Control apparatus

Abstract

To provide a control apparatus that allows users to easily grasp changes in indexes regarding the maintenance status of industrial property rights.SOLUTION: A control apparatus is communicatively connected to a user's terminal via a network, and monitors indexes regarding to the maintenance status of industrial property rights. The control apparatus comprises: a calculation unit, based on a database at least recorded with the maintenance status of industrial property rights, for calculating indexes regarding to the maintenance status of an industrial property right group as a monitored target; and a notification unit for notifying information regarding to the indexes at least when the indexes do not satisfy prescribed conditions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device for monitoring indicators relating to the maintenance status of industrial property rights. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus for evaluating the value of a patent right or a utility model right, which are industrial property rights, from the contents of a patent publication, a patent bulletin, a published utility model publication, or a utility model publication. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-9493 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Meanwhile, attempts are being made to evaluate and analyze industrial property rights. The inventors have discovered that indices relating to the maintenance status of industrial property rights, such as the maintenance rate and abandonment rate, can be useful in determining whether or not a company needs to maintain its own industrial property rights, and can also be useful in estimating the technological trends of other companies. They have therefore devised a system that allows users to easily grasp these indices, particularly any changes to the indices.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to enable a user to easily grasp changes in indicators relating to the maintenance status of industrial property rights. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One embodiment provided by the present disclosure is: A control device that monitors indicators related to the maintenance status of industrial property rights and is communicably connected to a user's terminal via a network, a calculation unit that calculates an indicator regarding the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights to be monitored based on a database in which at least the maintenance status of the industrial property rights is recorded; a notification unit that notifies a terminal of the user of information related to the indicator when at least the indicator does not satisfy a predetermined condition; Equipped with.

[0007] One embodiment provided by the present disclosure is: A control device for managing annuities for industrial property rights, the control device being communicably connected to a user terminal via a network, extracting, from the group of industrial property rights held by the user, a group of industrial property rights for which an annuity payment due date falls within a predetermined period and for which an inquiry is made as to whether or not payment is required; calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights having the same attribute information as the attribute information associated with the extracted group of industrial property rights, the group having an annuity payment due date prior to the predetermined period; Information regarding the index is sent to the user's terminal together with the industrial property right for which an annuity payment is inquired. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, a user can easily grasp changes in indicators relating to the maintenance status of industrial property rights. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 shows a block diagram of an index monitoring system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 4 illustrates a flow of an index monitoring process executed by the control device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 shows an example of an input screen displayed on a user's terminal device. [Figure 4] 1 shows an example of an input screen on which predetermined information is input by a user. [Diagram 5] 13 shows an example of an output screen including an index table. [Figure 6] 13 shows another example of the input screen on which predetermined information is input by the user. [Figure 7]13 shows an example of a screen displayed on a user's terminal device when a pop-up is displayed. [Figure 8] 13 shows another example of the input screen on which predetermined information is input by the user. [Figure 9] 9 shows an example of an output screen including an index table based on the information entered on the input screen of FIG. 8. [Figure 10] 10 shows another example of an index table based on information inputted into the input screen of FIG. 8. [Figure 11] 13 shows another example of the input screen on which predetermined information is input by the user. [Figure 12] 12 illustrates an index table showing indexes calculated based on information input on the input screen shown in FIG. 11. [Figure 13] An example of a maintenance project list is shown. [Figure 14] 1 shows an example of an abandoned case list. [Figure 15] 1 illustrates an example of an index table including cost projections. [Figure 16] 13 illustrates an example of a rarity score table. [Figure 17] 13 illustrates an example of the flow of an annuity payment inquiry process executed by a control device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 18] 2 shows an example of a screen displayed on a terminal device of ABC Corporation. [Figure 19] 13 shows another example of a screen displayed on a terminal device of ABC Corporation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Exemplary embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] (Indicator monitoring system) 1 illustrates an example block diagram of an index monitoring system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The index monitoring system 1 monitors indexes related to the maintenance status of an industrial property right to be monitored, and notifies a user of the monitoring results.

[0012] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a user's terminal device 200 is connected to the index monitoring system 1 via a communication network 100 such as the Internet. The terminal device 200 has, for example, an input unit 201 and a display unit 202. The input unit 201 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, or the like provided on the terminal device 200. The user specifies the industrial property right to be monitored using the input unit 201. The display unit 202 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display, or the like. The display unit 202 displays information output from the index monitoring system 1.

[0013] The term "industrial property rights" used in this specification includes not only registered industrial property rights (patent rights, utility model rights, design rights, and trademark rights), but also pending and unregistered industrial property rights (patent applications, utility model applications, design applications, and trademark applications). Hereinafter, industrial property rights, including pending applications, will be referred to simply as industrial property rights.

[0014] The index monitoring system 1 is managed, for example, by an intermediary agent. An intermediary agent is an agent who assists a user (client) in the procedures and / or procedures for obtaining or maintaining industrial property rights in his / her own country and / or other countries. Intermediary agents include domestic agents, local agents, pension management companies, etc.

[0015] 1, the index monitoring system 1 includes a storage device 2 and a control device 3. The control device 3 is communicatively connected to the storage device 2 via a communication network 100. The control device 3 may be configured as a single device together with the storage device 2, or may be communicatively connected to the storage device 2 via an internal network.

[0016] The storage device 2 stores a management information database 21. Information on industrial property rights managed by the intermediary agent is recorded in the management information database 21. The information on industrial property rights includes identification information, attribute information, maintenance status, annuity information, etc. of the industrial property rights.

[0017] The identification information of the industrial property right is information for identifying the industrial property right, and includes, for example, an application number, a registration number, a user serial number, an intermediate agent management number, and the like.

[0018] The attribute information of an industrial property right is information associated with the industrial property right. The attribute information of an industrial property right includes, for example, an applicant, a right holder, an inventor, an agent, a customer (user), a jurisdiction (patent, utility model, design, trademark), an application country, a patent classification, an application route, etc. The patent classification includes classification information such as the International Patent Classification (hereinafter also referred to as IPC), the Cooperative Patent Classification (hereinafter also referred to as CPC), FI (File Index), F-term (File Forming Term), etc. The application route includes the Paris route (direct application claiming priority under the Paris Convention), the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) route (international application according to the PCT), etc. The attribute information of an industrial property right may further include information such as the name of an invention or device (hereinafter also referred to as the name), a specification, the scope of a patent or utility model registration claim (hereinafter also referred to as the scope of claims), an abstract, drawings, etc. The information on the scope of claims includes, for example, the number of claims, the number of independent claims, the number of characters in a claim, the number of underlined characters in a claim, etc. The information on the scope of claims may be updated if the claims are amended after filing until registration. A part of the attribute information of each industrial property right may be obtained from an external industrial property right information database 300 described later.

[0019] The maintenance status of an industrial property right includes the right status of the industrial property right (maintained or abandoned) and whether or not a license of right (LOR) has been applied for. The abandonment of an industrial property right includes abandonment by an application for abandonment as well as abandonment due to failure to take the required procedures for maintaining the industrial property right (such as deemed withdrawal of an application without examination request, or extinguishment of rights due to non-payment of annuities). The right status of an industrial property right and the presence or absence of an LOR may include cases where the right status is actually reached, as well as cases where the right status is deemed to be reached at the time of receiving an instruction from a user (customer). In this specification, the required procedures for maintaining an industrial property right are required to maintain a registered industrial property right (patent right, utility model right, design right, and trademark right) or an industrial property right that is pending and unregistered (patent application, utility model application, design application, and trademark application), and include procedures such as a request for examination and payment of annuities.

[0020] The annuity information for industrial property rights includes, for example, information such as the annuity payment year, the payment due date, the scheduled payment amount, and the payment status.

[0021] The storage device 2 may further store an industrial property right information database 22. The industrial property right information database 22 stores information on industrial property rights, including industrial property rights not managed by the intermediate agent. The industrial property right information database 22 may be constructed as a single database together with the management information database 21.

[0022] 1, for example, an external industrial property information database 300 is connected to the index monitoring system 1 via a communication network 100. For example, the control device 3 accesses the external industrial property information database 300 via the communication network 100 periodically or irregularly, obtains information related to industrial property rights, and stores it in the industrial property information database 22.

[0023] The external industrial property information database 300 may be a free database such as J-PlatPat (registered trademark) provided by the National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training, Espacenet (registered trademark) provided by the European Patent Office and patent offices of member countries of the European Patent Convention, WIPO Patentscope (registered trademark) provided by the World Intellectual Property Organization, or the Patent Full-Text and Image Database provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or it may be a commercial database provided by a private company.

