Blockchain patent landscaping: An expert based methodology and search query

The present study is concerned with the emergence of Blockchain related technologies in terms of patenting activity. Blockchain has captured the attention of the public and research has intensified in this field over the last few years, making it a highly interesting topic of study for a patent analysis in order to obtain insight into the developments of this emerging technology. In this paper we present a unique methodology and exhaustive search strategy for identifying Blockchain patent documents by using a combination of specific keywords and patent classifications. This query was built in cooperation with subject matter experts of the European Patent Office (EPO). Our keyword set was then analysed by relevance and was prioritised. The set of specific relevant patent classifications was furthermore combined with keywords in order to exclude false positives. With our method- ology we present an exhaustive query for retrieving a highly relevant dataset of Blockchain related patents, extracted from the EPO databases that can be used for patent landscaping exercises or any other bibliometric analysis. In a case study we applied the search strategy to analyse worldwide Blockchain patenting from 2008 till 2018. The results are presented in this paper.The present article is based on a patent data study that was commissioned by the European Patent Office, Department 5.4.2.1 Patent Information research, with the aim of demonstrating to readers outside the disci- plines of patent analysis and Blockchain technologies, how patent in- formation can be used to gain insight and competitive advantages about a specific technological field. Additional bibliometric analysis, for the purposes of the present article, was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities under the framework R&D project “Detection of Spanish technology for connected Industry 4.0 in Euro- pean patent offices”

Designing a business model for SMEs global expansion: the case of WET in Hong Kong

Based on findings from Waste and Environmental Technologies Ltd. (WET) where I worked as director, this report demonstrates how WET as a Hong Kong-based small-medium enterprise (SME) succeeded to expand globally and build its international presence by establishing satellite operations, wherever the opportunity arises. It addresses internationalisation of expertise and technology by looking into the development of a patented invention, namely the WetSep system, to meet the needs of customers worldwide, supported by case studies of its success and failures in entering new markets. The major focus of the whole report can be categorised into four phases, namely review of existing business model and marketing strategy; case studies in Hong Kong, Australia and selected other countries from WET’s twenty years of operation; analysis of the case studies; and development of a future internationalisation strategy. I provided a detailed analysis of the business model and marketing strategy adopted for the long-term internationalisation for WET. My findings are that the 4 Is – Innovation (uniqueness and creative product of the business), Incubation, Intellectual Property and Integration (of technology) – are crucial in promoting the success of SMEs in internationalisation and business operation. Once a new idea is raised, the company should provide facilities and a good system to incubate and create solid ground for the development of the new idea. Moreover, key resources, key activities, key partners and market characteristics are important attributes for internationalisation. WET had been benefited from International Soft Landing Programme in Sydney Australia where WET’s 4 Is principle was well acknowledged for entering the programme. To conclude, I recommend that other SMEs follow the 4 Is principle when planning to expand their business internationally and always be open to changes. This Research Project Report hopes to prompt other SMEs to adopt a similar business approach based on WET’s 4 Is principle and internationalisation strategy

CHORUS Deliverable 2.1: State of the Art on Multimedia Search Engines

Based on the information provided by European projects and national initiatives related to multimedia search as well as domains experts that participated in the CHORUS Think-thanks and workshops, this document reports on the state of the art related to multimedia content search from, a technical, and socio-economic perspective. The technical perspective includes an up to date view on content based indexing and retrieval technologies, multimedia search in the context of mobile devices and peer-to-peer networks, and an overview of current evaluation and benchmark inititiatives to measure the performance of multimedia search engines. From a socio-economic perspective we inventorize the impact and legal consequences of these technical advances and point out future directions of research

EEG-based brain-computer interfaces using motor-imagery: techniques and challenges.

Electroencephalography (EEG)-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), particularly those using motor-imagery (MI) data, have the potential to become groundbreaking technologies in both clinical and entertainment settings. MI data is generated when a subject imagines the movement of a limb. This paper reviews state-of-the-art signal processing techniques for MI EEG-based BCIs, with a particular focus on the feature extraction, feature selection and classification techniques used. It also summarizes the main applications of EEG-based BCIs, particularly those based on MI data, and finally presents a detailed discussion of the most prevalent challenges impeding the development and commercialization of EEG-based BCIs

Defect Design, Chemical Synthesis and Associated Properties of Multifunctional TiO2-Based Nanocrystals

