A Framework for Valuation and Prioritization of Patents Using a Combined MADM Approach. Case Study: Nanotechnology

100 2019, XXII, 3 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2019-3-007 In oduc ion In angible asse s play a signi ican ole in o he a eas, in pa icula , de eloping he s a egy and c ea ing a pa en po olio o o ganiza ions (Wang, Ga cía, Guija o, & Moya, 2011). In gene al, inno a ion can be conside ed as he engine o de eloping en e p ise compe i i eness. To his end, he esea ch and de elopmen uni o o ganiza ions is ocused on in en ions and hei legal p o ec ion (Lee, Pa k, & Jang, 2015). Today, a signi ican po ion o he asse s o o ganiza ions is in angible asse s (Bishop, 2003). In ellec ual p ope y is ypically de ined as a se o p oduc s ha a e p o ec ed unde he laws ela ing o pa en s, copy igh s, adema ks, and ade sec e s (Kuma , 1994). S udies show ha h ee main ad an ages o pa en s, which add o he impo ance o hei egis a ion, a e o encou age he c ea ion o knowledge and inno a ion, o main ain knowledge in he o ganiza ion, and o p o ec iden i y and cha ac e is ics o change (Kuma , 1994). Acco dingly, de e mining he alue o pa en s is a c i ical ac o which plays a i al ole in he success o o ganiza ions (Ande son, 1992). A pa en is a se o exclusi e igh s g an ed by a coun y o an in en o o a limi ed pe iod, in exchange o de ailed public disclosu e o he in en ion (WIPO, 2008). O ganiza ions own a la ge numbe o hese egis e ed echnologies and in en ions (PCT, 2011). Success ul exploi a ion and managemen o hese pa en s is a c i ical ac o in he business s a egy o he o ganiza ion (IP4Inno, 2008). In his ega d, pa en alua ion and p io i iza ion is one o he main ac i i ies ela ed o he managemen o in ellec ual p ope y asse s in an o ganiza ion. Indeed, knowing he economic alue and he impo ance o in ellec ual p ope y igh s helps o make s a egic decisions abou he asse s o he o ganiza ion and also acili a es in ellec ual p ope y comme cializa ion and ansac ions (IP4Inno, 2008). The co ec and accu a e alua ion o pa en s is a conce n ha has led many esea che s o iden i y he c i e ia o his pu pose (Lee & Sohn, 2016; Fische & Leidinge , 2014). The e a e di e en app oaches o alue and p io i ize pa en s (Pa & Smi h, 1994), including cos - o ien ed (D ews, 2001), ma ke -o ien ed (Da yl & D ews, 2006), income-o ien ed (Kamiyama, Sheehan, & Ma inez, 2006) and eal op ions app oach (Pi ke hly, 1999). These me hods canno calcula e he economic alue o pa en s and in angible asse s, and hei esul s a e di e en (Young-Ki, Seung-Jun, & Seong-Taek, 2016). In pa icula , he cos -o ien ed app oach does no ha e he abili y o calcula e po en ial u u e p o i ; ma ke -o ien ed app oach can be measu ed in heo y, bu in p ac ice, he e is gene ally no ma ke o compa e he alue o he desi ed pa en ; and he income-o ien ed me hod is also alid in opinion, bu in p ac ice he e is no abili y o calcula e u u e cash low (Hy önen & Ja imo, 2010). On he o he hand, esea che s ha e ound ha alua ion and p io i iza ion o pa en s a e no su icien enough i we only conside a pa icula c i e ion ( o wa d ci a ions, backwa d ci a ions, pa en ’s li e, e c.) (Rei zig, 2004). Acco dingly, a wide ange o c i e ia should be conside ed o his pu pose (Wang, Ga cía, Guija o, & Moya, 2011). Gi en he need o add ess di e en ules and he di e ence be ween he impo ance o each o hese c i e ia, mul i-a ibu e decision-making (MADM) me hods can be bene icial (Chiu & Chen, 2007; Dahooie, Vanaki, Mohammadi, & Fi ooz a , 2018). MADM app oaches make A FRAMEWORk FOR VALUATION AND PRIORITIZATION OF PATENTS USING A COMBINED MADM APPROACH. CASE STUDY: NANOTECHNOLOGY Jalil Heida y Dahooie, Na id Mohammadi, Mehdi Mohammadi, Pa isa Shahmohammadi, Zenonas Tu skis, Jonas Šapa auskas EM_3_2019.indd 100 05.09.2019 9:50:47 101 3, XXII, 2019 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen i possible o o e come he complexi y o his issue and acili a e decision-making on pa en s and de e mining hei s a egic posi ion (Wang, Ga cía, Guija o, & Moya, 2011). Ano he app oach ecen ly conside ed by he esea che s in he a ea o echnology alua ion is MADM app oach (Si ile ičius, Za adskas, & Tu skis, 2008; Za adskas, Tu skis, Vol ačio as, & Kildiene, 2013; Za adskas, An uche iciene, Sapa auskas, & Tu skis, 2013). The logic o hese me hods elies on he p inciple ha each o he pa en indica o s calcula es a pa o he alue o he op ion, and he e o e, i is necessa y o conside all he dimensions and indica o s oge he when calcula ing he pe o mance o each pa en (Ma ei, 2009; Young-Ki, Seung-Jun, & Seong-Taek, 2016). This app oach akes in o accoun a ious alua ion indica o s, de e mines he alue and posi ion o pa en s (Chiu & Chen, 2007). So a li le a en ion has been paid o his app oach, and adi ional me hods ha e been mainly used o he alua ion o pa en s. This pape p o ides a amewo k o using MADM me hods o alue pa en s and ills he gaps in he li e a u e is as ollows:  In ending o o e a comp ehensi e pa en assessmen model, he c i e ia emphasized in pas esea ches should be summa ized and an app oach should be p oposed ha in addi ion o ga he ing he iews o he expe s on he de eloped model can localize app op ia ely o he condi ions o he case s udy.  