IP benchmarking MEMS industries1. Patent Portfolio Benchmarking
for Top 20 MEMS companies
Flash Report
August 2013
Patent & Scientific Information
2405 route des Dolines
06902 Sophia Antipolis, France
www.knowmade.com
2. Table of Contents
The Author
3
Objectives and Methodology
4
Parameter Definition
5
Patent Portfolio Comparison
7
Patent Activity Index / Patent Quality Index for Top 20 MEMS firms
8
Patent Strength Index / 2012 MEMS Revenues for Top 20 MEMS firms
9
Bullet Point Summary
10
2
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Patent Portfolio Benchmarking
for Top 20 MEMS companies - August 2013
3. The Author
KnowMade is specialized in analysis of patents and scientific information. We provide patent search, IP landscape, patent
valuation, IP due diligence, scientific literature landscape, identification of technologies available for transfer/licensing/sale,
alerts and updates. Our service offer consists of custom studies, analysis reports, on-demand tracking and strategy consulting.
Knowmade combines information search services, scientific expertise, powerful analytics and visualization tools, and
proprietary methodologies for analyzing patents and scientific information. With a solid focus on Microelectronics,
Nanotechnology and Biotechnology, KnowMade supports research laboratories, industrial companies and investors in their
business development.
Disclaimer: Knowmade is a research firm that provides technical analysis and technical opinions. Knowmade is not a law firm.
The research, technical analysis and/or work proposed or provided by Knowmade and contained herein is not a legal opinion
and should not be construed as such.
Patent & Scientific Information
2405 route des Dolines
06902 Sophia Antipolis, France
www.knowmade.com
3
Copyrights © KnowMade SARL. All rights reserved.
Patent Portfolio Benchmarking
for Top 20 MEMS companies - August 2013
4. Objectives and Methodology
Scope of the report:
This flash report provides a benchmarking of patent performance of top 20 MEMS companies.
Methodology:
• The top 20 MEMS companies were selected from the Yole Développement’s annual ranking - April 2013 based on 2012
MEMS revenues.
• The Patent Activity Index, the Patent Quality Index and the Patent Strength Index were determined for each selected MEMS
company. These three parameters are based on four criteria: Number of patent families, Average size of patent families, Share
of granted patents and Citation ratio.
• The data were extracted from the FamPat worldwide database (Questel-ORBIT) which provides 60+ million patent
documents from 92 worldwide patent offices.
• A keyword based patent search was performed in title, abstract and claims: MEMS, Micro-electro-mechanical,
Microelectromechanical.
• Searches were performed on August 22, 2013 hence patents published after this date will not be available in the report.
• The term 'Patent' has been used as a collective term for Patents and Published Applications.
• According to FamPat’s family rules (variation of EPO strict family), a Patent Family comprises patents linked by exactly same
priority numbers (strict family), plus comparison of priority and application numbers, specific rules by country and
information gathered from other sources (national files, legal status …).
• For legal status of EP/WO patents, EPO Register Plus has been used. For legal status of US patents, USPTO PAIR has been
used. For legal status of other patents, information have been gotten from their respective national registers.
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Patent Portfolio Benchmarking
for Top 20 MEMS companies - August 2013
5. Parameter Definition (1/2)
Number of Patent Families :
It represents the total number of patent families currently owned by a company. Despite quality considerations, it is still reasonable to assume that
the number of patent families positively affects firm performance. Large patent portfolios not only indicate stronger efforts in R&D activities and
therefore a higher innovative output. Large patent portfolios are also strategically useful, for example, to block competitors (Blind et al. 2006).
Additionally, larger patent portfolios increase the chance for licensing agreements or trade with other firms and can also be used to prevent smaller
potential competitors from entering relevant markets. Furthermore, patent output can be seen as a positive signal to the market (Neuhäusler et al.
2011). It is an indicator of the patent activity of a company.