[0024] The storage device 2 may further store a monitoring target information database 23. The monitoring target information database 23 stores information for identifying industrial property rights whose maintenance status indicators should be monitored (hereinafter, referred to as monitored industrial property rights) and the indicators of the monitoring targets. The monitoring target information database 23 may further store information for calculating the indicators of the monitoring targets and information for evaluating the indicators of the monitoring targets. For example, the information is input by the user using the terminal device 200 and stored in the monitoring target information database 23.

[0025] Information for identifying the industrial property rights being monitored may include, for example, the applicant, right holder, inventor, agent, application country, patent classification, annual fee payment year, number of claims, number of independent claims, number of characters in a claim, number of underlined characters in a claim, etc.

[0026] Indicators regarding the maintenance status of industrial property rights (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as indicators) include the abandonment rate, the maintenance rate, the number of abandoned cases, the number of maintained cases, the LOR rate, and the number of LORs. In other words, the information for identifying the indicators to be monitored includes information specifying at least one of the abandonment rate, the maintenance rate, the number of abandoned cases, the number of maintained cases, the LOR rate, and the number of LORs.

[0027] The number of maintained cases refers to the number of cases in which rights were actually maintained by following the prescribed procedures necessary to maintain industrial property rights, out of the total number of cases in which rights could be maintained. The maintenance rate refers to the ratio of the number of maintained cases to the total number of cases in which rights could be maintained. The number of abandoned cases refers to the number of cases in which rights were not maintained because the prescribed procedures necessary to maintain industrial property rights were not followed, out of the total number of cases in which rights could be maintained. The abandoned rate refers to the ratio of the number of abandoned cases to the total number of cases in which rights could be maintained. The number of LORs refers to the number of cases in which a license of right was actually applied for, out of the total number of cases in which rights could be maintained. The LOR rate refers to the ratio of the number of LORs to the total number of cases in which rights could be maintained. The prescribed procedures necessary to maintain industrial property rights include paying annuities and requesting examination, etc.

[0028] The information for calculating the indices of the monitored objects includes, for example, the target period for calculating the indices, narrowing down items for calculating the indices for each predetermined group, and the like.

[0029] If a target period is set, the number of cases retained is the number of cases that were actually retained out of the number of cases for which rights could be retained during the target period. The retention rate is the ratio of the number of cases retained to the number of cases for which rights could be retained during the target period. The number of cases abandoned is the number of cases that were not retained out of the number of cases for which rights could be retained during the target period. The abandonment rate is the ratio of the number of cases abandoned to the number of cases for which rights could be retained during the target period. The number of cases LOR is the number of cases that were LORed out of the number of cases for which rights could be retained during the target period. The LOR rate is the ratio of the number of cases LOR to the number of cases for which rights could be retained during the target period.

[0030] The "number of cases in which rights can be maintained during the target period" refers to the number of industrial property rights for which the deadline for carrying out the procedures required to maintain the industrial property rights falls within the target period. For example, the number of cases in which rights can be maintained during the target period refers to the number of industrial property rights for which the deadline for annuity payments falls within the target period.

[0031] The filtering items for calculating the index for each predetermined group include predetermined attribute information of industrial property rights. Examples of the predetermined attribute information include the year of annuity payment, IPC, inventor name, number of inventors, agent name, presence or absence of co-applicant, total number of claims, number of independent claims, total number of characters in total claims, number of underlined characters in total claims, name of invention (partial match), etc. Alternatively, the predetermined attribute information may include, for example, applicant, right holder, country of application, etc.

[0032] The information for evaluating the indices of the monitoring target includes, for example, information for setting predetermined conditions used to judge the indices. The information for setting the predetermined conditions includes, for example, an upper limit, a lower limit, a predetermined range defined by the upper limit and the lower limit, etc.

[0033] The control device 3 has a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), and one or more processors constituted by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like. The ROM is an example of a non-transitory computer-readable medium in which a computer program for executing the processes described below is stored. The processor specifies at least a part of the computer program stored on the ROM, deploys it on the RAM, and executes the above-mentioned processes in cooperation with the RAM. The control device 3 may be a physical computer, or may be realized by a virtual computer (Virtual Machine: VM), a container, or a combination of these.

[0034] The control device 3 includes an acquisition unit 31, a calculation unit 32, a determination unit 33, and a notification unit 34. The acquisition unit 31, the calculation unit 32, the determination unit 33, and the notification unit 34 are functional blocks realized by the processor of the control device 3 executing a computer program.

[0035] The acquisition unit 31 acquires information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights to be monitored. Specifically, the acquisition unit 31 accesses the management information database 21 and the industrial property right information database 22 of the storage device 2 based on information for identifying the group of industrial property rights to be monitored, information for identifying the index of the monitored group, information such as the target period and narrowing down items, and acquires information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights to be monitored. The information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights to be monitored includes information on the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights to be monitored for which the deadline date of a predetermined procedure required to maintain the industrial property rights belongs to the target period, attribute information relating to narrowing down items, etc.

[0036] Information for identifying the group of industrial property rights to be monitored, information for identifying the indexes of the monitored objects, information on the target period, narrowing down items, etc., is input by the user using the terminal device 200. Alternatively, the information can be acquired from the monitored object information database 23.

[0037] As described above, the information for identifying the industrial property rights to be monitored includes, for example, the applicant, the right holder, the inventor, the agent, the application country, the patent classification, the year of annuity payment, the number of claims, the number of independent claims, the number of characters in a claim, the number of underlined characters in a claim, etc. That is, the industrial property rights to be monitored are identified by, for example, the applicant, the right holder, the inventor, the agent, the application country, the patent classification, the year of annuity payment, the number of claims, the number of independent claims, the number of characters in a claim, the number of underlined characters in a claim, etc. The information for identifying the indicators to be monitored includes information specifying at least one of the abandonment rate, the maintenance rate, the number of abandoned cases, the number of maintained cases, the LOR rate, and the number of LORs. That is, the indicators to be monitored are identified as at least one of the abandonment rate, the maintenance rate, the number of abandoned cases, the number of maintained cases, the LOR rate, and the number of LORs.

[0038] The calculation unit 32 calculates an index relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored, based on the information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored acquired by the acquisition unit 31. If no narrowing down items are specified, the calculation unit 32 calculates one index for the group of industrial property rights to be monitored. If narrowing down items are specified, the calculation unit 32 calculates an index for each group of industrial property rights grouped based on the narrowing down items.

[0039] The determination unit 33 determines whether the calculated index relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights of the monitoring target satisfies a predetermined condition. Information for identifying the predetermined condition is input by the user using the terminal device 200, for example. Alternatively, the information can be acquired from the monitoring target information database 23.

[0040] As described above, the predetermined condition is set, for example, by an upper limit value, a lower limit value, a predetermined range defined by the upper limit value and the lower limit value, etc. For example, the determination unit 33 determines that the maintained number satisfies the predetermined condition when the maintained number is not below the lower limit value, and determines that the maintained number does not satisfy the predetermined condition when the maintained number is below the lower limit value.

[0041] When at least the calculated indicators relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored do not satisfy a predetermined condition, the notification unit 34 notifies information about the indicator to the user's terminal device 200. The information about the indicator includes, for example, the calculated value of the indicator, information indicating that the indicator does not satisfy the predetermined condition, a determination result indicating whether the indicator satisfies the predetermined condition, and the like.

[0042] For example, the notification unit 34 sends information about the index to an address specified by the user by email. This allows the user to check the information about the index in the body of the email or in a document attached to the email. Alternatively, the user can access the index monitoring system 1 from a URL written in the email and check the information about the index on a screen displayed on the display unit 202.

[0043] Alternatively, the notification unit 34 may notify the user of information related to the index on a screen displayed on the display unit 202 by the user accessing the index monitoring system 1 using the terminal device 200. In other words, notification to the user's terminal device 200 also includes the case where notification is made on a screen displayed on the display unit 202 of the user's terminal device 200.

[0044] Furthermore, the notification unit 34 may display information related to the index in a pop-up on the display unit 202 of the user's terminal device 200. Specifically, the notification unit 34 outputs a signal for displaying information related to the index in a pop-up on the user's terminal device 200. Upon receiving the signal, the user's terminal device 200 controls the display unit 202 to display information related to the index in a pop-up.

[0045] Furthermore, the notification unit 34 may highlight, on the screen displayed on the display unit 202 of the user's terminal device 200, an index that does not satisfy a predetermined condition set for evaluating an index of a monitoring target. Specifically, the notification unit 34 outputs a signal to the user's terminal device 200 to highlight the index. Upon receiving the signal, the user's terminal device 200 controls the display unit 202 to highlight the index. Examples of highlighting include bold, colored characters, large font, italics, shading, boxed characters, and other general character decorations.

