Patent Portfolio Analysis of Cloud Computing Companies for SaaS

摘要

Cloud computing is a popular theme of network technology in recent years; however,the related research is limited.In this paper,the patent portfolio of cloud computing companies for SaaS(Software as a Service)is investigated on company level as well as technical level.We proposed a blended retrieval policy,which make use of ontology and major IPC(International Patent Classification)class of cloud computing.The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS)is adopted to integrate several patent quality relevant indicators into a new patent quality indicator which was normally evaluated by the cited ratio only.Based on the data of the patent portfolios,the patenting strength and technological positions of major companies in the category of SaaS are identified.Clearly,Microsoft pursues a holistic R&D strategy in cloud computing industry,and it owns most of the highest relative patent position value and it is the strongest patentee in most of the technological field.