Local defect structures are significant to determine material properties since defects introduced into host materials would affect the local/average crystal environments and thus lead to a change of macroscopic physicochemical performances. The intentional design of specific local defects not only depends on the selected synthesis method and preparation process but also relies on the selected dopant or co-dopant ions. A deep understanding of the intrinsic relationships between local defect structures, chemical synthesis and associated properties is thought as one major framework of material genome plan. It also pushes the design, development and application of novel multifunctional materials. Based on local defect structural design coupled with new synthesis strategies, indium and niobium co-doped anatase titanium oxide nanocrystals are synthesized. It is experimentally demonstrated that the dual mechanisms of nucleation and diffusion doping are responsible for the synergistic incorporation of indium difficult-dopants and niobium easy-dopants, and theoretically evidenced that the local defect structures created by indium, niobium co-dopants, reduced titanium and oxygen vacancies are composed of defect clusters and defect pairs. These introduced local defect structures act as nucleation centres of baddeleyite- and lead oxide-like metastable polymorphic phases and induce an abnormal trans-regime structural transition of co-doped anatase titanium oxide nanocrystals under high pressure. Furthermore, these small co-doped nanocrystals can be used as raw materials to manufacture titania-based ceramic capacitors designed in terms of electron-pinned defect dipole mechanism. The sintering temperature is thus lowered to 1200 °C, which conquers the technological bottleneck using this material. To develop the third generation of high-efficient visible light catalysts, nitrogen and niobium co-doped anatase titania nanocrystals are synthesized. Experimental and theoretical investigations demonstrate that the formation of highly concentrated defect-pairs is key to significantly enhance visible light catalytic efficiency. In further combination of local defect structural design and the exploration of new synthesis strategies, anatase nanocrystals containing nitrogen and reduced titanium ions are synthesized. The formation of local defect clusters is demonstrated to play an important role on the obvious enhancement of Rhodamine B degradation efficiency under only visible light illumination. It is thus unveiled that a fundamental understanding of the functions of local defect structures and a well-controlled synthetic strategy are critical to develop highly efficient visible light catalysts with unprecedented photocatalytic performances. Through these systematic investigations, it is concluded that local defect structures generated by introduced co-dopants are complicated in strong-correlated titania systems and differ from case to case. A major difficulty to efficiently introduce difficult-dopant ions such as nitrogen and indium at high concentrations is solved. Two high-efficient visible light catalysts are achieved for environmental remediation by using the clean and renewable solar energy; and one raw material for manufacturing new ceramic capacitors and new metastable polymorphic phases is provided. The discussion on the doping mechanisms, the defect formation and their associated impacts on material performances will not only benefit the future development of physical chemistry, material science and defect chemistry, but also opens a new route to design novel multifunctional materials based on local defect structure design

Study on open science: The general state of the play in Open Science principles and practices at European life sciences institutes

Nowadays, open science is a hot topic on all levels and also is one of the priorities of the European Research Area. Components that are commonly associated with open science are open access, open data, open methodology, open source, open peer review, open science policies and citizen science. Open science may a great potential to connect and influence the practices of researchers, funding institutions and the public. In this paper, we evaluate the level of openness based on public surveys at four European life sciences institute

Trademarks and Textual Data: A Broader Perspective on Innovation = Marques et données textuelles : Une perspective élargie sur l’innovation

Patente messen häufig technische Innovationen, während Handelsmarken Low-Tech und Dienstleistungen abdecken. In dieser Arbeit werden Textdaten von Marken untersucht, um verschiedene Rechte des geistigen Eigentums zu kombinieren. Textdaten ermöglichen zum Beispiel die Analyse großer Datenmengen, die Kombination verschiedener Quellen und datengestützte Erkenntnisse. Die Kombination von Handelsmarken und Patenten in den Bereichen Robotik (Hightech) und Schuhe (Lowtech) bietet eine breitere Abdeckung und Details zu Innovationen, die je nach Sektor variieren. Im Musikinstrumentensektor verdeutlichen Textdaten zu Marken, Patenten und Designs den laufenden technologischen Wandel. Patente beziehen sich auf Daten und Digitalisierungsthemen und werden von High-Tech-Firmen genutzt, während Handelsmarken die Signalverarbeitung und Videospiele von Spielfirmen abdecken. Designs fungieren als verbindendes Element. Eine Differenzierung zwischen Unternehmen und Tätigkeitsbereichen ist möglich. Zusammenfassend zeigt die These, dass die Integration von textuellen Markendaten die Innovationsabdeckung erweitert

Development of a Pilot-Scale Polymerization Facility and Monomer Preparation for the Determination of Reactivity Ratios for Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE)-Based Copolymers

The addition of a pilot-scale tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) polymerization facility at Clemson University has enabled this academic institution to not only prepare TFE in kilogram quantities but also to store it and copolymerize it in safe conditions. The facility is used to prepare equimolar mixtures of TFE/CO2 from the pyrolysis of potassium perfluoropropionate in approximately quantitative yields. The TFE is separated from the mixture and stabilized by D-limonene by scrubbing CO2 from the aforementioned mixture. With the development of high technology software and hardware, the facility has been used to study the relative reactivity ratios of various polymerizations systems like the copolymerization of TFE with sulfonyl fluoride-substituted vinyl ethers [(perfluoro-3-oxa-4-pentene sulfonyl fluoride [DOW monomer] and perfluoro-2-(2-fluorosulfonylethoxy) propyl vinyl ether [PSEPVE]), methyl perfluoro(4-oxa-5-hexanoate) (DEVE), and perfluoro 8-cyano-5-methyl-3,6-dioxa-1-octene (8CNVE)], and vinylidene difluoride (VDF), in the presence and absence of CO2. Some results from these studies as well as further details on the facility will be presented