[0046] In addition, the control device 3 may be configured to periodically calculate and judge indicators regarding the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights being monitored using the calculation unit 32 and the judgment unit 33, and to notify information regarding the indicators using the notification unit 34.

[0047] First embodiment Next, an example of the index monitoring process executed by the control device 3 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0048] FIG. 2 shows the flow of the index monitoring process executed by the control device 3.

[0049] First, when the user operates the input unit 201 on a home screen (not shown) or the like displayed on the display unit 202 of the user's terminal device 200 to input information for monitoring the indicators of the industrial property right to be monitored to the control device 3, the control device 3 starts a process of monitoring the indicators of the industrial property right to be monitored. For example, on the home screen, the user uses the input unit 201 to input an account name and password. The control device 3 outputs information indicating that the input of the account name and password has been accepted and the user has been authenticated from the notification unit 34 to the user's terminal device 200. As a result, the control device 3 causes the user's display unit 202 to display an input screen SC1 for setting the industrial property right, indicators, etc. to be monitored, as shown in, for example, FIG. 3.

[0050] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the input screen SC1 includes a monitoring target setting section 41, an index setting section 42, a target period setting section 43, and a condition setting section 44. The monitoring target setting section 41 is a setting section for determining items for identifying the industrial property right to be monitored. In this example, the monitoring target setting section 41 includes items of the target right holder name, the target right holder identification number, the country name, and the jurisdiction. The target right holder name is the name of the industrial property right holder. The target right holder identification number is the identification number of the industrial property right holder given by the Patent Office. The country name is the name of the country in which the industrial property right was applied for. Note that instead of or in addition to the right holder name and right holder identification number, items of the applicant name and applicant identification number may be included.

[0051] The items of right holder name and right holder identification number can be freely set by, for example, text input by the user operating the input unit 201. The item of country name is, for example, a pull-down menu by the user operating the input unit 201 to select one country from a plurality of country names. The item of jurisdiction is, for example, a pull-down menu by the user operating the input unit 201 to select one jurisdiction from "patent", "utility model", "design" and "trademark". The monitoring target setting unit 41 may include an item of attribute information for identifying industrial property rights in addition to the items shown in FIG. 3.

[0052] The indicator setting unit 42 is a setting unit for determining an indicator regarding the maintenance status of the monitoring target. In this example, the indicator setting unit 42 includes an item of monitoring item and an item of "% / number". The item of monitoring item is, for example, a pull-down menu, and the user can select one of "maintain", "abandon" and "LOR" by operating the input unit 201. The item of "% / number" is, for example, a pull-down menu, and the user can select one of "%" and "number" by operating the input unit 201. For example, when "maintain" is selected in the monitoring item and "number" is selected in "% / number", the indicator regarding the maintenance status to be calculated is set to the number of maintenance cases. In this example, the indicator setting unit 42 is provided with two indicator setting units 42A and 42B, and two indicators can be set as the monitoring target.

[0053] The target period setting unit 43 is a setting unit for determining a target period for calculating an index. The item of the target period can be freely set by the user operating the input unit 201, for example, by text input.

[0054] In this example, the target period setting unit 43 is provided with two types of target period setting units 43A and 43B. Specifically, the target period setting unit 43A specifies the start date of the target period, the end date of the target period, the period until the end of the target period, or the number of industrial property rights to which the deadline of the specified procedure required to maintain the industrial property rights after the start date belongs. The target period setting unit 43B specifies the end date of the target period, the period until the start of the target period, or the number of industrial property rights to which the deadline of the specified procedure required to maintain the industrial property rights before the end date belongs. The period until the end of the target period or the period until the start of the target period can be specified in days, months, or years. When the number of industrial property rights is specified, the target period is the period in which the number of industrial property rights to which the deadline of the specified procedure required to maintain the industrial property rights belongs during the number of days that have passed since the start date or end date is the specified number.

[0055] For example, in the target period setting unit 43A, a start date of January 1, 2022 to an end date of December 31, 2022 may be specified, 12 months may be specified from the start date of January 1, 2022, or 300 items may be specified from the start date of January 1, 2022. Note that the dates, periods, and numbers are merely examples, and different values ​​may be specified as appropriate.

[0056] The condition setting section 44 is a setting section for determining a predetermined condition for evaluating an index. In this example, the condition setting section 44 includes items of an upper limit value and a lower limit value. In this example, the condition setting section 44 is provided with two condition setting sections 44A and 44B corresponding to the two index setting sections 42A and 42B.

[0057] The input screen SC1 further includes a narrowing down item setting section 45. The narrowing down item setting section 45 is an item for setting a group for calculating an index in the group of industrial property rights to be monitored. Predetermined attribute information is input to the narrowing down item setting section 45. The narrowing down item setting section 45 is, for example, a pull-down menu, and the user can select any one of a plurality of pieces of attribute information by operating the input section 201. Note that, when the narrowing down item setting section 45 is left blank or "none" is selected, one index is calculated for all groups of industrial property rights to be monitored that include the deadline date of a predetermined procedure required to maintain the industrial property rights in the target period.

[0058] In this way, the user can use the input unit 201 to input specified information into each setting section on the input screen SC1, thereby freely setting the industrial property rights to be monitored, the indicators to be monitored, the period for which the indicators are to be calculated, the units (groups) for calculating the indicators, the specified conditions to be compared with the indicators, etc.

[0059] The input screen SC1 further includes a save setting section 46 and a setting input end icon 47. In this example, the save setting section 46 is a check box, and when the user checks the check box using the input section 201, the information entered on the input screen SC1 is saved in the monitoring target information database 23. The setting input end icons include an icon displayed as "OK" and an icon displayed as "CANCEL". After entering predetermined information into each setting section, the user operates the input section 201 to press the "OK" icon in order to monitor the indicators of the group of industrial property rights to be managed. Alternatively, the user operates the input section 201 to press the "CANCEL" icon when canceling the monitoring of the indicators of the group of industrial property rights to be managed.

[0060] The control device 3 determines whether or not the setting input to the input screen SC1 has been completed (step S1 in FIG. 2). Specifically, the control device 3 determines whether or not the "OK" icon of the setting input end icon 47 has been operated. The control device 3 repeats the process of step S1 until it is determined that the "OK" icon of the setting input end icon 47 has been operated. Note that the control device 3 may end this process if a predetermined time has passed without the setting input end icon 47 being operated after the input screen SC1 has been displayed on the user's display unit 202, or if the "CANCEL" icon of the setting input end icon 47 has been operated.

[0061] When the control device 3 determines that the setting input to the input screen SC1 has been completed (YES in step S1), the acquisition unit 31 acquires information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored (step S2). Specifically, the control device 3 accesses the management information database 21 and the industrial property right information database 22 based on the information input to the monitoring target setting unit 41, the index setting unit 42, the target period setting unit 43 and the narrowing down item setting unit 45 of the input screen SC1 by the acquisition unit 31, and acquires information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored.

[0062] 4 is an example of an input screen SC1 on which predetermined information is input by a user. Note that the time when each piece of information in FIG. 4 is input is June 1, 2023.

[0063] In the input screen SC1 shown in FIG. 4, ABC Co., Ltd. is specified as the target right holder, Japan as the application country, and Patent as the jurisdiction in the monitoring target setting section 41. The abandonment rate is specified in the indicator setting section 42A, and the number of LORs is specified in the indicator setting section 42B. January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 is specified as the target period in the target period setting section 43A. IPC is specified as the narrowing down item in the narrowing down item setting section 45.

[0064] The control device 3 accesses the management information database 21 and the industrial property information database 22 via the acquisition unit 31, and acquires the maintenance status (rights status and whether or not an LOR has been applied for) and IPC information for Japanese patents held by ABC Co., Ltd., for which the annuity payment due date falls between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. Note that while the LOR system is not actually adopted in Japan, this example will be described assuming that the LOR system is adopted.

[0065] Next, the control device 3 calculates, via the calculation unit 32, an index regarding the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored based on the information for calculating an index regarding the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored acquired by the acquisition unit 31 (step S3).

[0066] For example, the control device 3 calculates, via the calculation unit 32, the abandonment rate of Japanese patents owned by ABC Co., Ltd., whose annuity payment due date falls in the period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. The control device 3 also calculates, via the calculation unit 32, the number of LORs of Japanese patents owned by ABC Co., Ltd., whose annuity payment due date falls in the period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022.

[0067] In this example, IPC is specified as the narrowing down item, so the control device 3, via the calculation unit 32, calculates the abandonment rate and LOR number for Japanese patents owned by ABC Co., Ltd., whose annuity payment due dates fall within the period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022, for each group having the same IPC.

