The patent specialisation index

New patent insight report: propulsion systems for space 

The EPO recently published another inspiring patent insight report on propulsion systems for space. It includes an analysis on the specialisation of applicant countries. This is also used in OECD reports, where it is called "revealed technology advantage", and compares the distribution of a country's patents across various technologies and sub-technologies with the distribution within all countries. 

Figure 1 shows the specialisation index for chemical propulsion systems for space for those applicant countries with the most patent families in this field. A specialisation index value of 1.0 means that the representation of this technology in the country's portfolio is the same as for all countries (the white fields); greater than 1.0 means that more patents are filed (the green fields); less than 1.0 means that fewer patents are filed in this area compared to all countries (the orange fields).  

Fig. 1: Specialisation index for chemical propulsion systems for space for selected applicant countries 

The chart shows that a technological advantage is held by US applicants in monopropellants, by French applicants in cryogenic propulsion and by Japanese applicants in solid propulsion. 

Figure 2 shows the overall distribution of the number of patent families over the various subtechnologies. This reveals that liquid propellants (1-1) have received more patent applications than solid propellants (1-2).  

Fig. 2: Technology map for chemical propulsion systems for space for selected applicant countries 

Taken together, the two graphs show the importance of the technical category or sub-technology and the relative advantage or weakness of the countries analysed.  

The specialisation calculation over-emphasises effects for areas with fewer filings, i.e. those from countries which register fewer patents or relate to lesser used concepts typically have a more pronounced deviation from the average distribution. 

The concept can also be used to analyse the competitive landscape between companies or patent agents and help patent portfolio managers identify a company's strengths and weaknesses compared with its competitors. 

Find more information and analyses on all technology fields in the Propulsion systems for space patent insight report. 

Keywords: Patent insight reports, propulsion, space, specialisation index