IP Review Summer 2018

8 Master vs Improvement To understand what forward citations are, and how they can be used, it is first important to fully understand the concept of Master Patents and Improvement Patents. A patent gives you the right to stop others doing what the patent covers. For this reason, patents are often described as ‘negative rights’. Anyone else who is doing what the patent covers is infringing, and you have the right to stop them. The scope of a patent is a bit like territory within a new piece of land. Figures 1a and 1b give a couple of examples. The power of forward citations Patents can teach you about the inventions they describe. However, patent metrics can tell you a lot more. One powerful patent metric is forward citations. Forward citations can allow you to gauge the potential value of your patent portfolio, and give you insight on new competitors. Patents IP review summer 2018 Figure 1a Figure 1b Patent 1 Patent 2 Master Patent Improvement Patent The Market The Market