
A patent database and search portal was used which covers 90 different patent authorities worldwide, including 20 countries which provide full-text file search as well as legal status information. We also identified patent classes to search in order to ensure that relevant results would not be omitted.
The results have been grouped by Assignee, and it should come as no shock to industry watchers who the top 3 assignees are for utility grade, horizontal axis wind turbine patents.
The search results were read and analyzed to determine a keyword classification that indicates the specific technology and component to which the invention refers. The component literally refers to the wind turbine component which the invention deals with, i.e. blade, tower, generator, gearbox, etc. The search results are presented in a format in which each individually issued patent was assessed and classified.
Additionally, an assessment of the relevance of the patent to the industry was performed and results were classified as low, medium, medium/high, and high. The first is a brief synopsis of the invention that the patent is claiming, which is based on a reading of the patent and should therefore be more descriptive of the actual technology and intent of the inventor than the patent abstract.
• Turbine Reliability
- Energy storage
Current and Future Trends in Wind Turbine Technology - Results of a Patent Landscaping Exercise
Legally a patent is an offensive weapon. A patent gives you the right to stop others from using, making, or selling your invention in the country issuing the patent. To compensate for delays resulting from a failure by the PTO (Patent and Trademark Office) to process the patent application in a timely fashion the patent can be extended if necessary.If however, you fail to pay the maintenance fees when they are due, your patent will expire, and your invention will become prior art forever. How to Read a Patent
The first element of a patent is the "specification" where the invention is described. The claims tell the "scope" or "bounds" of the invention. Then you would read the claims, because the claims spell out exactly what will infringe the patent. The PTO isn't interested in whether your patent infringes another patent, so you could still be issued a patent, but it would infringe the first patent.