WIPO has published a total of 11 Patent Landscape Reports together with partner organizations with five more in progress for future publication. These include a PLR in the area of disabilities (Assistive Devices for Visually and Hearing Impaired Persons) in a format fully accessible to low-vision and print disabled persons, as well as PLRs on sectors ranging from solar cooking to palm oil production and microalgae. In connection to the disabilities report, WIPO also prepared an infographic summarizing the key findings, including a section related to technologies facilitating access to published works. Further, WIPO also published Guidelines for Preparing Patent Landscape Reports, as well as a Manual on Open source Tools for Patent Analytics. All of the Patent Landscape Reports and the accompanying documents are freely available to the developing country users at http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/programs/patent_landscapes.

Needs assessment is one of the key challenges in the preparation of patent landscape reports, requiring an intense exchange with the cooperation partners. In addition, the dissemination of the reports to a broader audience has been a challenge, in an effort to reach out to a high number of potential beneficiaries. The mitigation strategies included the preparation of Infographics, the promotion of the reports through social media, and the presentation of the results in various scientific conferences. A further challenge is the interpretation of the results and the possible misinterpretation of the results which are presented in a factual way, foremost in the cases when visualizations of the results are interpreted without consultation of the narrative.

Producing further Patent Landscape Reports on issues of particular relevance to developing countries and SIDS. The next project involves the preparation of a patent landscape report in the area of marine genetic resources, while the Patent Landscape Report on Selected Neglected Diseases, including a chapter on investment and cooperation opportunities is soon expected to be published. Apart from producing deliverables in specific subject matters, the next step is providing capacity building activities in developing countries, foremost in the Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC, more information on www.wipo.int/tisc ) on patent analysis . The delivered workshops provide background information and training on patent analysis, various types of analysis and its objectives, and include exercises with the use of free and open source tools for carrying out the various tasks involved in patent analysis. In this way patent analysis skills of TISC staff is created in developing countries, to allow the provision of such services on site for various stakeholders, including governments, academia, research centers and private sector.

Businesses, individual, research institutions, governments, and policy makers in developing countries. The beneficiaries have increased access to the technical, business and legal information included in patent literature, with the PLRs providing a snapshot view of the patenting activity in a particular area of technology. The PLRs synthesize patent information and make it understandable, user-friendly, and easily digestible to the beneficiaries.