[0068] Next, the control device 3 determines, via the judgment unit 33, based on the information inputted into the condition setting section 44 of the input screen SC1, whether the indicators relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored satisfy predetermined conditions (step S4).

[0069] For example, in the input screen SC1 shown in Fig. 4, an upper limit (5) and a lower limit (3) are specified in the condition setting section 44A as the predetermined condition for the abandonment rate of the monitoring target. Also, an upper limit (2) is specified in the condition setting section 44B as the predetermined condition for the number of LORs of the monitoring target. Therefore, the control device 3 judges whether the calculated abandonment rate is within the range of 3% to 5%. Also, the control device 3 judges whether the calculated number of LORs is within 2.

[0070] When the determining unit 33 determines that the indicators relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored satisfy a predetermined condition (YES in step S4), the control device 3 ends this process.

[0071] On the other hand, if the control device 3 determines via the judgment unit 33 that the indicators relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights being monitored do not satisfy the specified conditions (NO in step S4), the notification unit 34 notifies the user's terminal device 200 of information relating to the indicators (step S5).

[0072] Fig. 5 is an example of an output screen SC2 including an index table showing calculated indexes. For example, when the "OK" icon of the setting input completion icon 47 is operated on the input screen SC1 shown in Fig. 4, the output screen SC2 is displayed. In the index table, the number of possible annuity payments is the number of monitored industrial property rights whose annuity payment due date falls within the target period. The index table is an example of information related to indexes.

[0073] In this example, the indicators table shows the abandonment rate and LOR number calculated for each group with the same IPC for Japanese patents owned by ABC Co., Ltd., whose annuity payment due dates fall between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. Note that in this example, the indicators that are not monitored, such as the number of retentions, the retention rate, the number of abandonments, and the LOR rate, are also calculated for each group with the same IPC.

[0074] In addition, in this example, indicators that do not meet the predetermined condition are highlighted. Specifically, the predetermined condition for the abandonment rate is in the range of 3% to 5%. Therefore, the abandonment rate of 13.1% for IPC A03A 1 / 00 ​​and the abandonment rate of 6.8% for A03F 2 / 35 do not meet the predetermined condition and are displayed in bold italics. Similarly, the predetermined condition for the number of LORs is 2 or less, so the number of LORs of 9 for IPC A03F 2 / 35 does not meet the predetermined condition and is displayed in bold italics.

[0075] The index table shown in FIG. 5 may further indicate the degree of deviation of the index from a predetermined condition (that is, the difference between the index and the predetermined condition), etc.

[0076] According to the index monitoring system 1 of this embodiment, when an index relating to the maintenance status of an industrial property right to be monitored does not satisfy a predetermined condition, the user can easily grasp information relating to the index. As a result, for example, the user can use the information relating to the index as a reference for deciding whether to maintain or abandon an industrial property right held by the user's company when considering a request for examination or annuity payment.

[0077] Furthermore, in this embodiment, indices that do not satisfy the predetermined condition are highlighted, so that the user can visually confirm the indices that do not satisfy the predetermined condition.

[0078] Furthermore, in this embodiment, since an index is calculated for each group based on attribute information related to the narrowing down items, the user can refer to indexes based on more detailed conditions.

[0079] (Variation 1) In the above embodiment, the monitoring (calculation and determination) of the indicators regarding the maintenance status of the industrial property right of the monitoring target is performed only once. However, the monitoring of the indicators regarding the maintenance status of the industrial property right of the monitoring target may be performed periodically.

[0080] For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the input screen SC1 may include an index judgment frequency setting section 48 and a notification method setting section 49. The index judgment frequency setting section 48 is an item for determining the frequency of calculation and judgment of an index related to the maintenance status of the industrial property right of the monitoring target. In this example, the index judgment frequency setting section 48 includes an item of periodic patrol and an item of patrol interval. The periodic patrol is an item for specifying whether to calculate and judge the index periodically. The item of periodic patrol is, for example, a pull-down menu, and the user can select "Yes" or "No" by operating the input section 201. The item of patrol interval is an item for specifying the interval at which the index is calculated and judged periodically. The item of patrol interval is, for example, a pull-down menu, and the user can select a predetermined interval period by operating the input section 201.

[0081] The notification method setting unit 49 is an item for determining the notification method. In this example, the notification method setting unit 49 includes an item for data output and an item for data transmission. The items for data output and data transmission are, for example, pull-down menus, and the user can select either "yes" or "no" by operating the input unit 201. For example, when "yes" is selected in the item for data output, when the user accesses the index monitoring system 1 using the terminal device 200, information about the index is displayed on the display unit 202. For example, when "yes" is selected in the item for data transmission, information about the index is sent by email to an address specified by the user.

[0082] The control device 3 periodically performs the processes from steps S2 to S5 in Fig. 2 based on the information input to the index judgment frequency setting unit 48. Information such as the industrial property right to be monitored, the index to be monitored, the target period for calculating the index, the unit (group) for calculating the index, and the predetermined conditions for comparing with the index are stored in the monitored object information database 23 at the time of initial input setting, and in step S2 from the second time onwards, the control device 3 accesses the monitored object information database 23 at the time of initial input setting to acquire this information.

[0083] 6 shows another example of the input screen SC1 in which predetermined information is input by the user. The time when each piece of information in FIG. 6 is input is June 1, 2023. Explanations of the parts in which the same information as in the input screen SC1 shown in FIG. 4 is input are omitted.

[0084] 6, the target period setting section 43B specifies a period from the "present" back to the past in which the number of industrial property rights with annuity payment due dates falls within 300 as the target period. In addition, the index judgment frequency setting section 48 specifies that regular patrols are to be performed, and specifies four weeks as the patrol period. In other words, calculation and judgment of indexes related to the maintenance status of the industrial property rights to be monitored are performed every four weeks.

[0085] Specifically, every four weeks, the control device 3, via the acquisition unit 31, acquires information on the maintenance status (status of rights and whether or not LOR has been applied for) and IPC for 300 cases of Japanese patents for which ABC Co., Ltd. is the patent holder and for which the annuity payment due date falls within the period going back from the execution date (step S2 in FIG. 2).

[0086] Next, the control device 3 calculates, by the calculation unit 32, the abandonment rate and the number of LORs for 300 Japanese patents for which ABC Co., Ltd. is the patent holder, whose annuity payment due dates fall within the period going back from the execution date (step S3 in FIG. 2).

[0087] Next, the control device 3 judges whether the calculated abandonment rate is within a range of 3% to 5%, and judges whether the calculated number of LORs is 2 or less (step S4 in FIG. 2).

[0088] Then, when the control device 3 determines via the judgment unit 33 that the calculated abandonment rate is outside the range of 3% to 5% or the calculated number of LORs exceeds two (NO in step S4 of FIG. 2), the notification unit 34 notifies the user's terminal device 200 of information regarding the abandonment rate and the number of LORs (step S5 of FIG. 2).

[0089] For example, in the input screen SC1 shown in Fig. 6, the notification method setting unit 49 is set to perform data output and data transmission. The control device 3 sends, via the notification unit 34, an email containing or with an attached index table showing the abandonment rate and the number of LORs, for example, as shown in Fig. 5, to an address specified by the user. In addition, when the user accesses the index monitoring system 1 using the terminal device 200, the control device 3 causes the notification unit 34 to display, on the display unit 202, a screen including an index table showing the abandonment rate and the number of LORs, for example, as shown in Fig. 5.

[0090] The control device 3 may display information that the index does not satisfy a predetermined condition as a pop-up display by the notification unit 34. For example, the user uses the terminal device 200 to specify the pop-up display by operating a pop-up display setting unit (not shown) included in the input screen SC1.

[0091] 7 shows an example of the screen of the display unit 202 of the terminal device 200 on which the notification is displayed as a pop-up. In this example, a message 50 is displayed as a pop-up on the screen S3 of the display unit 202, notifying the user that the indicators of the industrial property right to be monitored do not satisfy a predetermined condition, and encouraging the user to refer to an email for details.

[0092] In this example, the indexes are monitored every four weeks, but if the monitoring interval item is not specifically specified, the timing of monitoring the indexes may be automatically set, for example, according to the timing when the data in the industrial property information database 22 is periodically updated based on the external industrial property information database 300.

[0093] Furthermore, in this example, when an index does not satisfy a predetermined condition, the index monitoring system 1 notifies the user's terminal device 200 of information related to the index. However, the index monitoring system 1 may be configured to notify the user's terminal device 200 of information related to the index even when the index satisfies the predetermined condition.

[0094] According to this configuration, the user can periodically monitor the indicators related to the maintenance status of the industrial property right of the monitoring target without having to input information for identifying the monitoring target each time. In particular, when the information related to the indicators is notified regardless of whether the indicators satisfy a predetermined condition or not, the user can periodically grasp the movement of the maintenance or abandonment of the industrial property right of the monitoring target.

