Computer supported technology function matrix construction for patent data analytics

Patent analysis helps companies understand their intellectual property (IP) portfolio and develop competitive marketing and management strategies. A Technology Function Matrix (TFM) is a critical approach for patent data analytics. This paper develops a generic computer supported TFM construction methodology that can be used for creating patent technical maps for any given domain. The approach is adopted for the case of the Internet of Things (IoT) patent technology analysis in the context of Industry 4.0 [1]. The aim of this article is to provide the methodology and analysis methods for IoT patent TFM and introduce computer supported IP and patent knowledge e-discovery.