further, when the description order of the patent classifications is irrelevant to the suitability in the technical field, the weighting may not be performed with each patent classification as the same weight.

Further, the patent importance of the extracted document _ik is calculated by the following mathematical formula 3. In the formula 3, the company involvement index _ik can be obtained from the description order of the holders when there are a plurality of holders of the extracted document _ik . For example, the extracted document is weighted in the same manner as in the above formula 1. Calculated as the weight of involvement in _ik . The right-granting index _ik can be obtained from the examination progress information of the extracted document _ik , for example, 1.0 in the case of pre-examination or patent decision, 0.5 in the case of withdrawal or abandonment, and a request for appeal against the decision of refusal. The case of not doing so is 0.8, and the case of requesting an appeal against the decision of refusal is 1.0. The aging deterioration index _ik can be obtained from the filing date of the extracted document _ik . For example, if the number of years elapsed from the filing date is y, it can be y ^ (-0.5) (20 years have passed since the filing). Sometimes about 0.22).

As an example, if the extracted document is a single application (company involvement index 1.0), a patent decision (rights acquisition index 1.0), and an application 5 years ago (aging deterioration index 0.4), The patent importance is 0.4 (= 1.0 × 1.0 × 0.4).

The matching index of the patent classification between the target patent and the extracted document _ik can be obtained as the product of the technical relevance degree _ik and the patent importance _ik . In this way, the matching index of the company a with respect to the target patent is calculated by obtaining the sum of the matching indexes of the patent classification for all the patent documents extracted as the patents of the company a. That is, the matching index of the holder from which N patent documents are extracted can be obtained by the following formula 4.

After obtaining the matching index of the holders for all the holders who are candidates for utilization, the holders who have high needs for the target patents are determined by ranking them. The utilization information generation unit 5 generates utilization information for this holder. The holder to whom the utilization information is presented may be only the holder having the highest matching index, or may be a plurality of holders having the highest matching index.

The above-mentioned method for calculating the matching index of the holder can also be used for calculating the matching index of the technical field and the matching index of the inventor, whereby the technical field and the inventor having a high relevance to the target patent can be selected. It can be decided and this information can be included in the utilization information.

The matching index in the technical field is n patents _ik (ik = 1, ..., N) of the holder for each of the mr patent classifications _jr (jr = 1, ..., mr) of the target patent. It is the sum of the matching indexes obtained from the patent importance, weight, and matching degree in. That is, the matching index in the technical field corresponding to the patent classification _jr of the target patent can be expressed by the following formula 5 with the weight of the patent classification _jk of the patent _ik matching the patent classification _jr as the weight _ik of the patent classification _jk . can. By using this formula 5 to rank the matching indicators in the technical fields for all patent classifications, it is possible to determine one or a plurality of higher technical fields that are highly relevant to the target patent. In Equation 5, the degree of agreement _ik of the patent classification _{jr_jk} is a matrix representing 1 agreement and 0 mismatch between the target patent and the owner's patent.

As an example, when the patent classification A included in the target patent matches the third of the four patent classifications described in the extracted document, the weight of the patent classification A is the above formulas 1 to 0.21. Assuming that the patent importance of this extracted patent is 0.4 from the above formula 3, the matching index in the technical field for this extracted patent is 0.084 (= 0.21 × 0.4). By adding up the matching indexes in this technical field for all of the extracted patents, the matching index in the technical field corresponding to the patent classification A can be calculated. In this way, for all the patent classifications A to E included in the target patent, the matching index of the corresponding technical field is calculated and prioritized, so that one or more patent classifications with high priority can be dealt with. Can determine the technical field.

In addition, the match index of the inventor is patented by the inventor who matches the inventor _jdL (jdL = 1, ..., MdL) in the inventor list listing all the inventors belonging to the company that is the owner. If it exists in _ik (ik = 1, ..., N), the weight _ik in the patent _ik of the inventor _jd is set as the weight _ik (jd = 1, ..., Md) of the inventor _jd and is described below. It can be expressed by Equation 6. By ranking the match index of the inventors for all the inventors using this formula 6, one or a plurality of top inventors with high relevance to the target patent can be determined. In Equation 6, the degree of agreement _ik of the inventor _{jdL_jd} is a matrix representing the coincidence 1 and the inconsistency 0 between the inventor _jdL in the inventor list and the inventor _jd in the patent _ik .

