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(RFID 2004 - - - *Sample* *Sample* *Sample*)
RFID Market Overview
This section provides an overview of RFID from a commercial standpoint as determined by the patent record. HistoryThe foundation for RFID technology is very old. It is based on radio frequency communications technology. An RFID tag is basically a simple radio transceiver. As such, many technical components descend directly from radio systems which have a patent history going back into the late 1800’s. Mutual induction, the basic principle behind passive RFID systems, was first demonstrated by Faraday in 1835. Marconi demonstrated radio transmission in 1885 and received a patent for it in 1897. The importance of antenna design was quickly recognized and inventors quickly responded. Antenna design was fully explored in the 1920’s and quickly became saturated. ….. What does this tell us? Clearly there are other ways to look at this. …… WhenThe comments and observations are primarily about RFID patent activity in 2003. However, it is important to keep in mind multiple time related perspectives related to these patents….. WhoThe following companies were assigned 3 or more RFID related patents in 2003. The number following the name indicates the number of assignments. U.S. Companiesmmmmmmmmm, Inc. x (xxxxx, AK)
Foreign Companieskkkkkk Pty Ltd 4 (kkkkkk, AU)
What can this list tell us? The industry is in fluxThe mix of names on the list suggests multiple new patterns are developing. There are some very big name players like ……. There are also relatively small players who think they can compete with them. The small players are exploiting niche applications. But, what about the major companies? …… There are also some notable absences from the list. xxxxxxxx, for example, one of the leading manufacturers of RFID products doesn’t show up at all. Some industry leaders expect RFID to move soonThe number of big names with multiple technology assignments in RFID indicates ….. But, why is yyyyy on this list and why at the top? RFID technology is exploding into niche applicationsvvvvvv is pushing RFID for tires. Cccccc …. are applying RFID to track welding supplies and ….. Dddd is focused on ….. This niche explosion is even more clear if you read through the list of single patent assignments. RFID technology has already migrated out of the U.S.The companies shown here, from Australia and The Netherlands, are significant because ….. There has been a pattern ( cycle ) in the past that the U.S. would develop technology and later see it go overseas for manufacture. The number of foreign players already in RFID indicates that the duration of this cycle may be shortening dramatically.
WhatLet’s dig a little deeper and look at what technologies and applications the marketing departments are chasing …... The leading contenders are:
What can this list tell us? Technology really does take a long time to enter the marketFor example, RFID based toll collection patents were already being issued back in 1971. But automated toll collection is just now being implemented around the country. Retail goods and ….. The patent record is predictive of future products…………. RFID, and specifically item identification, is a mature conceptTechnology development patents cover the following areas: 6 areas …………
The number of 2003 patents in each area is shown. What cannot be shown by patent count is the complexity or contribution of the patents. In summary, the technical contribution to RFID in the 2003 patents is …………. In summary, ……. . plus 4 technical items ………
What about all the new RFID products being introduced? ….. So, ….., what’s the prognosis for the future? As with all …… Where256 RFID related patents were assigned to firms in 2003. The largest group, 199 patents, were assigned to ….. However, this means that 57 assignments, or 22% of the total, were assigned to foreign firms. The bulk of these went to ….. The inventor / assignment numbers can be explored in another way. Rather than just a total of actions, we can look at the details for each patent. This is complicated because a single invention can have many inventors. The term “inventor action” is used to mean a successful patent prosecution for a specific inventor. When a patent lists multiple inventors, each inventor is credited with an action for that patent. Some inventors also have multiple patents. Each successful patent is credited as an action for that inventor. What can the data tell us? There is a significant amount of innovation trading going onWhen we look at each patent, we find that a large number of assignments are ……. This has multiple implications. 3 listed ……… Some states are more active than others This is not surprising. But the magnitude of the differences is substantial. Xxxxx is by far the most aggressive. It included ……… The other states had less than half of these values. Specifically:
RFID technology has already begun to migrate out of the U.S. U.S. inventor actions accounted for xxx% of U.S. RFID invention actions. Conversely, foreign inventor actions accounted for yyyy% of RFID related U.S. patents. The most significant players were: ……... What can this tell us?
The xxx% inventive capability number may be a more significant fact than the observation of manufacturing going off shore. In the wake of losing its manufacturing capability, the U.S. tries to take comfort in an expectation that it will maintain a lead in creativity. These numbers challenge this notion. And note, again, these numbers are for foreign inventors getting U.S. patents. They don’t account for foreign RFID patents, of which there are many. RFID technology is bought and sold in a global market……….. A global market does not always mean U.S. involvement………
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