[0095] For example, by setting the industrial property rights to be monitored to be industrial property rights held by other companies, the user can periodically grasp the movements of other companies in maintaining or abandoning their industrial property rights.

[0096] Furthermore, by displaying a pop-up notification indicating that the indicators do not satisfy the specified conditions, the user can quickly grasp the fact that the indicators relating to the maintenance status of the industrial property right being monitored do not satisfy the specified conditions.

[0097] In addition, information regarding the indicators is sent by email to an address specified by the user, so that the user can understand that the indicators regarding the maintenance status of the industrial property right being monitored do not satisfy the specified conditions without having to access the indicator monitoring system 1 using the terminal device 200.

[0098] (Variation 2) In the above embodiment and modified examples, the indicator of one industrial property right to be monitored is monitored. However, the control device 3 may be configured to monitor indicators of multiple industrial property rights to be monitored.

[0099] 8 shows another example of the input screen SC4 in which predetermined information is input by the user. The time of input of each piece of information in FIG. 8 is June 1, 2023. Explanations of the parts in which the same information as that in the input screen SC1 shown in FIG. 4 is input will be omitted.

[0100] The input screen SC4 shown in Figure 8 includes an input area R1 for setting information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the first group of industrial property rights being monitored, and an input area R2 for setting information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the second group of industrial property rights being monitored.

[0101] The input screen SC4 illustrated in FIG. 8 may be generated from the input screen SC1 illustrated in FIG. 3, for example. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the input screen SC1 may include an input addition setting section 51. The input addition setting section 51 is an item for adding an industrial property right to be monitored. In this example, the input addition setting section 51 includes an input setting addition icon and a check box for setting copy. The input addition icon is an icon that displays "Add target right holder". When adding an industrial property right to be monitored, the user operates the input section 201 to press the "Add target right holder" icon. In addition, when the user wants to copy the input information for identifying the first industrial property right to be monitored that has already been input when adding the input, the user operates the input section 201 to check the check box for setting copy. As a result, the information for monitoring the indicators of the industrial property right to be monitored that has been input in the input area R1 for the first is copied to the input area R2 for the second.

[0102] In this example, the input screen SC4 shown in Fig. 8 is a screen created from the input screen SC1 shown in Fig. 4. The information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the first group of industrial property rights to be monitored input in the input area R1 and the information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the second group of industrial property rights to be monitored input in the input area R2 are the same information except for the target right holders. That is, in the input area R2, the identification number 1234567 is specified in the item of the target right holder identification number of the monitoring target setting unit 41.

[0103] Fig. 9 is an example of an output screen SC5 including an index table showing indexes calculated based on information inputted into the input screen SC4 shown in Fig. 8. The index table displayed in the upper part of the output screen SC5 is the same as the index table shown in Fig. 5.

[0104] That is, the output screen SC5 shown in FIG. 9 shows an indicator table showing the abandonment rate and the number of LORs calculated for each group having the same IPC for Japanese patents whose right holder is ABC Co., Ltd. and whose annuity payment due date falls in the period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. ABC Co., Ltd. is an example of a first right holder. The abandonment rate and the number of LORs are examples of first indicators.

[0105] In addition, the output screen SC5 displays an indicator table showing the abandonment rate and the number of LORs calculated for each group having the same IPC for Japanese patents of the right holder with identification number 1234567 whose annuity payment due date falls in the period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. The right holder with identification number 1234567 is an example of a second right holder. The abandonment rate and the number of LORs are examples of second indicators.

[0106] In addition, in this example, the abandonment rate and the number of LORs that do not meet the predetermined condition are highlighted. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, in the input area R1 and the input area R2 of the input screen SC4, the condition setting section 44A specifies an upper limit value (5) and a lower limit value (3) as the predetermined condition of the index to be monitored. Also, in the condition setting section 44B, the upper limit value (2) is specified as the predetermined condition of the index to be monitored. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, for the index table related to BCD Co., Ltd., the abandonment rate of 25.7% with an IPC of A03A 8·46 and the abandonment rate of 38.5% with an IPC of A03F 2 / 35 do not meet the predetermined condition and are displayed in bold italics. Similarly, the predetermined condition for the number of LORs is 2 or less, so the number of LORs of 3 with an IPC of A03F 2 / 35 does not meet the predetermined condition and is displayed in bold italics.

[0107] With this configuration, the user can grasp the indicators regarding the maintenance status of multiple managed industrial property rights. For example, by specifying the first monitored industrial property right as an industrial property right held by the user's own company and the second monitored industrial property right as an industrial property right held by a competitor, the user can compare the judgment results of the indicators regarding the maintenance status of the industrial property rights of the user's own company and those of the competitors.

[0108] In this modified example, the information for calculating an index regarding the maintenance status of the first group of industrial property rights to be monitored and the information for calculating an index regarding the maintenance status of the second group of industrial property rights to be monitored are the same except that the target right holders are different, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the target right holders may be set to be the same in the information for calculating an index regarding the maintenance status of the first group of industrial property rights to be monitored and the information for calculating an index regarding the maintenance status of the second group of industrial property rights to be monitored, and other attribute information, indices of the monitored objects, and predetermined conditions may be different.

[0109] In addition, in this modified example, the indicators relating to the maintenance status of industrial property rights of two monitoring targets are shown in separate indicator tables. However, for example, as shown in Fig. 10, the judgment results of the indicators relating to the maintenance status of industrial property rights of two monitoring targets may be shown in one indicator table. The indicator table shown in Fig. 10 further shows the difference between the indicators relating to the maintenance status of industrial property rights of the two monitoring targets. Note that a predetermined condition may also be set for the difference in the indicators, and a difference value that does not satisfy the predetermined condition may be highlighted.

[0110] In this modification, information on the index such as the index table may be notified only when the index does not satisfy a predetermined condition, or may be notified regardless of whether the index satisfies the predetermined condition. Furthermore, monitoring (calculation and determination) of the index may be performed periodically.

[0111] (Variation 3) In the above embodiment and modified examples, one predetermined period is set as the target period for calculating the index. However, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of target periods for calculating the index can be set.

[0112] Fig. 11 shows another example of the input screen SC1 in which predetermined information is input by the user. The time of input of each piece of information in Fig. 11 is June 1, 2023. Explanations of the parts in which the same information as that in the input screen SC1 shown in Fig. 4 is input will be omitted.

[0113] In the input screen SC3 shown in FIG. 11, the target period setting section 43 includes a first input area 43R1 for setting a first target period and a second input area 43R2 for setting a second target period.

[0114] The first target period and the second target period may each be set to any period. For example, the length of the first target period and the length of the second target period may be the same or different. Furthermore, the first target period and the second target period may be consecutive or separated from each other. Alternatively, the first target period and the second target period may partially overlap each other.

[0115] When the length of the first target period and the length of the second target period are different, the index may be calculated based on the entire period, or may be the average or median of values ​​calculated for each specified unit. For example, if the first target period is one year and the second target period is five years, the index calculated for the second target period may be a value calculated based on the maintenance status of all industrial property rights that have a specified procedural deadline in the five-year period, or may be the average or median of values ​​calculated for each year based on the maintenance status of industrial property rights that have a specified procedural deadline in the period.

[0116] In this example, the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 is specified as the first target period. The period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 is specified as the second target period.

[0117] In this example, the pension payment year is selected as a narrowing down item in the narrowing down item setting section 45. In addition, an upper limit value (15) is specified as a predetermined condition for the abandonment rate in the condition setting section 44A. The same information as in FIG. 4 is specified in the other setting sections.

[0118] FIG. 12 illustrates an index table showing indexes calculated based on the information inputted on the input screen SC1 shown in FIG.

[0119] In this example, the indicator table shows the abandonment rates and LORs calculated for groups with the same year for Japanese patents owned by ABC Co., Ltd. with annuity payment due dates for the first target period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 and the second target period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. Abandonment rates and LORs that do not meet the specified conditions are highlighted in bold italics.

[0120] In addition, this example further illustrates the difference between the abandonment rate and LOR rate calculated in the first target period and the abandonment rate and LOR rate calculated in the second target period. The abandonment rate and LOR rate calculated in the first target period are an example of a first indicator. The abandonment rate and LOR rate calculated in the second target period are an example of a second indicator.

[0121] In this example, a predetermined condition (in this example, ±5%) is set for the difference in the abandonment rate, and the difference in the abandonment rate that does not satisfy the predetermined condition is highlighted in bold italics. Note that the predetermined condition is specified in a setting section (not shown) included in the input screen SC1 shown in FIG.

