Patent Specialization Atlas as a Tool for the Monitoring of Promising Technological Areas

Introduction. To enter top 5 countries leading in technological development, it is necessary to increase the R&D aimed at creating protectable engineering solutions and techniques. Patenting activity analysis indicates a global trend for reduction in applications. It also highlights the main problems hindering the growth of patenting activity in Russia: low demand of business for inventions, decrease in the number of researchers, etc. On the base of the literature analysis made, the authors conclude that many studies of innovation and technological potential often do not take into account the inluence of such an important factor as the size of a country. It is also not always taken into account that some countries patent more than others in all areas of technology. Only a small part of researchers note the relevance of the use of additional indicators in order to minimize the inluence of the above factors. Materials and Methods. The article discusses the issues of identifying the most actively developing technological areas with the use of the Relative Specialization Index (RSI). After analyzing various sources of information, the authors identiied two approaches to RSI calculation. One of them is used by the UK patent oice, and the second, more common, is used by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Both approaches help to deine the country's existing S&T priorities and its position among other countries in each of 35 technological areas according to the International Patent Classiication (IPC). The authors base their study on the UK approach. Results and Discussion. The article presents a comparative analysis of patenting dynamics in the Russian Federation and abroad through the lens of technological areas, the examples of calculating and applying RSI for the patent specialization atlas creation. Today domestic funds to support science, technology and innovation do not actively use patent information for the purpose of technological forecasting that is necessary to form competitions for the support of scientiic projects. That in turn can lead to ineicient investing. Conclusion. The authors developed the patent specialization atlas (according to patents granted) on the base of the patent specialization index, which can be used by the funds to support science, technology and innovation in making strategic decisions concerning investment, as well as grant receivers at the stage of designing technological solutions. The study resulted in the matrix of the RSI ranking of countries by technology area that makes it possible to determine a position of the Top 10 countries leading in patenting activity.