What is the patent authorization rate？
Patent authorization rate is an indicator that some writers or intermediaries publicize to customers, and it is also an intangible standard that some customers use to measure the level of patent staff in patent offices or service agencies. Once it is said that the authorization rate of a patent is very high, customers tend to give priority to them.
In addition, when there are many descriptions of the difficulty of patent authorization, some organizations or service providers often say that the patent authorization rate is very low recently, which gives people the feeling of less patents and difficult authorization. But what is the patent authorization rate? Many people can't fully understand, even regard the completion rate of patent examination published by the patent administration department as the patent authorization rate, and make a joke that the invention patent authorization rate is only 10%.
In fact, the patent authorization rate is a vague but deceptive index. In many cases, it does not reflect the true level of patent agents or service agencies and has no reference value. The reasons are as follows:
1. The calculation of patent authorization rate cannot provide standard formula, and the calculation base is uncertain:
How to calculate the patent authorization rate? In many cases, it is a percentage obtained by dividing the number of patent authorizations and the number of patent applications. There are at least two problems involved here: one is that patents have a time gap between application and authorization. Patents applied one year ago may have just been authorized, but many patents applied in the past one year are not disclosed. In addition to some patents (such as inventions) disclosed online, utility models and appearance are not authorized, which makes the calculation base impossible to count, even though Only the invention patents are counted, and there is no equivalence between the time period of disclosure and the number of authorizations. The number of authorized patents is often the number of patents invested several years ago, but the number of standards to be calculated is published for several months. Although the licensing time of utility models is short, the number of applications is unknown and cannot be queried
2. Can high or low authorization rate reflect the level of patent service
Many people believe that the patent authorization rate is high, and the patent service level must be relatively high; on the contrary, technology is certainly not good. In fact, this understanding is quite one-sided. As mentioned above, the calculation method and standard of patent authorization rate are uncertain. Even if we use the calculation of how many customers have applied for and then authorize, we can't measure the level of patent service.
It's easy to understand. For example, XX company has just applied for one or two invention patents, and the results are all authorized, with the authorization rate of 100%. Another company has applied for more than 30 invention patents and granted 15 patents, with a licensing rate of only 50%. Can you talk about patent service level from the perspective of patent authorization rate? In fact, the sample size is too small to be comparable.
In addition, patents, especially invention patents, are often materials provided by customers and searched and processed by firms. They involve a number of services, not only the level of patents and the quality of personnel can be measured through the authorization rate. Of course, there are also practitioners who encourage package design and package authorization services, and take how many certificates they have obtained in the past and how many authorizations they have advocated as capital. This kind of saying is very confusing. Why? See the breakdown below.
3. Logic and thinking behind patent package authorization
Recently, there are many services authorized by patent package. Whether it's invention patents or utility model patents, many service providers have put forward relevant services. This kind of service is very convenient for customers. Anyone who wants to pay will get a ticket.
However, there are always great uncertainties in patent examination. Many technical problems or examination methods are also advancing with the times, that is, human factors still exist. Therefore, writing in the past easy to authorize way or field, especially when designing, may be included in another review mode in a few years, which is the uncertainty risk of patent review.
In addition, patent package licensing, many institutions often use the way of applying for multiple pieces, which may increase the probability of licensing, but will increase the cost of the firm. Therefore, when considering the way of package authorization, it is necessary to consider the cost. If the cost is too low, for patent designers or service organizations, the cost may not be enough, and people have no profit, what do you think the result will be? The risk has increased significantly.
Since the patent authorization rate is not easy to calculate, there is a cardinal number problem, and there is uncertainty risk in package authorization, how to measure the service quality of patent practitioners or obtain a high probability of patent authorization? According to Xiaobian, we can at least start from the following aspects:
1. Service level of patent practitioners, especially technical level:
Some customers often contact only the salesperson of the service organization, they often use the format propaganda method, which is easy to confuse some people who do not understand. At this time, the customer needs to ask more professional questions, get some information from the operator's mouth, even from the operation mode behind it, even from the design ideas of the technical personnel, and then compare with each other for selection.
In addition, it is necessary to combine the information provided by the other party and investigate the stability of its personnel, especially the past situation of its company, so that it is easier to choose. Obviously, the credibility of a company that has been in existence for many years is often greater than that of a newly established company; the old qualified salesperson and the salesperson with good technical service attitude are also more likely to give people a sense of trust, which is not a simple indicator of patent authorization rate.
2. Acquaintance recommendation or introduction mode
If someone comes to recommend it, it is often easier to enhance the understanding of the service level of the service organization. General direct customers are not easy to access, after all, demand patents are often relatively single. However, if it is a service organization with joint and several relationships, it is still necessary to understand and analyze more, especially to meet the introduction of acquaintances
Although the index of patent authorization rate varies a lot, it can be roughly referred to from the years of patent practice, the number of applications and rejection. In addition, in the case of recommendation by acquaintances, it is necessary to investigate the understanding of the quality of the other party's personnel and the ability to grasp the technology. When necessary, it also involves the staffing at the company level, especially in some small companies, the employer's way of working and the background of working, which also has a very important reference significance.
For example, whether the other party is from technical background or business background, there is a big difference between them, especially in the treatment of follow-up services, the professional and service methods are different, and the effect is different. At the level of patent licensing, technology is often important for services, but fundamentally, there are uncertain factors for follow-up services.
This is especially related to the stability of personnel. After all, two years is necessary for an invention patent from application to authorization or rejection. Once there is an examination opinion in the middle, if the personnel changes too much, it may die in the middle. At this time, the boss of the company, if you can know, can save a lot of things. There are many misunderstandings, which happen when the salesman or technician leaves. This is also a question worth considering.
Patent industry, in essence, is still a service industry. Service industry is to serve people. At this time, if it is too false, it often loses more than it gains. In addition, using some indicators to measure, sometimes it will fail, especially using some specious measures, which is more misleading. Only in this article, do a brief introduction, hope to have some understanding of the patent licensing rate, but also for you to choose the right cooperation service agencies and partners, to provide a little reference.