[0122] According to this configuration, the user can grasp the indexes regarding the maintenance status of the industrial property rights of the management target calculated over multiple target periods. For example, the user can grasp the change between the past indexes and the most recent indexes for the industrial property rights held by the user's company.

[0123] In particular, by being notified of information regarding the difference between an index calculated in a first target period and an index calculated in a second target period, the user can easily understand the changes between past indexes and the most recent indexes.

[0124] In this modified example, the input screen on which multiple target periods for calculating the index can be set is not limited to the input screen SC1 shown in Fig. 11. For example, multiple target periods can be set using the input screen SC4 in Fig. 8.

[0125] In this modification, the information on the index including the information on the difference between the indices may be notified only when the index does not satisfy a predetermined condition, or may be notified regardless of whether the index satisfies the predetermined condition. Furthermore, the monitoring (calculation and determination) of the index may be performed periodically.

[0126] (Variation 4) In the above embodiment or modification, the control device 3 may be configured to output a list indicating cases of abandonment and / or cases of maintenance of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored, in addition to the information on the index.

[0127] 1, the control device 3 can be configured to include a list creation unit 35. The list creation unit 35 is a functional block that is realized by the processor of the control device 3 executing a computer program.

[0128] The list creation unit 35 creates at least one of an abandoned case list that summarizes the industrial property rights under monitoring whose maintenance status indicates that they are abandoned and a maintained case list that summarizes the industrial property rights under monitoring whose maintenance status indicates that they are maintained, based on the information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights under monitoring acquired by the acquisition unit 31. Note that whether or not to create the abandoned case list or the maintained case list is specified, for example, in a setting unit (not shown) included in the input screen SC1 shown in FIG.

[0129] Fig. 13 shows an example of a maintained case list. Fig. 14 shows an example of an abandoned case list. These lists are notified to the user's terminal device 200 together with, for example, the index table shown in Fig. 5. In this example, the maintained case list and the abandoned case list show the narrowing down item (IPC in this example), the registration number, and the right expiration date.

[0130] According to this configuration, the user can check all of the abandoned or maintained industrial property rights that are subject to monitoring and that were used to calculate the index.

[0131] (Variation 5) In the above embodiment or modification, the index table may include, in addition to information about the index, a prediction of future costs to be incurred for the group of industrial property rights to be managed.

[0132] 1, the control device 3 can be configured to have a cost prediction unit 36. The cost prediction unit 36 ​​is a functional block that is realized by the processor of the control device 3 executing a computer program. The cost prediction unit 36 ​​predicts future costs that will occur for the group of industrial property rights to be managed.

[0133] For example, the input screen SC1 shown in Fig. 3 may include a cost prediction setting section 52. The cost prediction setting section 52 is, for example, a pull-down menu, and the user can operate the input section 201 to select "Yes" or "No".

[0134] When "Yes" is selected in the cost prediction setting section 52, the control device 3 causes the cost prediction setting section 52 to predict the costs that will be incurred in the future for the group of industrial property rights to be managed.

[0135] FIG. 15 is an example of an indicator table including a cost forecast. In this example, the indicator table shows the abandonment rate and LOR number, which are indicators to be monitored, calculated for each group having the same year for Japanese patents owned by ABC Co., Ltd., whose annuity payment due date falls in the period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. In addition, abandonment rates that do not meet the specified conditions are highlighted. Note that in this example, the number of retentions, the retention rate, the number of abandonments, and the LOR rate, which are not indicators to be monitored, are also shown.

[0136] The indicator table also shows the predicted values ​​of each indicator and the predicted amount of pension payment for a period that is the same length as the target period and includes a future period. In this example, the predicted values ​​of the indicators and the predicted amount of pension payment for the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 are calculated.

[0137] Specifically, in this example, the number of annuity payables for the fifth to seventh years from the forecast period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 is the number of retentions for the previous year (fourth to sixth years) from the target period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. In addition, the retention rate, abandonment rate, and LOR rate for the fifth to seventh years from the forecast period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 are calculated on the assumption that the forecast values ​​of the indicators are the same as the retention rate, abandonment rate, and LOR rate for the previous year (fourth to sixth years) from the target period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022, and the retention rate, abandonment rate, and LOR rate are calculated.

[0138] The estimated amount of the annuity payment is calculated based on the estimated number of patents maintained and the standard annuity payment amount (office fees and agent fees). The standard annuity payment amount may be set appropriately based on past data.

[0139] According to this configuration, the user can check future costs that will be incurred for the group of industrial property rights that are being monitored.

[0140] (Variation 6) In the above embodiment or modification, the control device 3 may be configured to notify the rarity score in addition to the information related to the index.

[0141] The rarity score is a numerical value obtained by dividing the remaining life ranking of the term of an industrial property right having a particular attribute information (e.g. IPC) by the number of cases. In other words, an industrial property right with a long period until the right expires among a group of industrial property rights having particular attribute information is considered to be rare. The maximum value of the rarity score is 1, and the minimum value changes depending on the number of cases.

[0142] For example, the input screen SC1 shown in FIG. 3 may include a rarity score setting unit 53. The rarity score setting unit 53 includes a rarity score item for setting whether or not a rarity score is required, and a "total / average" item for setting a monitoring value. The rarity score item is, for example, a pull-down menu, and the user can select "yes" or "no" by operating the input unit 201. The "total / average" item is, for example, a pull-down menu, and the user can select "total" or "average" by operating the input unit 201. This allows either the total value or the average value of the rarity score to be the monitoring value.

[0143] Based on the information input to the rarity score setting unit 53, the control device 3 acquires information for calculating the rarity score (e.g., the expiration date of the rights) via the acquisition unit 31, and calculates the rarity score via the calculation unit 32.

[0144] 16 shows an example of the rarity score table. The rarity score table is notified to the user's terminal device 200 together with the index table shown in FIG.

[0145] In this example, the rarity score is calculated for Japanese patents whose owners are ABC Co., Ltd. and whose annuity payment due dates fall within the target period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022.

[0146] For example, the patent with registration number 123456 has an IPC of A03A 1 / 00. Among the Japanese patents with annuity payment due date between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022, the number of cases (number of rights) with the same IPC A03A 1 / 00, which are owned by ABC Co., Ltd., is 221. Of these 221 cases, the expiration ranking of registration number 123456 is 192. Note that the expiration ranking is set so that the number increases as the expiration period increases, with the shortest expiration period being number 1. Therefore, the rarity score of registration number 123456 is 192 / 221 = 0.869.

[0147] In addition, in the rarity score table, if the rarity score does not satisfy a predetermined condition, it may be set to be highlighted. For example, in the input screen SC1 shown in Fig. 3, when "average" is selected in the "total / average" item of the rarity score setting unit 53 and the predetermined condition is set to 0.5 or less by a setting unit (not shown), the average value of the rarity score is highlighted in italicized bold as exemplified in Fig. 16.

[0148] With this configuration, the user can understand the rarity of the industrial property right being monitored.

[0149] In this example, the rarity score is created as a table including only a single piece of information. However, the rarity score may be included in the maintenance item list shown in FIG.

[0150] (Other variations)

[0151] In the above embodiment and modified examples, the IPC or annuity payment year is selected as the narrowing down item, but information other than the IPC and annuity payment year can also be set as the narrowing down item. For example, the inventor, co-applicant, number of claims, agent, filing country, etc. can be selected as the narrowing down item.

[0152] Second Embodiment In the above-described first embodiment and modified example, the industrial property right to be monitored for calculating the index is specified based on the information inputted in the monitoring target setting section 41 of the input screen SC1 shown in Fig. 3. However, the industrial property right to be monitored may be specified based on the industrial property right for which an inquiry is made about the payment of annuities.

[0153] That is, the index monitoring system 1 according to the second embodiment also functions as a system for managing annuities for industrial property rights. When making an inquiry about annuity payments for industrial property rights, the index monitoring system 1 is configured to calculate an index relating to the maintenance status of an industrial property right for which the annuity payment due date has arrived in the past, and to notify information relating to the index as reference information together with the inquiry about annuity payments.

[0154] 1, the control device 3 has an extraction unit 37. The extraction unit 37 is a functional block realized by the processor of the control device 3 executing a computer program. The extraction unit 37 accesses the management information database 21 and extracts the industrial property right for which an annuity payment is to be inquired.

[0155] FIG. 17 illustrates the flow of an annuity payment inquiry process executed by the control device 3 according to the second embodiment.

[0156] 17, first, the control device 3, via the extraction unit 37, refers to the management information database 21 and extracts industrial property rights whose annuity payment due dates fall within a predetermined period (STEP 11). The predetermined period can be set to, for example, a period of six months from the present into the future.

