Infinispark Launches "Patent Map 39," a Patent Map Tool Designed by Patent Attorneys, Free of Charge for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

With the concept of "Making AI a booster for all people and organizations," Infinispark Inc. (Headquarters: Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, Representative Director: Hironori Nishihara), which provides AI strategy implementation support that fuses AI adoption support, AI tool development, and branding, launched the free provision of its patent map tool "Patent Map 39" for small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and research institutions on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

● Background of the Release of "Patent Map 39"

"We want to conduct patent searches, but creating patent maps is too specialized." "We don't know who to ask." - These are common sentiments from managers and IP personnel at small and medium-sized enterprises. Patent map creation by major patent research firms is expensive, and it is difficult to create one on your own without specialized knowledge.

On the other hand, J-PlatPat, provided free of charge by the Patent Office, allows for the search and retrieval of patent data, but it does not have a function to automatically generate visual patent maps such as bubble charts (as of March 2026). After obtaining the data, it is necessary to create graphs yourself using Excel or Python, and the hurdle remains high for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Infinispark has decided to offer free of charge, as an entry point for IP strategy planning for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups, a patent map tool designed by its representative, who is a patent attorney with over 20 years of IP practice experience. The tool's design emphasizes "making technology development and diversification easy to see," giving it a unique strength not found in other patent map tools.

● About "Patent Map 39"

The biggest feature of this tool is its ability to expand all FI (File Index) classification codes included in patent applications into a bubble chart, allowing for intuitive visualization of how one technology spreads into which technological fields. This enables an immediate grasp of trends in technology development and diversification, which can be used as material for management decisions to understand the potential development paths of one's own technology and the strategies of competitors.

■ Main Features

• Visualizes all FI classifications included in applications in a bubble chart, allowing for intuitive grasp of the direction of technology development and diversification.
• Clearly shows in a list which fields a single technology is expanding or diversifying into, enabling its use in planning new business or licensing strategies.
• Designed with a focus on making technology development and diversification easy to see, offering hints for technology development from a unique perspective not found in other patent maps.
• Customization is also possible (separate charge applies). Flexible adjustments can be discussed according to industry and application.
• Easy to start using from the application form. There is no cost for using the tool itself.

This tool aims to fill the "gap for small and medium-sized enterprises" that exists between expensive patent maps for large corporations and the labor-intensive, difficult manual Excel patent map creation after manual investigation with J-PlatPat. While not feature-rich, it aims to provide hints for technology development that companies most desire, which are not available in other patent maps.

The name "39" carries two meanings. One is the ease of "quick (39) analysis." The other is "Thank you (39)" – gratitude to the industry and society that have supported us in the patent field for over 20 years. To express this gratitude, the tool has been provided free of charge.

■ Usage Flow

This tool operates by reading CSV data downloaded from "J-PlatPat," the patent information platform provided free of charge by the Patent Office. J-PlatPat allows free searching and retrieval of domestic and international patents and utility models (analysis of designs and trademarks is not supported). Since data retrieval itself is free, by combining it with Patent Map 39, patent maps can be created at zero cost.

J-PlatPat (Patent Information Platform): https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp

Application for "Patent Map 39" here: https://infinispark.jp/patent-map/apply/