Potential and actual use of patent information inside R&D departments[L’utilisation de l’information brevet au sein des bureaux d’études : du potentiel au réel]

This paper aims at analyzing the way patents can be inputs of the innovation process, and not only outputs. An in-depth case study has been conducted in order to better understand how patent information is managed in the R&D department of a car manufacturer. This case study combines the results of two different surveys in the same firm conducted within a three year delay with slightly different but overlapping research questions. After having reviewed the main functions of the patent as an input in the innovation process in the literature, we show that all these functions are used and how. But the study also shows that they are far from being used at their full potential, and helps us to identify what hampers a larger use of patents in the innovation process. One of the main implications is that firms should adopt a global view of their patent management system, articulated with their innovation process.