Mean Size of Patent Families :
It represents the average number of countries in which protection is sought for the same invention. Given the costs required to file and enforce
patents in many countries, only those with sufficient expected value to their owners will be extended abroad, denoting an expected market for the
patented technology (N. van Zeebroeck 2009). It is an indicator of the patent activity of a company.
Share of Granted Patents :
A patent will only be granted if the technological invention consists of new technological elements. A granted patent can be seen as more valuable
than a non-granted patent as it has met the criteria of novelty, technological height and commercial applicability. Therefore, a granted patent is
believed to be of higher technological capacity than the mere patent application (Basberg, 1987). A larger share of granted patent leads to an
increase in market value and profit of firms. Here, the share of granted patents is measured as the number of patent families containing at least one
granted patent. The share of granted patent is an indicator of the patent quality of a company.
Citation Ratio :
The number of citations received by a patent in subsequent patent documents can be viewed as a sign for an economically important invention
(Albert et al. 1991; Narin et al. 1987). A larger average number of forward citations per patent has a positive effect on firm performance in terms of
market value and ROI (Neuhäusler et al. 2011). Here, we take the citation ratio which measures the number of patent citations over the number of
patent families. It reflects the mean number of citations received by the patent family. The citation ratio is an indicator of the patent quality of a
company.
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Copyrights © KnowMade SARL. All rights reserved.
Patent Portfolio Benchmarking
for Top 20 MEMS companies - August 2013
6. Parameter Definition (2/2)
number of patent families
Patent Activity Index
=
Patent Quality Index
=
Patent Strength Index
= Patent Activity Index +
mean number of patent families over all 20 companies
share of granted patents
mean share of granted patents over all 20 companies
+
+
mean size of patent families
mean size of patent families over all 20 companies
citation ratio
citation ratio over all 20 companies
Patent Quality Index
Degree of Specialization
The specialization degree of a company represents the percentage of patents filed in a specific field over the whole patent portfolio of the company.
It is an indicator of the patenting activity on a specific field.
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Patent Portfolio Benchmarking
for Top 20 MEMS companies - August 2013
7. Patent Portfolio Comparison
Assignee
Number of
Average size of
Share of
Citation-Ratio
Patent Families Patent Families Granted Patents
Patent
Quality
Index
Patent
Activity
Index
Patent
Degree of
Strength Specialization
Index
in MEMS
2012 MEMS
Revenues*
(US$ M)
STMICROELECTRONICS
219
3.9
39%
3.2
1.2
-0.1
1.1
low
1000
ROBERT BOSCH
206
4.1
28%
3.4
1.2
-0.4
0.7
low
842
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
181
2.8
50%
8.3
0.5
1.3
1.8
low
825
HEWLETT PACKARD
209
4.4
41%
6.5
1.3
0.6
1.9
low
645
KNOWLES ELECTRONICS
40
6.1
15%
6.9
0.2
-0.1
0.1
medium
440
PANASONIC
232
3.4
37%
2.1
1.2
-0.4
0.8
low
386
DENSO
31
1.7
46%
3.4
-1.2
0.1
-1.1
low
356
CANON
40
4.2
40%
7.1
-0.4
0.7
0.4
low
279
AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES
52
2.7
42%
6.9
-0.7
0.8
0.1
low
276
FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR
131
3.8
36%
9.4
0.4
1.1
1.5
low
268
ANALOG DEVICES
208
3.9
36%
7.0
1.1
0.6
1.7
medium
266
0
0.0
0%
0.0
-2.0
-2.0
-4.0
low
249
SEIKO EPSON
163
2.2
40%
2.2
0.2
-0.3
-0.1
low
247
INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES
66
2.3
37%
2.5
-0.7
-0.3
-1.0
low
187
INVENSENSE
36
2.6
35%
9.4
-0.9
1.1
0.2
high
187
MURATA
36
4.4
19%
2.3
-0.3
-0.9
-1.3
low
179
SENSATA
3
2.0
33%
2.7
-1.4
-0.4
-1.8
low
178
HONEYWELL
301
6.2
29%
4.8
2.6
-0.1
2.6
low
161
GE SENSING
1
1.0
0%
0.0
-1.7
-2.0
-3.7
low
152
TRIQUINT
4
1.3
20%
1.0
-1.6
-1.2
-2.8
low
130
AKM (Asahi Kasei Microdevices)
* Yole Développement’s annual ranking - April 2013
7
Copyrights © KnowMade SARL. All rights reserved.
