Surveying The Value of Knowledge Resources based on the Importance Factor (Backward-looking Factor, Forward-looking Factor): Case Study of Patents

This study aimed at analyzing the impact and importance of power and electronics patents in technology development. Citation analysis was used as the research method, using the especial formulas of the forward-looking and backwardlooking measures. The research population includes all patents in the field of power and electronics recorded from 1987 to 2006 in the USPTO. Analyzing the importance of patents in knowledge flow and their past and future effect on technology development indicated that at least 10 years should be passed from their release in order to their real effect on technology be seen. The mean of generality grade to determine the effect and application of patents in different subject areas showed that in addition to patents’ effect in electronics field, they have a high tendency to have relations with other subject areas. It was also found that there existed a significant relation between forward and backward looking measures, showing the dependence of future effect of a patent to its backward citations.