An empirical study on classification of patent life patterns

With the theoretical framework of patent information life cycle,this research studies the relationship between patents' life patterns and technological development stages of the relevant field,using life status in patent information life cycle as the research dimension. Data of patents issued in the field of wireless charging are retrieved from the United States Patent and Trademark Office Library. Citation information about these patents is also collected. By analyzing the temporal citation count data of patent information,the patents' life patterns using the RSD/P classification method are classified. This study found that the emergence of different life patterns of patent information has strong connection with the technological stage in which the patent information is located,and sleeping beauty patents have high hidden values. In the stage of technological development,attention should be paid to the identification of non-stationary patents. Rapid identification of high-value patents,i. e.,patents with certain life pattern,is instrumental to accelerate the development of technologies. This study provides a viable approach for identifying high-value patents of emerging technologies through empirical research.