[0157] For example, if the execution date of this process is June 1, 2023, and an inquiry is made to ABC Co., Ltd. regarding annuity payments for industrial property rights, the control device 3 accesses the management information database 21 via the extraction unit 37, and extracts cases from the group of industrial property rights held by ABC Co., Ltd. where the annuity payment due date falls before December 1, 2023, six months after the execution date. The control device 3 executes the process of STEP 11, for example, at predetermined time intervals (for example, once a month).

[0158] Next, the control device 3 acquires information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored, which is identified based on the extracted industrial property rights, by the acquisition unit 31 (STEP 12). Specifically, the control device 3 acquires information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored, which has the same attribute information as the extracted industrial property rights and has an annuity payment due date that falls within the past target period, by the acquisition unit 31. The control device 3 then accesses the management information database 21 and the industrial property right information database 22 by the acquisition unit 31, and acquires information for calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored, which is identified. The past target period can be set in advance by the intermediate agent or the customer (user).

[0159] For example, when Japanese and American patents owned by ABC Corporation are extracted in STEP 11, the Japanese and American patents owned by ABC Corporation, whose annuity payment due dates fall within the past target period, are identified as the group of industrial property rights to be monitored. Then, information for calculating indicators relating to the maintenance status of the identified Japanese and American patents owned by ABC Corporation is obtained from the management information database 21 and the industrial property information database 22.

[0160] Next, the control device 3 calculates, via the calculation unit 32, an index regarding the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored based on the information for calculating an index regarding the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored acquired by the acquisition unit 31 (STEP 13).

[0161] The indicators relating to the maintenance status of industrial property rights can be set in advance by the intermediate agent or the client (user) from among the abandonment rate, maintenance rate, number of abandonments, number of maintenance cases, LOR rate, and number of LORs.

[0162] Next, the control device 3 notifies, via the notification unit 34, an inquiry regarding the payment of annuities for industrial property rights whose annuity payment due dates fall within a specified period, as well as information regarding indicators relating to the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights being monitored (STEP 14).

[0163] 18 is an example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 200 of ABC Co., Ltd. The screen displays an index table 62 together with an annuity payment inquiry case list 61. The annuity payment inquiry case list 61 includes information on cases in which the annuity payment due date for the group of industrial property rights held by client ABC falls within six months.

[0164] In the annuity payment inquiry case list 61, the statutory deadline is the deadline for paying maintenance annuities to the Japan Patent Office as stipulated by law. The reply deadline is the deadline by which the annuity management company wishes to reply to the customer, which is set earlier than the statutory deadline in order to encourage a reply from the customer. In this example, the reply deadline is set one month before the statutory deadline.

[0165] Indicator table 62 shows the number of patents maintained, the maintenance rate, the number of patents abandoned, and the abandonment rate calculated for each year for Japanese and American patents whose annuity payment due dates fall within the period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 and whose owners are ABC Co., Ltd.

[0166] Indicators that do not satisfy the predetermined conditions may be highlighted in bold italics. The predetermined conditions may be set, for example, appropriately for each application country and each year. In this example, the predetermined conditions for the maintenance rate of Japanese patents are set to 90% or more for the fourth year, 85% or more for the fifth year, and 80% or more for the sixth year. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18, the maintenance rates for the fourth and sixth years that do not satisfy the predetermined conditions are highlighted in bold italics. In addition, the predetermined conditions for the maintenance rate of American patents are set to 90% or more for the third year, 65% or more for the seventh year, and 30% or less for the eleventh year. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18, the maintenance rates for the seventh and sixth years that do not satisfy the predetermined conditions are highlighted in bold italics. In this example, the predetermined conditions are not displayed, but may be displayed in the indicator table 62 or the like.

[0167] According to this configuration, when a user considers annuity payments for the industrial property right that is the subject of an inquiry, the user can refer to information on indicators relating to the past maintenance status of the industrial property right.

[0168] In the above embodiment, the industrial property rights to be monitored are identified based on the right holder and the country of application, but the industrial property rights to be monitored may also be identified based on the applicant, inventor, IPC, etc.

[0169] In the above embodiment, the industrial property right held by the client itself is specified as the industrial property right to be monitored. However, the industrial property right held by another company may be specified as the industrial property right to be monitored. In other words, the industrial property rights to be monitored may be the industrial property rights held by another company that have the same attribute information (e.g., country of application, IPC, etc.) as the industrial property right for which annuity payments are made. The information on the other company and other attribute information may be specified in advance by the intermediate agent or the client.

[0170] Fig. 19 is another example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 200 of ABC Co., Ltd. The pension payment inquiry case list 61 is the same as that in Fig. 18, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0171] In this example, in the indicator table 63, the number of maintained patents, the maintenance rate, the number of abandoned patents, and the abandonment rate are calculated for each year for Japanese and American patents owned by BCD Co., Ltd., whose annuity payment due date falls in the first target period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021. In addition, the number of maintained patents, the maintenance rate, the number of abandoned patents, and the abandonment rate are calculated for each year for Japanese and American patents owned by BCD Co., Ltd., whose annuity payment due date falls in the second target period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022.

[0172] Furthermore, in this example, when the difference between an index in the first target period and an index in the second target period does not satisfy a predetermined condition, the index is highlighted. The predetermined condition for the difference between the index in the first target period and the index in the second target period can be set appropriately for each application country or year, for example.

[0173] For example, in this example, the predetermined condition for the difference in the abandonment rate of Japanese patents is set to less than 10%. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 19, the abandonment rate of Japanese patents of BCD Co., Ltd. in the fourth year, in which the difference between the abandonment rate of Japanese patents in the first target period and the abandonment rate of Japanese patents in the second target period is 10% or more, is highlighted in italic bold. Note that the predetermined condition is not displayed, but may be displayed in the indicator table 63, etc.

[0174] In this example, the screen displayed on the user's terminal device 200 includes a reference comment 64 in addition to the pension payment inquiry case list 61 and the index table 63. In this example, since the abandonment rate of BCD Co., Ltd.'s Japanese patents in the fourth year does not meet the specified condition (less than 10%), the reference comment 64 states a comment to the effect that the abandonment rate of BCD Co., Ltd.'s Japanese patents in the fourth year has increased by 10% or more.

[0175] That is, the control device 3 is configured to notify, via the notification unit 34, information regarding indicators regarding the maintenance status of the industrial property right for which annuity payments are inquired and the industrial property right being monitored, as well as comments to be referred to in determining whether to maintain or abandon the industrial property right for which annuity payments are inquired.

[0176] It should be noted that the reference comment 64 is not limited to the example in Fig. 19. For example, the reference comment 64 may include a comment suggesting that consideration should be given to maintaining or abandoning the industrial property right for which annuity payments are inquired, in accordance with an increase or decrease in an indicator such as a maintenance rate or abandonment rate.

[0177] According to such a configuration, a user can refer to the indexes of other companies' industrial property rights when considering annuity payments for the industrial property right that is the subject of an inquiry.

[0178] In addition, if the difference between an index calculated in a first target period and an index calculated in a second target period does not satisfy a specified condition, the difference is highlighted, so that the user can easily understand the changes between past indexes and the most recent indexes.

[0179] In addition, a reference comment is also notified to the user in order to determine whether to maintain or abandon the industrial property right that is the subject of the annuity payment inquiry, so that the user can consider whether to pay the annuity for the industrial property right that is the subject of the inquiry while referring to the reference comment.

[0180] In the above embodiment, the industrial property right that is the subject of the inquiry about the payment of the pension is extracted, and the industrial property right having the same attribute information as the extracted industrial property right is specified as the industrial property right to be monitored. However, for example, when making an inquiry about a request for examination, the industrial property right that is the subject of the inquiry about the request for examination may be extracted, and the industrial property right having the same attribute information as the extracted industrial property right may be specified as the industrial property right to be monitored.

[0181] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modified or revised examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, the components in the above embodiment may be arbitrarily combined within the scope of the invention.

[0182] In the above embodiment and variants, patents are taken as examples of industrial property rights, but indicators of utility models, designs and / or trademarks may also be monitored.

[0183] In the above embodiment and modified examples, the index monitoring system 1 may be managed by a user. In this case, the terminal device 200 may be configured to form a single device together with the index monitoring system 1, or may be communicatively connected to the index monitoring system 1 via an internal network.

[0184] In the second embodiment described above, a reference comment is displayed when making an inquiry about an annuity as shown in FIG. 19. However, in the first embodiment and the modified examples described above, comments suggesting that the user should consider maintaining or abandoning the industrial property rights he or she holds may also be included in response to an increase or decrease in indicators such as the maintenance rate or abandonment rate.

