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With IP Pilot, you can identify the technical areas/nice classes that are gaining momentum in your jurisdiction. By exporting and analyzing the data in Excel, you can spot trends and prioritize areas for business development or investment.

1. Access the Appropriate Module and Search Feature

  • To analyze emerging Technical Areas, click the PAT button at the top left in the navigation bar to select the Patents module.
  • Or, to analyze emerging Nice Classes, click the TM button at the top left in the navigation bar to select the TM module.
  • Then, click Search in the main navigation panel.


2. Configure Your Search for Applicants

  • In the first drop-down menu, change the default selection from Law Firms to Applicants.
  • You may leave the next two drop-down menus as they are for a broader search.
    • If you want to focus on applicants from a specific country, select the relevant country or countries from the dropdown.

3. Set the Filing Jurisdiction and Time Period

  • In the File At field, select the publication authority that’s relevant to your analysis (e.g., your own jurisdiction).
  • Under Year Type, choose Prosecuted.
  • Select the From and To years that match the period you wish to analyze.

4. Add the Technical Areas Over Time Chart

  • In the Add Chart section, choose Technical Areas Over Time from the dropdown.
  • This chart will show how many filings were made in each technical field over the selected period.

5. Apply Additional Filters (Optional)

  • To narrow down your results, click Add Filter and select criteria such as number of filings, specific technical fields, or other filters.


6. Run the Search

  • Click Search to view your results.
  • The search will display:
    • A list of applicants, patent filings matching your criteria, overall patent filings of the applicant, and a chart breaking down filings by technical areas for each year.

Note: Each search returns a maximum of 1,000 results. Additional applicants beyond this limit will not be displayed.

7. Export Results to Excel

  • On the right side of the results page, click the Export button.
  • Download the Excel file, which will contain two sheets:
    • Sheet 1: All applicant names, their filings matching your criteria, and their overall filings.
    • Sheet 2: Applicant names, with annual filing counts broken down by technical area.

8. Analyze the Exported Data

  • Open the Excel file to review and manipulate the data:
    • Use filters, pivot tables, or charts to visualize growth trends in different technical fields or IPCs.
    • Look for technical areas showing a steady increase or significant recent growth; these represent emerging opportunities.
    • You can aggregate data by technical area, or year to highlight hot spots in your jurisdiction.

Example Scenario

Suppose you want to see which technical areas are emerging for patent applicants filing in your jurisdiction over the past five years:

  • Go to PAT > Search.
  • Set Applicants and leave country dropdowns blank (or select specific countries if you want to focus).
  • Choose your publication authority and set Year Type: Prosecuted for 2020–2024.
  • Add the Technical Areas Over Time chart.
  • Click Search.
  • Export results to Excel, and analyze Sheet 2 using pivot tables to see which technical areas have grown most rapidly.

Best Practices & Tips

  • Broader or Targeted Search: For trend analysis, start broad; use filters for more focused insights.

  • Time Frame Selection: Consider at least 3–5 years of data to identify sustainable trends rather than short-term spikes.
  • Export Regularly: Repeat this process quarterly or annually to track new and evolving technical fields.

For assistance with data analysis or creating custom charts in Excel, please send an email to support@ip-pilot.com.