November 2024: According to Kently Insights, a reputable market research firm, the worldwide intellectual property licensing market is valued at around US$165 billion a year, of which approximately US$112 billion, or nearly 70%, is for patents, with the remainder being copyrights and trademarks.

Research centres, universities, and public institutions are key players in this ecosystem, as governments are pressurizing them to find commercial applications to contribute to their costs. These institutions typically retain ownership of inventions developed with their resources and rely on Innovation and Commercialization Offices to secure licensing agreements with industry partners. Faced with the choice between creating a spinoff or licensing to an existing company, institutions often favor licensing for its higher success rate. Corporations with large patent portfolios are also keen to monetize or “prune” their portfolios to avoid paying the ever-increasing filing fees for patents that have no commercial or strategic value.

Ambercite's AI-assisted citation-based search tool can assist in these tasks by quickly identifying patents and their owners with similar characteristics to the starting patent or patents. Having generated a list of 50, 100, or even 2,000 similar patents, our Licensing Index applies a score to indicate the degree of licensing potential.

The following case study shows you how you can benefit from having Ambercite in your toolbox—a perfect complement to language-based tools like keywords, semantics, and even LLMs, as discussed in the article.

Step 1: Who are the ideal companies to approach to commercialize your technology?

Suppose we are a research center developing a new WiFi 7 (IEEE 802.11be - EHT) technology—who should we approach to commercialize it?

Ambercite's Licensing Index would help answer this by identifying companies with patents in complementary areas, like WiFi 6 or earlier-generation wireless standards, who could leverage WiFi 7 to gain a competitive edge. It would highlight potential licensees through backward citations (e.g., companies with WiFi 6 technology patents) as well as forward citations, capturing those already citing similar innovations who may see WiFi 7 as essential to staying ahead. Moreover, the Index would reveal “hidden links” (or "unknown citations")—companies connected through indirect network paths, identified by the citation structure as likely complementary. This approach enables us to uncover not only the most obvious but also the most strategic and previously overlooked potential partners for commercialization.

Note : Some might argue that the targeted recipient may not always hold any patents. This is typically not true for research centers. With lower Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), research centers need a partner with the capability to elevate the TRL and drive the technology toward market readiness. Companies with relevant patents are generally better suited for this role, as they possess both a track record and the in-house capacity for development. By collaborating with such patent-holding companies, research centers can ensure that their innovations are refined, scaled, and successfully transitioned into commercial products.

Since patents related to a technology to commecialise are unlikely to be published yet, we can begin by identifying a few closely related patents to shape our search strategy :
WO2023226713A1, WO2024027404A1, WO2024016962A1, WO2023082978A1, WO2023222060A1 (All of these patents are directly related to WiFi 7, as indicated in their abstracts.)

Ambercite will then present the results, sorted according to the Licensing Deal Potential Index.

Note: In this example, we have selected the top 500 results, but we can expand the selection to include up to 2,000 results.

Step 2: Identify the company with the highest combined Licensing Index

At this stage, you want to identify a company with a dense portfolio of patents, or a company with few key patents, as this indicates their potential interest in further investing in complementary technologies.

How can you find the top companies relevant to your study? Begin by consolidating all indexes, grouping them systematically by company. A key element in this process is the Licensing Index associated with each patent. By aggregating this index by company, you can identify which patent owners to approach first. This strategic method enables you to navigate negotiations more efficiently, ultimately saving time and increasing your chances of successful partnerships.

Concretely, what is the process in Ambercite? First, export the result patents along with their licensing index into an Excel file. Then, create a cross table to combine these values by company, allowing for a clear analysis of the potential opportunities.

Step 3: Conduct Due Diligence

With your rankings in place, conduct a deeper analysis of the top-performing companies. Explore their highlighted portfolios to uncover hidden gems and opportunities for collaboration.

To conduct a quick due diligence, select the top companies and analyze their highlighted portfolios by filtering the owner names in Ambercite. Each column, including the owner’s name, can be filtered for easy navigation. Assess the complementarity of the patents found and their ages; if the portfolio is older but the company and its R&D are still active, they may be interested in re-entering the market by licensing your patent. Most importantly, these companies will likely have the resources to absorb and enhance the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) of your technology.

Step 4: Beyond Ambercire - Outreach

Commercialization offices typically use the following strategies to communicate their technology to selected companies:

Targeted Outreach: Identifying potential licensees based on research, including a list provided by Ambercite. They prioritize contacting the best-fit companies that align with the technology’s application.
Customized Presentations and Materials: Developing tailored presentations and concise one-page overviews that highlight the technology's unique features, benefits, and market potential.
KOL Interviews: Conducting interviews with industry Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to gather insights and enhance the technology's appeal, leveraging their expertise to advocate for the technology.
Demonstrations and Collaborations: Offering live demonstrations or prototypes to showcase the technology’s capabilities and proposing collaborative research opportunities to deepen engagement.

Conclusion

By following this streamlined approach and leveraging Ambercite’s insights at each stage, you can effectively identify and engage with companies for licensing your technology. This method enhances efficiency and increases the likelihood of finding the right partners for successful commercialization. Embrace the power of data-driven insights to transform your technology into a marketable asset.

How can I start using Ambercite?

You can try Ambercite yourself in our no-cost trial version, found here:

Start using Ambercite

However, to run these sorts of analyses discussed in our blog, you will need to contact us about a corporate subscription. If you do contact us, we would be very happy to provide an online demonstration of the above approach on one of your subject.

Using Ambercite to Find Licensing Opportunities for Your Technology in a $160+ Billion Annual Licensing Market