Since he decision-making me hods p e iously used in he ew ela ed s udies a e complica ed and ime-consuming, his s udy o e s o use mul i-a ibu e decision- making me hods, which in addi ion o easiness, ha e he necessa y e iciency and can ake in o accoun he iews o he expe s in he e alua ion p ocess.  This esea ch uses eal da a egis e ed in he o m o pa en s, in con as o many p e ious s udies ha only conside he expe opinions o e alua e he al e na i es. In he i s s ep o he esea ch, he indica o s o p io i iza ion and alua ion o pa en s ha e been ex ac ed om he li e a u e. Then, using he opinions o he expe s in he ield o echnology managemen as well as he ield o nano echnology, hese indica o s ha e been inalized based on he amewo k o he uzzy Delphi me hod and ca ego ized acco ding o hese opinions as well as gene al ca ego ies in p io i iza ion and alua ion a icles. Then, using he iews o he expe s in bo h a eas, he weigh o he indica o s has been ob ained based on a MADM me hod, SWARA. In he end, using he ARAS me hod, alua ion and p io i iza ion o pa en s in he ield o nano echnology (12 pa en s), egis e ed a he I anian Adminis a ion o Regis a ion o Documen s in 2016, has been add essed. In he i s sec ion a e he in oduc ion, he backg ound o his esea ch is e iewed, and he inal indica o s a e aken om he li e a u e. Then, he esea ch me hodology and MADM app oaches used in his esea ch a e desc ibed. La e , a e desc ibing he case s udy, he da a analysis is done o weigh and p io i ize he pa en s. Finally, he conclusions o he esea ch a e exp essed. 1. Backg ound Re iew As p e iously s a ed, p io i iza ion and alua ion o pa en s hold a special place in manage ial decisions, especially in knowledge-based o ganiza ions (Spinello, 2007). Besides, his alua ion equi es simul aneous a en ion o mul iple c i e ia a ec ing he alue o pa en s (Rei zig, 2004). Wi h he help o mul i-a ibu e decision making, he in ellec ual p ope y alua ion app oach has been used in se e al a icles o inc ease he accu acy o decision making on hese asse s (Chiu & Chen, 2007; Young-Ki, Seung-Jun, & Seong-Taek, 2016). This sec ion o he pape ies o e iew he p e ious a icles in he ield o p io i iza ion and e alua ion o pa en s o explain he esea ch gap in his a ea and de i e he ini ial lis o c i e ia used. Tab. 1 shows he mos c i ical esea ches in e ms o pu pose, p inciples, me hod(s), as well as he esul s. Because he de ails o he c i e ia ha e been showed in Tab. 3, we summa ized he c i e ia se o each pape in Tab. 1. In addi ion o he s udies desc ibed in he able abo e, o he esea che s ha e also ied o iden i y he c i e ia o alua ion and p io i iza ion o pa en s (Wu & Tseng, 2006; E ns , Legle , & Lich en hale , 2010; U.S. Pa en Applica ion Pa en No. 10/615,068, 2003; Kochupillai & Smi h, 2007; Fallah, Fishman, & Reilly, 2011; an de Vo s , 2011; Kopczewska & Kopy , 2014; Falk & Kenne h, 2017; Hi schey & Richa dson, 2001; Fab y, E ns , Langholz, & Kös e , 2006). EM_3_2019.indd 101 05.09.2019 9:50:47 102 2019, XXII, 3 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen Au ho s (yea ) Pu pose C i e ia Me hod Resul s (Lee & Sohn, 2016) Analysis o pa en po olio Po olio size, # o claims, backwa d ci a ions, o wa d ci a ions, echnology g ow h a es, … Fuzzy AHP Ma ke abili y and echnology dimensions ha e almos he same weigh . (Chiu & Chen, 2007) Valua ion o pa en s The essence o echnology, he cos dimensions, he p oduc ma ke , … AHP The cos dimensions a e he mos impo an . (Collan, Fed izzi, & Luukka, 2013) Rank pa en s S a egic i , echnical quali y, licensing po en ial, … Fuzzy TOPSIS-AHP The use o echnical expe s’ opinions inc eases he accu acy o alua ion. (Huang, 2016) Analysis o he pa en po olio # o pa en s g an ed, R&D human esou ces, o wa d and backwa d ci a ions, … TOPSIS and GRA GRA is sui able o analyzing sequen ial- ype da a. (Young-Ki, Seung-Jun, & Seong-Taek, 2016) Indica o s o echnology alua ion size o he po olio, he numbe o claims, he backwa d ci a ions, he o wa d ci a ions, … AHP Dimensions o echnology quali y and echnology g ow h a e con ibu e o 58% in echnology alua ion. (Fische & Leidinge , 2014) Pa en alua ion Pa en amily size, he # o o wa ding ci a ions, he # o IPC classes, … S a is ical me hods Fo wa d quo es and amily size a e s ongly ela ed o pa en alue. (Chiesa & Gila doni, 2005) Valua ion o echnology in buy- coope