[0185] In the above embodiment and modified examples, the number of maintained cases, the maintenance rate, the number of abandoned cases, and the abandonment rate are calculated based on the number of industrial property rights that were actually maintained by the prescribed procedures or were not maintained without the prescribed procedures among the number of industrial property rights whose deadlines for taking the prescribed procedures required to maintain the industrial property rights fall within the target period. However, for example, the number of maintained cases, the maintenance rate, the number of abandoned cases, and the abandonment rate may be calculated based on the number of rights that are maintained or abandoned at a later point in time among the number of rights that are maintained at a certain point in time.

[0186] For example, if the number of industrial property rights of a user that existed (maintained) one year ago was 100, and the number of industrial property rights of the user that existed one year later is 80, the number of maintained rights is calculated as 80, and the number of abandoned rights is calculated as 20. This calculation method is established by individually identifying and tracking the 100 rights from one year ago. For example, if the number of maintained rights and the number of abandoned rights are calculated based on the total number without individually identifying the industrial property rights of the user that existed, the number of industrial property rights of the user that were newly added by filing applications during the past year will also be counted, so even if 20 industrial property rights have been abandoned up to now, if 20 new industrial property rights are added, the number of maintained rights will not change in terms of the numbers. Alternatively, if the number of newly added rights is greater than the number of rights abandoned up to now, the number of maintained rights may exceed the 100 rights from one year ago. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and list the 100 industrial property rights of the user that existed one year ago, and verify the current state of those 100 rights (one year later) to calculate the number of abandoned rights, the abandonment rate, etc. If, out of the 100 on the list, 80 are still in existence (one year from now), then it can be said that 20 have been abandoned. Note that the number of abandoned industrial property rights does not, of course, include industrial property rights that have not been actively abandoned, i.e., industrial property rights whose term has expired within the past year. [Explanation of symbols]

[0187] 1. Indicator monitoring system 2 Storage device 21 Management Information Database 22 Industrial Property Information Database 23 Monitoring Information Database 3. Control device 31 Acquisition Department 32 Calculation section 33 Judgment section 34 Notification Department 35 List Creation Department 36 Cost Estimation Department 37 Extraction part 41 Monitoring target setting section 42 Index setting section 42A Index setting section 42B Index setting section 43 Target Period Setting Department 43A Target Period Setting Section 43B Target Period Setting Section 43R1 First input area 43R2 Second input area 44 Condition setting section 44A Condition setting section 44B Condition setting section 45 Item setting section 46 Save settings section 47 Setting input completion icon 48 Index Judgment Frequency Setting Unit 49 Notification method setting section 50 Messages 51 Additional input settings section 52 Cost Estimate Setting Section 53 Rarity score setting section 100 Communication Network 200 Terminal Equipment 201 Input section 202 Display section 300 Industrial Property Information Database

Claims

1. A control device that monitors indicators related to the maintenance status of industrial property rights and is communicably connected to a user's terminal via a network, a calculation unit that calculates an indicator regarding the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights to be monitored based on a database in which at least the maintenance status of the industrial property rights is recorded; a notification unit that notifies a terminal of the user of information related to the indicator when at least the indicator does not satisfy a predetermined condition; A control device comprising:

2. The indicators regarding the maintenance status are: The number of cases in which rights were actually maintained through the prescribed procedures among the group of industrial property rights under monitoring to which the deadlines of the prescribed procedures necessary to maintain the industrial property rights during the target period belong; A maintenance rate indicating the ratio of the number of cases of maintenance to the number of cases of the group of industrial property rights under monitoring to which the deadlines of the procedures necessary to maintain the industrial property rights during the target period belong; The number of abandoned cases, which indicates the number of cases in which the rights were not maintained because the required procedures were not carried out among the group of industrial property rights under monitoring, to which the deadline for the required procedures to maintain the industrial property rights during the target period belongs; and an abandonment rate indicating the ratio of the number of abandonments to the number of industrial property rights in the group of industrial property rights under monitoring to which the deadlines of procedures necessary to maintain the industrial property rights during the target period belong; The control device of claim 1 , wherein the control device is at least one of:

3. The calculation unit periodically calculates the index, The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the notification unit notifies the user's terminal of information related to the index, regardless of whether the index satisfies a predetermined condition.

4. The control device according to claim 3 , wherein the group of industrial property rights to be monitored is a group of industrial property rights of an applicant or right holder different from the user.

5. The control device according to claim 3 , wherein the notification unit causes information about the index to be displayed as a pop-up on the terminal of the user.

6. The control device includes: an extracting unit for extracting, from the group of industrial property rights held by the user, a group of industrial property rights for which an annuity payment due date falls within a predetermined period and for which an inquiry is made as to whether or not payment is required; the calculation unit calculates an index relating to the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights having attribute information identical to attribute information associated with the industrial property right extracted by the extraction unit, the group having an annuity payment due date prior to the predetermined period; Calculate indicators regarding the maintenance status of The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the notification unit notifies the user's terminal of information related to the index together with the industrial property right for which the annuity payment is inquired.

7. The control device according to claim 6, wherein the notification unit notifies a comment to be referenced for determining whether to maintain or abandon the industrial property right for which the annuity payment is inquired, together with information regarding the industrial property right for which the annuity payment is inquired and the indicator.

8. The group of industrial property rights to be monitored is a group of industrial property rights held by a first applicant or a first right holder, and a group of industrial property rights held by a second applicant or a second right holder; The calculation unit calculates a first indicator regarding the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights held by the first applicant or first right holder, and a second indicator regarding the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights held by the second applicant or second right holder; The control device described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the notification unit notifies the user's terminal of information regarding the first index and information regarding the second index at least when the first index does not satisfy a first specified condition or the second index does not satisfy a second specified condition.

9. The calculation unit is Calculate a first indicator regarding the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored, which includes a deadline for a prescribed procedure required to maintain the industrial property rights during a first target period, and a second indicator regarding the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored, which includes a deadline for a prescribed procedure required to maintain the industrial property rights during a second target period different from the first target period; The notification unit is The control device according to claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising: a control device that notifies the user's terminal of information regarding the difference between the first index and the second index when at least the difference between the first index and the second index does not satisfy the specified condition.

10. 10. The control device according to claim 9, wherein the deadline for a procedure required to maintain said industrial property right is a deadline for payment of an annuity.

11. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the notification unit highlights the indicator that does not satisfy the predetermined condition on the terminal of the user.

12. 3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the notification to the user's terminal is performed by sending an e-mail to an address designated by the user.

13. The control device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the calculation unit calculates an index regarding the maintenance status of the group of industrial property rights to be monitored for each group of industrial property rights grouped based on attribute information accompanying the group of industrial property rights to be monitored.

14. The control device includes: a list creation unit for creating at least one of an abandoned case list that compiles the industrial property rights under monitoring whose maintenance status indicates abandonment and a maintained case list that compiles the industrial property rights under monitoring whose maintenance status indicates maintenance; 3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies the user's terminal of at least one of the abandoned case list and the maintained case list together with information about the index.

15. The control device includes: a cost prediction unit for predicting future costs to be incurred for the group of industrial property rights to be managed, The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the notification unit notifies the user's terminal of a predicted amount of expenses to be incurred in the future together with information about the index.

16. A control device for managing annuities for industrial property rights, the control device being communicably connected to a user terminal via a network, extracting, from the group of industrial property rights held by the user, a group of industrial property rights for which an annuity payment due date falls within a predetermined period and for which an inquiry is made as to whether or not payment is required; calculating an index relating to the maintenance status of a group of industrial property rights having the same attribute information as the attribute information associated with the extracted group of industrial property rights, the group having an annuity payment due date prior to the predetermined period; a control device that notifies the user's terminal of information related to the index together with the industrial property right for which the annuity payment is inquired.

17. The indicators regarding the maintenance status are: the number of maintenance cases, which indicates the number of cases that have actually been maintained through the payment of annuities among the industrial property rights under monitoring whose due dates for annuity payment fall within the target period; a maintenance rate indicating the ratio of the number of the maintenance cases to the number of the monitored industrial property rights whose annuity payment due date falls within the target period; the number of abandoned cases, which indicates the number of cases in which annuity payments were not made and the industrial property rights under monitoring, which have annuity payment due date falling within the target period, were not maintained; an abandonment rate indicating the ratio of the number of abandonments to the number of industrial property rights under monitoring whose annuity payment due dates fall within the target period; The number of LORs, which indicates the number of cases for which an LOR was actually filed among the group of industrial property rights under monitoring whose annuity payment due date falls within the target period; and an LOR rate indicating the ratio of the number of LORs to the number of industrial property rights under monitoring whose annuity payment due dates fall within the target period; The control device according to any one of claims 1, 6 and 16, wherein the control device is at least one of:

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