name: white-space-analysis
description: 'Identify patent coverage gaps — feature cross-matrix blank areas revealing
unprotected technology combinations. Budget: 150 patent families, 10 claim parses,
60 web searches.'
execution: strategy
dependencies:
tactics:
- classification-navigation
- knowledge-acquisition-claim-decomposition
- patent-family-tracing
sops:
- claim-parsing
- knowledge-acquisition-saturation-detection
- patent-categorization
- patent-query-formulation
- patent-synthesis
- trend-analysis
- white-space-mapping
White Space Analysis
Identifies gaps in patent coverage by constructing feature cross-matrices and finding blank areas where no patents exist. Reveals opportunities for new filings.
Purpose
Map the patent coverage landscape as a multi-dimensional feature matrix and identify unprotected technology combinations — areas where innovation is possible without infringing existing IP.
Budget
| Metric |
Target |
| Patent families analyzed |
150 |
| Claim parses |
10 |
| Web searches completed |
60 |
State Ledger
| Metric |
Target |
Current |
% |
| Patent families analyzed |
150 |
0 |
0% |
| Claim parses completed |
10 |
0 |
0% |
| Web searches completed |
60 |
0 |
0% |
| Feature dimensions defined |
— |
0 |
— |
| White spaces identified |
— |
0 |
— |
HARD-GATE: Cannot exit iteration loop until 80% of patent families (120) and web searches (48) budget met.
Available Tactics
| Tactic |
When to Use |
| patent-family-tracing |
Fill coverage map by tracing families in each matrix cell |
| classification-navigation |
Define feature dimensions from IPC/CPC hierarchy |
| claim-decomposition |
Extract feature elements from key patents to define matrix axes |
Available SOPs
| SOP |
Role in This Strategy |
| patent-query-formulation |
Generate queries for each feature combination |
| patent-categorization |
Assign patents to matrix cells |
| white-space-mapping |
Construct cross-matrix and identify blanks |
| claim-parsing |
Extract features from key patents for axis definition |
| trend-analysis |
Identify which white spaces are trending toward filling |
| saturation-detection |
Confirm matrix coverage is complete |
| patent-synthesis |
Produce white space opportunity report |
Execution Guidance
- Domain scoping — Define the technology domain boundaries
- Feature extraction — Use
claim-decomposition on key patents to identify feature dimensions
- Matrix construction — Define 2-3 feature axes using
white-space-mapping
- Systematic search — Query each matrix cell using
patent-query-formulation
- Family tracing — Use
patent-family-tracing to ensure complete cell coverage
- Categorization — Assign all patents to cells with
patent-categorization
- Gap identification — Identify empty and sparse cells
- Trend overlay — Use
trend-analysis to assess which gaps are closing
- Synthesis — Produce opportunity report ranking white spaces by attractiveness
Output Format
# White Space Analysis: [Technology Domain]
## Feature Dimensions
[Axis definitions with rationale]
## Coverage Matrix
[Cross-matrix with patent counts per cell, blanks highlighted]
## Identified White Spaces (ranked by opportunity)
| Rank | Feature Combination | Adjacent Patents | Trend | Opportunity Score |
|------|--------------------|--------------------|-------|-------------------|
## Opportunity Assessment
[For each top white space: technical feasibility, market potential, filing risk]
## Recommendations
[Prioritized list of filing opportunities]
Available Tactics
Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.
| Tactic |
When to use |
| classification-navigation |
IPC/CPC hierarchy drill-down and lateral expansion for patent discovery |
| knowledge-acquisition-claim-decomposition |
Independent/dependent claim parsing, element extraction, and feature mapping to technical domains |
| patent-family-tracing |
Forward/backward patent citation and priority tracing until saturation |
Available SOPs
Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.
| SOP |
When to use |
| claim-parsing |
Patent claim syntax parsing — independent/dependent relationships and element extraction |
| knowledge-acquisition-saturation-detection |
Determine when additional searching yields diminishing returns. Analyzes the latest expansion batch against existing corpus to judge continue/near-saturation/saturated. Used by snowball and systematic-survey. |
| patent-categorization |
Classify patents by tech subdomain, application scenario, and value chain position |
| patent-query-formulation |
Construct keyword + IPC/CPC + assignee combination search strategies for patent databases |
| patent-synthesis |
Produce final structured patent intelligence report from all analysis results |
| trend-analysis |
Patent filing volume time-series, technology lifecycle stage, and S-curve analysis |
| white-space-mapping |
Feature cross-matrix construction and blank area identification for patent opportunity mapping |
By