Building an IP strategy

Patent tracking

Some companies use their patent counsel to keep them abreast of developments, and others subscribe to patent-watch services, which are typically Web-based these days. Additive fabrication is a difficult field to track, however. First, there is the never-ending debate over, and the continual creeping proliferation of, new terminology [13]. Not only do people not know what to call the field, but some patent applicants and lawyers take advantage of the situation to hide things. In fairness, some foreign applicants especially those from Asia, may not be doing so intentionally, but the net effect is the same.

Second, while additive technologies are typically based on disparate physics and chemistry principles, most patents are written to encompass as much territory as possible. That means that the claims of one technology can overlap those of another. It is not possible to precisely place the majority of additive fabrication patents in discrete categories - all those for stereolithography, say, into one group and all those for selective laser sintering into another. If it's important to track one technology, then it's also necessary to track others.

Third, since most of the technologies heavily overlap in their applications, it's necessary to track all those that address the markets of interest. Three dimensional printing is quite different in principle from fused deposition modeling, for example, but both technologies are used for many of the same applications. Several additional technologies address those markets, as well, and as a consequence it's also necessary to track developments in them.

Fourth, additive fabrication capabilities have become well-known enough to become part of the lexicon of patent attorneys. Numerous patents that mention stereolithography or other additive technologies won't have any impact on the technical or market development of the field whatsoever. The terms are thrown in to round out the generality of work in other fields and therefore should be ignored. It's not always obvious which patents can be ignored, however.

Effective patent tracking in additive fabrication can best be accomplished by individuals with broad knowledge of the field, and who also possess wide basic technical knowledge. In addition, such individuals need to be vigorously diligent and use a wide array of search terms. As an example, updates of the Additive Fabrication Spy Newsletter™ are researched using nearly two hundred keywords and terms - and it's still possible to miss things. If a development is missed and subsequently uncovered, search terms should be added and the historical data re-checked to make sure there are no gaps.

As a consequence of the convoluted nature of its technology and terminology, additive fabrication likely requires much more effort in patent tracking than is required for most other fields. It may not be an enjoyable task, but shirking it can unexpectedly place your business at risk.

Alert system