There are different types of information sources for finding technological innovations.
|
Patents
|
- A patent is an exclusive intellectual property right granted for an invention. Key terms about patents:
- Inventor: who invents the technology (the creator)
- Assignee: who owns the IP of this technology (usually the company)
- Claims: define the scope of the legal protection; it helps you understand the uniqueness of the invention
- Classifications: these are classification numbers or categories assigned to the patent based on the technical subject matter. It helps you find similar inventions.
- Owner of the invention (often referred to as assignee) can exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling/importing the invention without the owner's permission in certain countries for a limited time, generally 20 years. Thus, patent protection helps promote creativity and innovation.
- In exchange for patent protection, owner of the invention must disclose sufficient technical details of his/her invention: its functions, how it operates, its composition and how it is manufactured. Therefore, patent is an valuable information source of technical knowledge for researchers and inventors.
- In order to claim patent protection, the invention must be:
- Useful and practical
- New - displays novelty elements that are not obvious to people with knowledge and experience in the same technical field
- Exclusions, the followings are generally not patentable:
- scientific or mathematical discovery, theory or method
- plant or animal varieties
- method of medical treatment or diagnosis
- discoveries of natural substances
- literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work
- Patented inventions concern various aspects of daily life:
|
|
Scholarly Journal Articles
|
- Cover in-depth research in a specialized subject area
- Written by academics, researchers or scholars. Qualifications or credentials of the authors usually appear near the names or in the footnote/endnote
- Contents are peer-reviewed (revised according to comments from subject experts in the field before publication)
- Structure of the article: Article title, authors and their qualifications and affiliations, abstract (article summary), research methodologies, conclusion and references
- Arguments, claims and conclusions are always supported by data and evidence. Sources consulted are listed in the end of paper reference/bibliography section
- Examples:
|
|
Trade Journal/Magazine Articles
|
- Cover industry trends, product news, new techniques, legislations, and other information of interest to a specific industry or trade
- Examples:
|
|
Specialist Encyclopedias
|
- Give good, authoritative overviews & reviews of topics in the area or field of study
- Library subscribed & online
- Written by scholars and experts
- Often provide useful references at end of articles
- Examples
|