a e- sell decisions The cu en alue o p ojec cash lows, de ia ion o p ojec alue index, p ojec in es men cos , … S a is ical me hods To e alua e he pa en , you mus i s iden i y he scope o he pa en and i s pu pose and hen conside di e en alua ion app oaches oge he . (Pa k & Pa k, 2004) Technology alua ion A o al o 13 indica o s in ou dimensions: in insic, applica ion, alue- ype, and alue-size. S a is ical me hods In e alua ing he pa en , he opinions o ield expe s should be used. (Hy önen & Ja imo, 2010) Technology alua ion The size and li e cycle o he po en ial ma ke , he dis inc ini ial alue, … Scena io app oach Combining inancial and non- inancial indica o s educes he unce ain y inhe en in he na u e o he alua ion. (Lee, Pa k, & Jang, 2015) Iden i ying alua ion indica o s The numbe o pa en applica ions, he numbe o ci a ions and he cos o R&D S a is ical me hods I is necessa y o use he c i e ia in di e en app oaches o pa en alua ion. (Oh, Lei, Mi a, & Yen, 2012) E alua ing pa en s Ci a ions eg ession analysis Ranking pa en s (Hong, Seo, Kim, & Kang, 2010) In es iga ing di e en pa en alua ion indica o s echnology comple eness le el, echnology di icul y le el, echnology o iginali y, … S a is ical me hods Va ious inancial and non- inancial indica o s should be conside ed o alua ion o pa en s. Tab. 1: Li e a u e e iew (Pa 1) EM_3_2019.indd 102 05.09.2019 9:50:47 103 3, XXII, 2019 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen Au ho s (yea ) Pu pose C i e ia Me hod Resul s (Ma ei, 2009) Valua ion o pa en s # o in en o s, amily size, pa en scope, pa en wid h, enewabili y, o wa d / backwa d ci a ions, … S a is ical analysis P edic ing he alue o pa en s wi h con en ional app oaches such as ma ke -o ien ed has a lo o e o s. (Ma inez-Ruiz & Aluja-Bane , 2009) Indica o s o pa en alua ion. Ci a ions ecei ed, g an (p o ec ion le el), size o he pa en amily, … S a is ical me hods Indica o s o pa en alua ion (Ha, Liu, Cho, & Kim, 2015) Finding pa en alue indica o s. Knowledge s ock, he echnological scope, he in e na ional scope… PLS The c i e ia o he echnical domain (# o claims and IPCs) and he in e na ional p ope y domain a e mos impo an . (Kwon, Ryu, & Pa k, 2013) P io i izing pa en s Ac i i ies ela ed o pa en s, echnology li e cycle, … Delphi and Da a mining Expe s’ opinions ha e an e ec i e ole in con i ming he esul s om he clus e ing o echnologies. (Li mann- Hilme & Kucka z, 2009) Ranking he pa en s Th ee main dimensions a e pa en s eng h, comme cial po en ial and echnological po en ial Tex mining app oach The analysis and anking o pa en s p o ide use ul in o ma ion on R & D planning and echnology s a egy. (G imaldi, C icelli, Di Gio anni, & Rogo, 2015) Po olio Analysis Rela i e ma ke sha e, p obable ma ke g ow h, p o i ma gin, ma ke alue, … BCG ma ix The model p esen ed in his a icle can help SMEs decide on hei pa en s. (Rei zig, 2004) S a egic planning o echnology The # o pa en claims, he # o pa en ci a ions, ma ke co e age, s a egic ele ance, … S a is ical me hods The opinions o expe s ha e a signi ican ole in de e mining he posi ion and s a us o each pa en . (Lukach & Lukach, 2007) Valida ing indica o s by pa en s a egies Pa en age, he ma ke alue o he co po a ion, backwa d ci a ions, o wa d ci a ions, … s anda d de ia ion- - es Fo wa d ci a ions and ma ke alue o he company, ha e a obus connec ion wi h he pa en alue. (Wang, Ga cía, Guija o, & Moya, 2011) Pa en anking The numbe o o wa ding and backwa d ci a ions PageRank Algo i hm Pa en ci a ions a e signi ican in de e mining hei p io i y. (Ca e, 2005) P io i izing pa en s in he pa en po olio A numbe o pa en s, age o pa en s, o wa d ci a ions, backwa d ci a ions, … Goal p og amming Using quan i a i e and quali a i e c i e ia alongside each o he and using MADM app oaches inc ease he accu acy o alua ion. (Lee & Sohn, 2016) Pa en alua ion Al e na i e p oduc s, design a ound, b ead h o claims, … maximum achie able p o i me hod Valua ion o pa en s. Sou ce: own Tab. 1: Li e a u e e iew (Pa 2) EM_3_2019.indd 103 05.09.2019 9:50:48 104 2019, XXII, 3 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen As p e iously men ioned, backg ound and li e a u e e iew show ha he use o adi ional pa en alua ion app oaches such as cos - o ien ed (D ews, 2001), ma ke -o ien ed (Da yl & D ews, 2006), income-o ien ed (Kamiyama, Sheehan, & Ma inez, 2006) and eal op ion (Pi ke hly, 1999) ha e many sho comings (Lee, Pa k, & Jang, 2015; Ma ei, 2009) including he need o simul aneous a en ion o di e en inancial and non- inancial c i e ia oge he o each o he pa en s (Wang, Ga cía, Guija o, & Moya, 2011; Hong, Seo, Kim, & Kang, 2010; Hy önen & Ja imo, 2010); and he necessi y o using he opinions o expe s in de e mining he alue o pa en s and de e mining he c i e ia a ec ing he alue