The Role of e-information about patents in company knowledge management

The use of the patent system as a knowledge management instrument must be shaped in a multifarious and comprehensive manner. It cannot be viewed solely as the ability to move smoothly through the welter of information gathered in the system. Instead, it is important to continually adapt the patent strategy to the current business model of the company. Getting the right information and the actual ability to use it is an important part of the management process and a condition for the success of a business. One of key entities mediating the diffusion of technological knowledge is the patent system. In order to optimize the use of its resources, modern IT solutions have been introduced, which are intended to facilitate and stimulate the process of obtaining data related to the inventive activity of economic entities and institutions. A free tool - Publication Server, increasing the potential of patent knowledge – is available through the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland (UPRP) website. The aim of the article is to present theoretical assumptions and practices of functioning of the patent e-information system. The author’s research is based on the quantitative and qualitative methods used in the bibliometric analysis, characteristic for patent statistics. The technical documentation of inventions submitted for protection by selected companies was used as a source of data collected in the resources of the Polish Patent Office. The research included invention submissions, omitting other industrial property rights, because inventions commonly identified as so-called radical innovations, are examples of progress determined by access to knowledge