Patent Portfolio Benchmarking
for Top 20 MEMS companies - August 2013
8. Patent Activity Index / Patent Quality Index for Top 20 MEMS firms
Patent Quality Index
High quality index over the average of all 20 companies
High activity index over the average of all 20 companies
High quality index over the average of all 20 companies
Low activity index over the average of all 20 companies
Texas Instruments
Invensense
Canon
Freescale
Hewlett Packard
Avago Technologies
Denso
KnowMade© August 2013
Average of over
all 20 companies
Analog Devices
Knowles Electronics
STMicroelectronics
Infineon
Sensata
Triquint
AKM
Seiko Epson
Bosch
Honeywell
Panasonic
Murata
GE Sensing
Low quality index over the average of all 20 companies
High activity index over the average of all 20 companies
Low quality index over the average of all 20 companies
Low activity index over the average of all 20 companies
Patent Activity Index
Degree of specialization in MEMS:
8
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High
Medium
Low
Patent Portfolio Benchmarking
for Top 20 MEMS companies - August 2013
9. Patent Strength Index / 2012 MEMS Revenues for Top 20 MEMS firms
2012 MEMS Revenues*
(US$ M)
STMicroelectronics
1000
Degree of specialization in MEMS:
High
Bosch
Medium
Low
Texas Instruments
A positive Patent
Strength Index seems
to be a necessary
condition to generate
high MEMS revenues
800
Hewlett Packard
KnowMade© August 2013
600
Quite old MEMS technologies.
Positioned in low-growth markets.
Knowles Electronics
Panasonic
400
Denso
Avago
Technologies Canon
AKM
Freescale
Analog Devices
Seiko Epson
Murata
GE Sensing
Sensata
200
Invensense
Infineon
Honeywell
Triquint
0
-4,0
-3,0
-2,0
* Yole Développement’s annual ranking - April 2013
9
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-1,0
0,0
1,0
Patent Strength Index
Patent Portfolio Benchmarking
for Top 20 MEMS companies - August 2013
2,0
3,0
4,0
10. Bullet Point Summary
• Texas Instruments, Hewlett Packard, Analog Devices and Freescale Semiconductor have the highest patent
activity/quality index in MEMS technology.
• Invensense has the highest degree of specialization in MEMS with more than 50% of its patent portfolio related to MEMS
technology, followed by Knowles Electronics (12%) and Analog Devices (8%). The most of top 20 MEMS companies have a
low degree of specialization. Indeed, the patents related to MEMS technology only account for less than 2% of the whole of
their patent filings.
• A positive Patent Strength Index seems to be a necessary condition to generate high revenues. Thus, this index may be
used as a quite good indicator for potential revenue generation. Despite an equivalent Patent Strength Index, Panasonic,
Freescale, Analog Devices and Honeywell generated less MEMS revenues in 2012 than STMicroelectronics, Texas
Instruments, Bosch and Hewlett Packard. This may be due to oldest MEMS technologies and/or a position in low-growth
markets.
• The degree of specialization in MEMS has no influence neither on Patent Strength Index nor revenue generation.
10
Copyrights © KnowMade SARL. All rights reserved.
Patent Portfolio Benchmarking
for Top 20 MEMS companies - August 2013
11. Patent & Scientific Information
2405 route des Dolines
06902 Sophia Antipolis, France
www.knowmade.com