o pa en s in he echnological ield (G imaldi, C icelli, Di Gio anni, & Rogo, 2015; Ha, Liu, Cho, & Kim, 2015; Pa k & Pa k, 2004; Collan, Fed izzi, & Luukka, 2013). O e he pas ew yea s, he capabili ies o MADM me hods ha e been emphasized o add ess hese p oblems and de iciencies (Collan, Fed izzi, & Luukka, 2013; Chiu & Chen, 2007; Wang, Ga cía, Guija o, & Moya, 2011; Hashemkhani Zol ani, Za adskas, & Tu skis, 2013). Howe e , while he e has been an emphasis on he use o he MADM app oach by esea che s, he e ha e no been many ypes o esea ch in his ega d. On he o he hand, he e iew o Tab. 1 shows ha he e is no much ag eemen among esea che s abou he c i e ia o alua ion and p io i iza ion o pa en s. Howe e , so a , many s udies ha e been conduc ed o iden i y hese c i e ia. Hence, in his pape , we i s ex ac a lis o pa en e alua ion c i e ia based on a sys ema ic backg ound e iew o he pa en s and hen ca ego ize hem in he o m o uzzy Delphi me hodology conside ing he iews o expe s o sugges a comp ehensi e model o pa en e alua ion. Acco ding o he ole o expe s in his p ocess, in addi ion o comp ehensi eness, he de eloped model is consis en wi h he case s udy condi ions (pa en s in he ield o nano echnology in I an). Fu he , gi en ha many o he MADM me hods used in pas esea ches (such as AHP and TOPSIS) (Za adskas, Ma dani, Tu skis, Jusoh, & No , 2016; Aouadni, Rebai, & Tu skis, 2017) a e ime-consuming and ha e compu a ional complexi y, in his esea ch, we o e o use he SWARA and ARAS me hods, which in addi ion o easiness, ha e he necessa y e iciency and can genuinely conside he iews o he expe s in he e alua ion p ocess. Finally, by e iewing he p e ious a icles in he MADM ield, i can be seen ha he e alua ion o al e na i es is usually pe o med based on expe opinions. I has led o he loss o he bene i s o me hods such as pa en mining, which u ilize eal pa en da a. In his ega d, his s udy a emp s o e alua e pa en s based on a a ie y o c i e ia conside ing eal da a eco ded in pa en ID and o in eg a e expe opinions and ac ual da a as a basis o inal anking. (Zol ani, Yazdani, & Za adskas, 2018). 2. Resea ch Me hodology As desc ibed in he p e ious sec ions, his s udy aimed o p o ide a amewo k o p io i ize and alue pa en s. The s eps aken in his di ec ion a e shown in Fig. 1. Based on his lowcha , in he i s s ep, a icles and p e ious s udies a e e iewed o ind he indica o s o pa en alua ion and p io i iza ion. Subsequen ly, hese indica o s a e ca ego ized and agg ega ed using he ca ego ies p esen ed in he a icles and u ilizing he opinions o echnology managemen expe s and p o esso s as well as I an Nano echnology Ini ia i e Council expe s in he o m o Delphi me hod. A e inaliza ion o he indica o s, a ques ionnai e on he weigh ing o indica o s is p epa ed and comple ed wi h he assis ance o expe s in he ield o nano echnology and echnology managemen . Then, using he MADM me hod o SWARA, he weigh o each indica o and dimension is ob ained. The o al numbe o expe s was 7, including uni e si y p o esso s in he ield o echnology managemen , nano echnology specialis s in he nano echnology co ido and specialis s om I an Nano echnology Ini ia i e Council. A e he inaliza ion o he indica o s and he amewo k o p io i izing and aluing he pa en s, pa en s egis e ed in 2016 a he documen egis a ion o ice in he ield o nanoscience ha e been in es iga ed and selec ed as he case s udy. Conside ing he impo ance o he ield o nano echnology, many successes in his a ea in ecen yea s, and he emphasis o he high-le el documen s o I an on he de elopmen o his ca ego y o echnologies, he nano echnology a ea is chosen o in es iga ion. Also, since his esea ch has been designed o p io i ize and alue non-comme cialized pa en s and o decide on he p io i y o in es men o hem, he EM_3_2019.indd 104 05.09.2019 9:50:48 105 3, XXII, 2019 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen pa en s o 2016 in he ield o nano echnology ha e been used. Howe e , i he pa en s o p e ious yea s we e used, expe s’ opinions would mo e owa ds comme cialized pa en s. To ex ac in o ma ion abou each o he indica o s o each o he pa en s, a ques ionnai e was p epa ed o each pa en and in o ma ion on i s quali a i e indica o s was collec ed and ecei ed by he expe s o he ield o nano echnology pa en s and nano echnology co ido as eamwo k. In pa allel, in o ma ion abou quan i a i e indica o s is also ex ac ed by he esea che om he ex o he desc ip ion o he in en ions. Finally, he inal ma ix o he da a o each o he 12 pa en s, examined in each o he indica o s, has been comple ed. Finally, he alue and p io i y o each o he pa en s a e ob ained using he MADM app oach, ARAS. 2.1 The SWARA Weigh ing Me hod In he SWARA me hod, he highes ank indica es he mos aluable c i e ion, while he lowes le el shows he leas