1. Identifying Patents & Setting Clear Objectives 

It is crucial to define the specific technology areas, competitors, or industry trends that are pertinent to your business. This forms the foundation of your patent search and therefore your patent monitoring process. Hence, getting it right is important as it ensures that your monitoring process is focused on the right elements. 

Simultaneously, setting clear objectives allows you to determine the purpose of your monitoring activities, whether it is to identify new opportunities, assess the competitive landscape, identify white spaces or track potential infringements. It is also important to decide what metrics to monitor for optimized strategies whether you want to monitor citations to your own patent portfolio, or monitor your competitor’s or partner’s portfolios, or if you want to monitor a technology or an industry at large. 

2. Choosing the right Patent Database 

The next step for effective patent monitoring involves utilizing comprehensive patent databases. By leveraging comprehensive patent databases such as PatSeer , that have global coverage and include expert search options, you gain access to effectively search across a vast repository of patent information. Setting up alerts within such databases ensures that you receive timely notifications whenever new patents or patent applications are published in your selected technology areas. 

Alerts is one of the stand-out features of PatSeer which allows you to set up notifications for your modified searches and relevant records that show up through these alerts and can also automatically be added to your projects. This will help you keep your projects updated to the newest records and will optimize your patent monitoring process.  

3. Collaboration & Legal Aspects 

Collaborating with Technical experts, patent attorneys or legal professionals specializing in patent law is essential for essential for ensuring that the alerts are being read and eventually taken action upon or disposed of properly.  

Databases such as PatSeer include a host of workflow automation and triggers that help the right people get notified at each stage of the monitoring workflow. This allows you to free yourself from the task of coordinating the process at each step. PatSeer further gives controls and tracking mechanisms to help make sure that the process is being followed by all the parties involved.  

Depending upon your needs, you can also monitor ongoing patent litigation cases, which helps to assess potential risks and identify emerging market trends. By monitoring patent litigation, you can stay ahead of potential legal challenges and adjust your patent strategy accordingly.  

To conclude, along with the steps mentioned above, it is also essential to maintain a detailed plan of all patent monitoring activities, which serves as a valuable resource for supporting overall decision-making.