As an example, if the inventor A included in the inventor list matches the second of the three inventors described in the extracted document, the weight of the inventor A is the above formulas 1 to 0.31. .. Assuming that the degree of technical relevance and the degree of patent importance of this extracted patent are 0.21 and 0.4 from the above formulas 2 and 3, respectively, the inventor's matching index for this extracted patent is 0.026 ( = 0.31 × 0.21 × 0.4). By adding up the matching index of the inventor for all of the extracted patents, the matching index of the inventor A can be calculated. In this way, for all the inventors included in the inventor list, by calculating the match index of the inventors and prioritizing them, one or a plurality of inventors with high priority can be determined.

The output unit 6 outputs the generated utilization information from the output unit 6 (step S5). In this way, the user can browse the utilization information shown on the screen, the print medium, or the like. As described above, the utilization information may be output to the terminal 30 connected to the patent utilization support device 1 via the network 10.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the output utilization information. The utilization information shown in FIG. 3 is created for the representative of the company, etc., which is the holder with the highest matching index of the holder, and relates to the contents such as the publication number of the target patent, the name of the invention, and the abstract. Information is displayed. Furthermore, the utilization information shown in FIG. 3 is based on the matching index of the technical field calculated for the holder and the matching index of the inventor, and the "technical field matching your company" and the "related developer of your company" Up to two with high priority are displayed respectively. In the utilization information, as reference information, the extracted patents that are highly related to the target patent are displayed as "related patent application of your company".

As a result, the representative of the company can specifically grasp the technical field of the company that may be able to utilize the presented target patent, and can consider the necessity of transfer, license, etc. In addition, since the developers who are highly related to the target patent are shown, it is possible to encourage the inventor to understand the target patent and examine the necessity, and it is possible to increase the possibility of transfer or license. As a result, the utilization information can be used to effectively utilize the target patent in society.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of the output utilization information. The utilization information shown in FIG. 4 is created for corporate developers. This utilization information is generated for the inventor who has a high need for the target patent by ranking the inventors instead of ranking the holders, and in the above-mentioned patent utilization support method, the utilization information is generated. By replacing the holder with the inventor, it can be created by the same procedure as above. This makes it possible to pinpoint the inventor who is likely to be interested in the target patent and efficiently present the patent information. The utilization information shown in FIG. 4 uses the matching index of the inventor belonging to the holder after determining the holder having the highest matching index by ranking the holders using the matching index of the holder. By ranking the inventors, the inventor having the highest matching index may be determined and the information may be presented to the inventor.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing still another example of the output utilization information. The utilization information shown in FIG. 5 is a list of holders (companies) with high relevance to each of a plurality of target patents, together with technical fields and inventors with high relevance. The utilization information shown in FIG. 6 is the utilization information shown in FIG. 5, in which the inventor with high relevance is also described in the column of the company having high relevance to each target patent.

The utilization information shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is effective as a material for the industry-academia collaboration department of the research institution to examine the public relations strategy for multiple target patents, and publicizes the information from the one with the highest matching index of the holder or the inventor. By carrying out activities, the possibility of mismatch can be reduced and efficient public relations can be carried out.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing still another example of the output utilization information. The utilization information shown in FIG. 7 shows the top plurality of holders (companies) having a high matching index of the holders with respect to the target patent together with the matching index of the holders and the inventor having a high relevance. .. As for the utilization information shown in FIG. 7, the inventor with high relevance can also be described in the column of the company with high relevance to obtain the utilization information as shown in FIG. The utilization information shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is effective as, for example, a material for the inventor of a research institution to consider a public relations strategy by himself / herself.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing still another example of the output utilization information. The utilization information shown in FIG. 9 shows a plurality of target patents having a higher matching index of the holder as recommended patents for a specific holder (company). FIG. 10 is a diagram showing still another example of the output utilization information. The utilization information shown in FIG. 10 is created for a corporate developer who is a specific inventor, and displays a plurality of target patents having a higher matching index of the inventor as recommended patents.