impo an c i e ia. A e ha , he a e age o anking alues is aken o de e mine he inal anking (Ke šulienė & Tu skis, 2011). The capabili y o he SWARA me hod o e alua e expe p ecision abou he c i e ia is conside ed o be i s signi ican ad an age (Ke šuliene, Za adskas, & Tu skis, 2010). Fu he mo e, expe s can consul each o he , and such consul a ion imp o es he accu acy o his me hod (Zol ani & Sapa auskas, 2013). The app oach leads o imp o ed decision-making in a wide ange o si ua ions and a mo e app op ia e anking o he c i e ia o essen ial goals. The SWARA p o ides bene i s compa ed o o he weigh ing ools and me hods. I handles he abili y o es ima ion o expe s’ opinion abou c i e ia impo ance a io in de e mining he weigh s. Besides, i has he bene i o coo dina ing and ga he ing in o ma ion om expe s and is use - iendly, uncomplica ed, and simple, in which he expe s can e icien ly wo k oge he , and inally, i explo es he p oblem p io i ies acco ding o company policies (Zol ani, Yazdani, & Za adskas, 2018). Hence, SWARA can be conside ed as a p ope me hod o make policies and decisions a highe le els o he o ganiza ion (Zol ani & Sapa auskas, 2013). The model de eloped by o he ways, such as AHP and ANP (Tu skis, Lazauskas, & Za adskas, 2012; Medineckiene, Za adskas, Bjö k, & Tu skis, 2015), Ecken ode’s a ing (Tu skis, Dzi ac, S ankiu iene, & Šukys, 2019), En opy (Šapa auskas, Za adskas, & Tu skis, 2011) is based on c i e ia and p io i ies, bu model de eloped by SWARA is based on Fig. 1: The p ocess o conduc ing esea ch Sou ce: own EM_3_2019.indd 105 05.09.2019 9:50:48 106 2019, XXII, 3 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen he si ua ion, p e e ences and weigh s. In some p e ious s udies including (Hasan Aghdaie, Hashemkhani Zol ani, & Za adskas, 2013; Heida y Dahooie, Behesh i Jazan Abadi, Vanaki, & Fi ooz a , 2018; Zol ani, Es ahani, Bi a a an, Za adskas, & A e i, 2013), he SWARA me hod has been applied o a ious decision-making p oblems. Below is a summa y o he main s eps o his me hod: S ep 1: So ing c i e ia based on expe opinions. The mos impo an c i e ion is anked i s , and less c i ical c i e ia a e in he nex le els. S ep 2: De e mining he ela i e impo ance o each c i e ion. The ela i e impo ance o each measu e is de e mined conce ning he p e ious c i e ia. Sj deno es his ela i e impo ance. S ep 3: Calcula ing Kj, a ela i e impo ance unc ion o each c i e ion. This coe icien is calcula ed using Eq. (1): (1) S ep 4: Calcula ing he ini ial weigh o each c i e ion, which can be de e mined using Eq. (2): (2) S ep 5: De e mining he inal weigh o each c i e ion. I is he inal s ep in he SWARA me hod, in which he inal weigh o each c i e ion, he no malized weigh , is ob ained using Eq. (3): (3) The ARAS me hod, a ool o MADM, has been e y much conside ed, due o he heo y ha he e is a ai unde s anding o he complex phenomena o he wo ld h ough simple ela i e compa isons (Za adskas & Tu skis, 2010; Za adskas, Tu skis, & Vilu iene, 2010; Heyda i, Mohammadi, Vanaki, & Jamali, 2017; Š eimikienė, Šlioge ienė, & Tu skis, 2016; Za adskas, Tu skis, & Bagočius, 2015). I is a ela i ely simple bu e ec i e MCDM me hod (Ece , 2018). The ARAS me hod uses he concep o op imali y deg ee o achie e ankings. The op imali y deg ee is equal o he sum o he weigh ed no malized alues o he c i e ia acco ding o each al e na i e di ided by he sum o he weigh ed no malized alues o he bes choice. S ep 1: Gene a ing a decision ma ix m × n, whe e m and n deno e al e na i es and c i e ia, espec i ely: (4) xij deno es he pe o mance alue o he i- h al e na i e conce ning he j- h c i e ion. Also, x0i ep esen s he op imum alue o he j- h c i e ion. The unknown op imum alue o he a iable j in some cases can be ob ained using Eq. (4): (5) Meanwhile, i decision-make s use Like - ype scale i is equal o he maximal alue in he scale. In his esea ch, he maximal scale alue is Ve y High and equals o 5. Fo cos ype c i e ia, i he op imal alue is unknown, he op imal alue equals o he 0.8 o minimal j- h c i e ion alue o conside ed op ions, while he op imal alue o p o i c i e ion equals 1.2 o maximal c i e ion j- h c i e ion alue o conside ed op ions. In gene al, he al e na i e e alua ion alues conce ning c i e ia (xij) and each c i e ion weigh (wj) o m he decision ma ix en ies. Since each c i e ion has a ce ain dimension, o ca y ou a compa a i e analysis and o a oid po en ial consequences o di e en aspec s, dimensionless quan i ies should be ob ained. Fo his pu pose, weigh ed alues a e di ided by he op imal alue ob ained om Eq. (5). Se e al me hods can be used o de e mine use ul dimensionless alues, which a e desc ibed below. No maliza ion is a p ocess o con e ing he o iginal alues o he decision ma ix o alues in he in e al [0, 1] o [0; ∞]. S ep 2: No malizing he o