A Patent Landscape Analysis (PLA) helps organizations position R&D for growth by identifying opportunities, competitors, emerging technology clusters, and high-potential markets. By mapping filing trends and technology spaces, a PLA provides valuable intelligence to guide investment, reduce risk, and align innovation strategy with future demand.
Research and development (R&D) is usually the key engine of growth for small and mid-sized innovative enterprises (SMEs). Often, the SME has one or more niche products out in the market, with others in the pipeline. However, poor strategic planning of future R&D activities – or worse, none at all – often leads to the demise of SMEs. This can be mitigated, if not avoided, by the use of a valuable, but underused tool: the Patent Landscape Analysis.
A PLA will outline:
Where growth opportunities lie — including whitespace areas with lower patent activity.
Who the competitors are — and how they are protecting their innovations.
Which jurisdictions matter most — by showing which countries have high R&D activity and high market potential.
How technologies are evolving — through emerging clusters and sub-clusters in a given sector.
Take for example, the Autonomous Vehicle (AV) sector. A PLA provides a patent filing timeline, which shows a 200% increase in patent filings since between 2009-2015, spurred by issues of safety, climate change and use of public cars.
Global investments—both private and public—continue to accelerate, with autonomous systems increasingly integrated into smart city planning, electrification, and AI-driven mobility solutions with a projected worldwide $87 billion AV market by 2030. The increase in demand for self-driving cars will provide for new revenue streams.
Not surprisingly, car manufacturers are the top patent filers. A PLA in this field shows:
This competitive intelligence gives companies visibility into who is shaping the future of mobility, where collaborations or licensing opportunities might exist, and which areas are saturated versus open for innovation.
A PLA doesn’t just show who is filing; it breaks filings down into technology clusters to reveal how the field is evolving. It also provides a breakdown of the technology clusters that make up the AV sector. For example, the five main clusters are cruise control technology, safety mechanisms, range systems/sensors, navigation systems and connected vehicles.
In the field of sensors, Google alone has developed proprietary technology for a rotating roof-top camera that uses laser technology; a camera at the front of the vehicle to detect cars, pedestrians, traffic lights and road signs; radar attached to the rear bumper to detect cars approaching from the rear; ultrasonic sensors at the rear wheels to monitor movement; and internal sensors to establish accurate positioning.
Each cluster, in turn, is made up of sub-clusters, which can be further explored to find areas of R&D potential. In addition, the PLA provides a trend analysis as to the growth (or decline) of R&D in a particular technology cluster or sub-cluster. Such a landscape provides valuable information for companies looking to chart a course of R&D in growth markets.
Patent Landscape Analyses give organizations the intelligence to chart their R&D with confidence. By combining filing trends, technology clusters, and competitor insights, a PLA helps you see where the market is heading—and how you can position your innovation to capture future growth.
Stratford Intellectual Property can help you transform data into strategy. Connect with our team to explore how a PLA can uncover new opportunities for your R&D.
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