The utilization information shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is effective not only for studying public relations strategies for specific companies and specific developers, but also as materials to be provided to visitors to the contact points of research institutes.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the specific embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the patent utilization support device 1 of the present embodiment is configured to input a plurality of utilization destination candidates of the target patent from the input unit 2, but the patent utilization support device 1 automatically inputs a plurality of utilization destination candidates. It can also be configured to create. For example, for all the patents stored in the patent information database 20, patent documents having the same patent classification as the target patent to be utilized are extracted, and the weighting of each patent as the holder is taken into consideration. By ranking, it is possible to make the top multiple holders candidates for utilization. For the extraction of patent documents, for example, the search formula described in paragraph [0025] can be used. In addition, after narrowing down the ranked holders using the above-mentioned external database or the like, a plurality of utilization destination candidates may be determined. The number of candidates for utilization is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately determined according to the processing speed of the patent utilization support device 1. If the processing speed is sufficient, the above-mentioned patent utilization is targeted at all holders. You can also implement support methods.

1 Patent utilization support device 2 Input unit 3 Classification information acquisition unit 4 Document extraction unit 5 Utilization information generation unit 6 Output unit 20 Patent information database

Claims (8)

It is a patent utilization support device that uses a patent information database that stores multiple patent information.
An input section where the identification information of the target patent to be used is input,
A classification information acquisition unit that searches the patent information database based on the input identification information and acquires patent classification information indicating the patent classification of the target patent.
A document extraction unit that searches the patent information database based on the acquired patent classification information and extracts a plurality of patent documents that are highly relevant to the target patent.
Utilization information that generates utilization information for holders or inventors who have high needs for the target patent by ranking the owners or inventors based on the information of the holders or inventors of a plurality of extracted patent documents. The generator and
Equipped with an output unit that outputs the generated utilization information
The utilization information generation unit acquires the patent importance of the patent document from the information accompanying the patent document extracted by the document extraction unit, and determines the technical relevance and the patent importance indicating the relevance of the patent classification information. A patent utilization support device that calculates a match index of a patent classification with a target patent and ranks the holder or the inventor based on the match index . In the input unit, a plurality of potential utilization destination candidates of the target patent are further input, and the input unit is further input.
The patent utilization support device according to claim 1, wherein the document extraction unit extracts a patent document from a patent document in which the input candidate for utilization is the owner or the inventor. The patent utilization support device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the patent importance is calculated based on the presence / absence of a co-owner of the patent, the presence / absence of acquisition of rights, and the degree of deterioration over time. The utilization information according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the utilization information includes information on a technical field and an inventor having a high relevance to the target patent determined based on the matching index of the technical field and the matching index of the inventor. Patent utilization support device. The patent utilization support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the utilization information includes information indicating a holder or an inventor who has a high need for the target patent for each of a plurality of target patents. The patent utilization support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the utilization information includes information indicating a plurality of target patents with high needs for a specific holder or an inventor. It is a patent utilization support method executed by a computer using a patent information database in which a plurality of patent information is stored.
An input step in which the identification information of the target patent to be utilized is input,
A classification information acquisition step of searching the patent information database based on the input identification information and acquiring patent classification information indicating the patent classification of the target patent, and
A document extraction step of searching the patent information database based on the acquired patent classification information and extracting a plurality of patent documents highly related to the target patent, and a document extraction step.
Utilization information that generates utilization information for holders or inventors who have high needs for the target patent by ranking the owners or inventors based on the information of the holders or inventors of a plurality of extracted patent documents. Generation step and
Equipped with an output step to output the generated utilization information
In the utilization information generation step, the patent importance of the patent document is acquired from the information accompanying the patent document extracted by the document extraction step, and the technical relevance and the patent importance indicating the relevance of the patent classification information are obtained. A patent utilization support method in which a matching index of a patent classification with a target patent is calculated using the matching index, and the holder or the inventor is ranked based on the matching index . A program for causing a computer to execute the patent utilization support method according to claim 7 .

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