iginal en ies o all c i e ia. deno es he no malized en ies o he ma ix ob ained. EM_3_2019.indd 106 05.09.2019 9:50:48 107 3, XXII, 2019 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen (6) Since he e a e wo ypes o c i e ia named as bene i ype and cos ype, he en ies can be no malized posi i ely o nega i ely acco ding o Eq. (7) and (8), espec i ely. (7) (8) The amewo k esul ing om he use o dimensionless quan i ies makes i possible o compa e each c i e ion wi h all o he s. S ep 3: Calcula ing he weigh ed no malized decision ma ix ( ). The weigh alues a e de e mined using subjec i e me hods and applied o he no malized decision ma ix . These weigh s should sa is y he ollowing equa ions: (9) (10) whe e , ep esen s he no malized alue o i- h al e na i e and wj deno es he weigh alue o he j- h c i e ion. Then, he op imali y unc ion alue, Si, can be calcula ed using Eq. (11): (11) The ARAS logic s a es ha he highes op imali y unc ion alue indica es he bes and he lowes op imali y unc ion alue indica es he wo s al e na i e. Acco dingly, al e na i es can be anked based on he alue o Si. The deg ee o u ili y Ki o he al e na i e Ai can be de e mined by compa ing each al e na i e wi h he bes /op imal al e na i e S0, as ollows: (12) whe e S0 and Si a e calcula ed by Eq. (11). Ki is applied o ank all he al e na i es, which is placed on [0,1]. 2.2 Da a Se In o ma ion Nano echnology is a discipline o applied science and echnology ha co e s a wide ange o opics. Nano echnology is he unde s anding and applica ion o new p ope ies o ma e ials and sys ems in his dimension ha show new physical e ec s – mos ly in luenced by he o e coming o quan um p ope ies on classical p ope ies (Poole J & Owens, 2003). I an has anked 29 h in 2012 in e ms o he numbe o pa en s eleased on nano echnology (Nanomagazine, 2012). Besides, as no ed ea lie , he impo ance o he ield o nano echnology has been highligh ed in he high-le el documen s o I an. Also, he signi ican p og ess o I an in his ield has led o he selec ion o his ield as a case s udy. On he o he hand, gi en ha he p oposed amewo k in his pape aims o p io i ize and alua ion o non-comme cial pa en s and decide on hei in es men p io i y, pa en s should be selec ed ha ha e no ye been comme cialized. The eason o he selec ion o pa en s o 2016 o e alua ion is ha hey ha e no ye been ma ke ed. The s udy popula ion included 12 pa en s egis e ed in he I anian Adminis a ion o Regis a ion o Documen s in he ield o nano echnology in 2016. These pa en s a e p o ided in Tab. 2, and he speci ica ions o each one a e p esen ed sepa a ely. 3. Analysis o he Findings In his sec ion, based on he s eps desc ibed in he esea ch me hodology sec ion, he ou comes o each le el a e explained. 3.1 Localiza ion o Pa en Valua ion and P io i iza ion C i e ia Th ough he s udies in he backg ound e iew (Tab. 1 abo e), o ex ac he indica o s o pa en alua ion and p io i iza ion, a la ge se o hese indica o s has been ob ained. A e he agg ega ion o he indica o s and hei ini ial EM_3_2019.indd 107 05.09.2019 9:50:49 108 2019, XXII, 3 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen inaliza ion, he indica o s we e modi ied and adjus ed h ough he Delphi me hod and using he opinions o expe s in he wo a eas o echnology managemen and nano echnology. The indica o s ha e been inalized du ing nume ous mee ings wi h hese expe s. To implemen he Delphi me hod in his s udy, a lis o expe s in he ield o nano echnology and echnology managemen was p epa ed a he beginning. In he nex s ep, he c i e ia ex ac ed om he li e a u e we e discussed in an in e iew wi h each o hese expe s and hei iews on each o he c i e ia ha e been ecei ed. Then, hese c i e ia we e modi ied based on in eg a ed opinions and we e agg ega ed wi h he e ised c i e ia in he second in e iew. Following he inaliza ion o he pa en alua ion and p io i iza ion c i e ia, hese c i e ia a e ca ego ized. Fo his pu pose, he ca ego ies in he a icles e iewed and discussed by h ee p e ious expe s ( wo expe s in he ield o nano echnology and one expe in he ield o echnology managemen ), ag eed by all he expe s in ol ed in he esea ch. Finally, by combining he ca ego ies in he a icles, he c i e ia a e ca ego ized in ou ca ego ies: echnology quali y ( ep esen ing he quali y o egis e ed pa en s ha includes measu es such as he numbe o ci a ions, he numbe o claims, he deg ee o newness, and so on (Huang, 2016; Lee & Sohn, 2016)), echnology na u e (including c i e ia such as Code Pa en i le Class P1 Fab ica ion o a and si a s ing wi h g aphene nanopla es G10B P2 P oduc ion o nano ca boxyme hyl cellulose/polys y ene co e-shell nanocomposi e o imp o e he p ope ies o d illing luids (oil and gas wells) B01J - B82B P3 Syn hesis o nanopa icles o g aphene oxide unc ionalized wi h PSS o enhance an i-co