Computer Supported Formal Concept Analysis to Explore the Evolution of Patent Litigation

Abstract

For competitive global markets, patents are useful for protecting intellectual property rights (IPRs) or defending against infringement threats from competitors. In the mobile communication industry, companies such as Qualcomm and Ericsson dominate the industry with essential patents. Some non-practicing entities (NPEs) seek opportunities to license their IPRs and often challenge infringement of their IPRs by manufacturers or channel distributors. In order to avoid NPE patent infringement litigation and understand the patterns of NPE legal actions, this research focuses on developing a computer supported intelligent method to analyze patent and IP infringement litigation and their evolution trends. We use modified formal concept analysis to explore the evolution of the patent infringement lawsuits and their disputed patents. Two modified FCA models are constructed to observe the evolution of the court cases and the disputed patents. The research provides companies with technical references based on the evolutions of litigation and patent trends for future strategic R&D directions.