Technology-Based Special Listing: How Many Patents Are Needed?

Companies preparing for technology-based special listing often ask how many patents they need. I think it’s not a good idea to get too many patents. Some might say that patent attorneys say it is not good to have a lot of patent.

For the quantitative patent criterion, the aim is to meet the relevant evaluation framework's full-score threshold. The applicable evaluation manual sets the patent-related scoring criteria. Thresholds can vary by evaluation institution and should be checked for the relevant assessment. The evaluation committee does not give more points because it has more patents than the number listed in the evaluation manual.

It takes a lot of effort, time and money to get a patent. But... Focusing only on accumulating patents can divert attention from other evaluation criteria. You can give up 90 points to get 10 out of 100.

The article argues that companies should check the actual quantitative threshold instead of assuming that more patents always produce a higher evaluation.

On the other hand, some argue that a patent roadmap and a patent plan are necessary. However, evaluators don’t see a patent roadmap and patent planning as important. In particular, there is no need for a patent roadmap or patent planning in the evaluation manual. More important than the patent roadmap and patent planning is to fill in the appropriate table of contents in the technology business plan to make a positive impact when evaluating quality.

Where should patent information appear in a technology business plan?

First, Intellectual property rights.List the company's IP rights and map each patent to the technology it protects. This helps demonstrate systematic IP management.

Imitation difficulty in technologyExplain how difficult the technology is to imitate using evidence such as development time, cost and relevant patents. For software and AI, detecting and proving infringement can be challenging, so patents should be presented alongside the other barriers to imitation.

Reliability of technologyIt has to do with how much you can trust the technology. If the evaluation application technology is actually being commercialized, it can get a high score in terms of reliability. However, if you write that the evaluation application technology has become patent registration rather than just stating that the evaluation application technology is actually being commercialized, it can work positively in the evaluation of the technology.

Technical differentiationExplain how the company's main technology differs from existing solutions, ideally using a comparison table. Relevant granted claims can support the explanation of the specific technical contribution.

Technical personnelIn the management and technical-team profiles, list awards, publications and patent achievements separately. Identify the leaders' and managers' contributions to relevant patents.

Market growth of the main technology productsSupport market-growth forecasts with credible third-party research and make the underlying reports available where required. Explain how relevant patents may help protect the company's position as the market grows.

Competitiveness of commercial productsThe most important thing when claiming is price competitiveness, the superiority of the function, etc. However, the fact that a product-related patent has been secured can be a positive factor in the evaluation.

When preparing for a technology-based special listing, it is of course important to properly build an IP portfolio to ensure that the evaluation application technology is properly protected. However, it is not recommended to have an unnecessary number of patents to build an IP portfolio. To ensure that the evaluation application technology is protected, you need to ensure the patent with the correct content, but only as much as you can get in the quantitative evaluation. And, as I explained earlier, I think the most important thing is to have a strategic approach to what areas of the technology business plan should be highlighted in terms of the patent. I hope that the readers of this article will not be too embroiled in the content related to patent planning, patent strategy, etc.