osion p ope ies o epoxy coa ing B82B - B01J P4 P epa a ion o Fe3O4 magne ic nanopa icle coa ed by poly o ho aminophenol o ex ac ion and measu emen o codeine using gas ch oma og aphy me hod C01B 31/00 - C01G 49/00 P5 C ea ion o a Supe Capaci o based on polyme -ca bon nanocomposi es using ac i e elec ode ma e ial o polypy ole, g aphene oxide and ca bon nano ubes B01J - B82Y P6 C ea ion o nanos uc u ed an alum ilm using pulsed DC- PACVD plasma assis ed chemical apou deposi ion C22C 27/02 - B82Y - C23C 16/00 P7 Syn hesis o i anium-silica /asco bic acid/cobal (TiO2-SiO2 / AA / Co) nanoca alys o con e sion and sepa a ion o dibenzo hiophene in he oxida ion desul u iza ion p ocess B01J 21/06 - B01J 23/75 - P8 The sac i icial polyme empla es o ab ica ion o me al and ce amic mic o/nano ne wo ks D06M 10/00 P9 Syn hesis o ca bon nano ubes unc ionalized wi h 3-amino- dihyd oxybenzoic-indeno- u an as hea y me al adso ben C02F 1/62 - B82Y P10 Pla inum /sul ona ed g aphene nanopa icles as ca alys ink o p o on exchange uel cells H01M 4/92 - B01J 23/42 P11 Nanocapsules con aining a agon (A emisia d acunculus) essen ial oil as an e ec i e he bal la icide agains Anopheles s ephensi A01N 65/12 - B82Y 5/00 P12 Gela in-Chi osan/Ca bon Nano ube Composi e Sca olds o Bone Tissue Enginee ing Applica ions B82Y 30/00 - A61K Sou ce: own Tab. 2: Speci ica ions o pa en s egis e ed in I an in 2016 in he ield o nano echnology EM_3_2019.indd 108 05.09.2019 9:50:49 115 3, XXII, 2019 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen SWARA weigh ing me hod was used. In he nex sec ion, 12 pa en s egis e ed in 2016 a he documen egis a ion o ice o I an in he ield o nano echnology we e in es iga ed and selec ed. These 12 pa en s we e selec ed as he esea ch communi y. Finally, ARAS me hod was used o p io i ize hese pa en s. The esul s o he SWARA me hod show ha he dimension D (comme cial and ma ke po en ial) is he mos c i ical dimension and he dimension C (economic alue), wi h e y li le di e ence, is he nex impo an dimension. Subsequen ly, he wo dimensions A ( echnology quali y) and B ( echnology na u e) a e in he hi d and ou h place, espec i ely. Among he indica o s, i e indica o s a e he essen ial indica o s including C1 (p ojec in es men cos ), C2 ( he cos s o p oduc ion and comme cializa ion o in en ion), C3 (economic ele ance), D1 ( echnology li e cycle) and D3 (pa en ma ke size). The i e indica o s wi h he lowes impo ance, weigh ed less han 0.01, a e B7 (con inua ion), A11 (numbe o claims), A5 (pa en complexi y), A1 (numbe o o wa ding ci a ions), A2 (numbe o backwa d ci a ions) and B2 (numbe o in en o s), espec i ely. Gi en ha he economic alue dimension indica o s, which include he cos o p ojec in es men , he cos s o in en ion p oduc ion and comme cializa ion, and he economic ele ance, ha e been selec ed as h ee impo an indica o s among he 35 inalized indica o s; i is sugges ed ha in en o s pay special a en ion o hese dimension indica o s and hei managemen . I can be a gued ha in en o s need o e iew and e alua e he cos s o in es men in he in en ion be o e hey a e egis e ed. I means ha he in en o will ha e o conside and decide on he economic jus i ica ion and he deg ee o p opo ionali y o his in en ion o u u e in es men s be o e spending on pa en egis a ion a in e nal and ex e nal da abases. A e he economic alue dimension indica o s, he echnology li e cycle appea s as he ou h impo an indica o . The impo ance o his indica o sugges s ha in en o s mus es ima e he li e cycle o hei echnology compa ed o he li ecycle o o he simila echnologies be o e spending on hei pa en s. Acco ding o hese es ima es, he in en o s ind ha he cos o he pa en and hen he sea ch o he igh in es o will gi e hem enough money o will was e hei ime and money. One o he poin s equi ing he a en ion o he in en o s, a he s age o w i ing in en ion desc ip ion and s a emen o claims, is desc ip ion and in e p e a ion o he pa en ma ke . This indica o is he i h mos impo an indica o . The in en o s should ca e ully examine all hei pa en applica ions and explain he ull desc ip ion o hei in en ion and examples o i s use in a ious indus ies be o e submi ing hei pa en . Ano he poin ha is impo an in demons a ing he de ails o he in en ion is he abili y o c ea e ma ke s in he u u e. As a en ion o he li ecycle o echnology is essen ial and should be o in e es o in en o s, e alua ion o al e na i e p oduc s is also c ucial. I means ha he lowe he numbe o al e na i e p oduc s o he in en ion, he mo e chance o success, he mo e po en ial o comme cializa ion and he mo e demand o he in en ion will be. The high weigh o he indica o s o al e na i e p oduc s, he numbe o applican s and he ocus on he comme cial aspec o business in his s udy indica e he impo ance o add essing his issue. Finally, he esul s o pa en alua ion and p io i iza ion indica e ha among he 12 pa en s examined, 3 pa en s a e he mos aluable, i led as “Gela in-Chi osan/Ca bon Nano ube Composi e Sca olds o Bone Tissue Enginee ing Applica ions”, “P oduc ion o nano ca boxyme hyl cellulose/polys y ene co e- shell nanocomposi e o imp o e he p ope ies o d illing luids (oil and gas wells)”and “Nanocapsules con aining a agon (A emisia d acunculus) essen ial oil as e ec i e he bal la icide agains Anopheles s ephensi”. Fu u e S udy Rega ding he discussed issues and pas esea ch gaps highligh ed in he backg ound e iew sec ion, he cu en esea ch inno a ion can be exp essed as h ee main ca ego ies:  P o iding a pa en e alua ion model ha is su icien ly comp ehensi e compa ed o he models p oposed in p e ious s udies and is localized and adap ed o he condi ions o he case s udy.  Use o ela i ely new MADM me hods inc eases he e iciency and e ec i eness o he decision-making p ocess by expe s.  They conside he ac ual da a con ained in he pa en ID o calcula ing he pa en pe o mance sco e in some quan i a i e indica o s, as well as ake ad an age o EM_3_2019.indd 115 05.09.2019 9:50:51 116 2019, XXII, 3 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen own expe ise and expe ience in e alua ing he quali a i e c i e ia associa ed wi h he pa en . To explain he localized model o alua ion and p io i iza ion o pa en s, we can use he indica o s ob ained in his esea ch and he modeling app oaches such as s uc u al equa ion app oach. On he o he hand, since many o he c i e ia used in his pape a e quali a i e and he opinions o he expe s a e in ol ed in hem, i is ecommended o use uzzy o g ey numbe s in u u e esea ches. Also, conside ing he c i e ia such as he abili y o c ea e new ma ke s, he abili y o des oy compe i o s’ ac i i ies and o he c i e ia o his kind, and since he opinions o expe s o hese c i e ia a e unce ain, mo e mode n me hods o mul i-a ibu e decision making such as HF and IVIF can be used in u u e esea ches o conside unce ain y condi ions. Re e ences Ande son, A. (1992). The Valua ion o In angible Asse s. London: Economis In elligence Uni . Aouadni, S., Rebai, A., & Tu skis, Z. (2017). The Meaning ul Mixed Da a TOPSIS (TOPSIS-MMD) Me hod and i s Applica ion in Supplie Selec ion. 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Vilnius Gediminas Technical Uni e si y Facul y o Ci il Enginee ing Ins i u e o Sus ainable Cons uc ion Labo a o y o Ope a ions Resea ch Li huania [email p o ec ed] Assoc. P o . Jonas Šapa auskas, PhD. Vilnius Gediminas Technical Uni e si y Facul y o Ci il Enginee ing Depa men o Cons uc ion Managemen and Real Es a e Li huania [email p o ec ed] EM_3_2019.indd 119 05.09.2019 9:50:52 120 2019, XXII, 3 Business Adminis a ion and Managemen Abs ac a ameWo k o aluaTion and p io iTizaTion o paTenTs using a combined madm app oach. case sTudy: nanoTechnology Jalil Heida y Dahooie, Na id Mohammadi, Mehdi Mohammadi, Pa isa Shahmohammadi, Zenonas Tu skis, Jonas Šapa auskas Pa en alua ion and p io i iza ion is one o he main ac i i ies o he managemen o in ellec ual p ope y asse s in an o ganiza ion. So a , nume ous a emp s ha e been made o de e mine he alue o pa en s, some o which ha e no been e icien due o igno ing some e ec i e dimensions o conside ing he same impo ance o all aspec s. To o e come his challenge, his esea ch aims o p o ide a amewo k o aluing and p io i izing pa en s using a combina ion o MADM me hods. Fo his pu pose, i s , he indica o s o pa en alua ion and p io i iza ion we e aken om he li e a u e and agg ega ed and inalized based on opinions o expe s o echnology managemen as well as nano echnology in he o m o a Delphi me hod. Second, he indica o s we e weigh ed, and hei impo ance speci ied based on expe opinions using he ques ionnai e ool and s epwise weigh assessmen a io analysis (SWARA) me hod. Thi d, he addi i e a io assessmen (ARAS) me hod was used o alue and p io i ize he pa en s. Fo his eason, 12 nano echnology pa en s, egis e ed in 2016 a he I anian Adminis a ion o Regis a ion o Documen s, we e alued and ul ima ely p io i ized. The esul s om he c i e ia weigh s indica e ha comme cial and ma ke po en ial and he economic alue should be selec ed as he mos c i ical dimensions. Also, among he indica o s, he p ojec in es men cos , he cos s o p oduc ion and comme cializa ion and he economic ele ance, we e selec ed as he mos c i ical indica o s. Among he 12 pa en s examined, “Gela in-Chi osan/Ca bon Nano ube Composi e Sca olds o Bone Tissue Enginee ing Applica ions” was iden i ied as he mos aluable pa en . Key Wo ds: Pa en alua ion, nano echnology, Mul i-A ibu e Decision-Making, SWARA, ARAS. JEL Classi ica ion: C44, O34. DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2019-3-007 EM_3_2019.indd 120 05.09.2019 9:50:52