Journal profile · INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE
World Patent Information
ISSN 0172-2190 · eISSN 1874-690X · Elsevier
World Patent Information: CAS Zone 4 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.4 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,653; review about 116 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 63 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
World Patent Information is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 4 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Intellectual Property and Patents, Innovation Policy and R&D and Science, Research, and Medicine, together about 50.4% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
World Patent Information is a journal dedicated to intellectual property (IP) information and its retrieval, documentation, classification, searching, analysis, and management. The journal aims to encompass the broad field of IP information while focusing on intellectual property rights (IPRs) associated with industrially applicable innovations and their management, analysis, policy, education, and the use of big-data analytics.World Patent Information publishes articles addressing best practices in legal and commercial patent searching and analysis. Topics include freedom-to-operate (FTO) and clearance searches; state-of-the-art searches; validity and invalidity searches; prior-art searches; technical landscaping; technology scouting; technology forecasting; patentability analyses; and competitive intelligence based on patent information.The journal also welcomes research on metadata associated with IPRs, including legal-status data, classification systems, and bibliographic information. Articles concerning IP documentation, information retrieval, classification, and information services and news from IP offices are also encouraged.Reviews of the state of the art in specific industries, e.g., reviews of patents, IPs, scientific and technical databases, and their applications, are particularly welcome.The journal also publishes research and review articles on information relating to non-patent IPRs, including copyrights, trademarks, utility models, registered designs, design rights, trade secrets, database rights, traditional knowledge, Indigenous knowledge, and geographical indications, particularly where these rights have impacts on technological innovations.Other areas of interest include best practices in IP data sources and searching; IP management; invention harvesting; IP intermediary service innovations; and the applications of advanced artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), language modeling, text and data mining to IP-related research.The journal welcomes research on information retrieval (IR) across all aspects of published IP information, e.g., textual, document, non-textual, numerical, and graphical information. Relevant topics include multilingual search; image search; retrieval from tables and non-textual information; and information extraction from patents, including mathematical formulae, chemical and biological information, plant-related data, and other structured or unstructured information.The journal encourages additional research areas including system evaluation and benchmarking, real data collections for information-retrieval experiments, and best practices in IP information management.The journal covers IP management across patents and non-patent IPRs (e.g., trademarks, designs, copyrights, and trade secrets). Topics related to innovation management are relevant, including the impact of patent/IP management on innovation; the best practices of IP innovation processes and management. Technology management from an IP perspective is an important area of interest. Relevant topics include the characteristics and dynamics of technologies; IP portfolio benchmarking; IP valuation; geographic and technological analysis; patent expiries; and advanced market-, corporate-, and policy-level analyses.The journal also welcomes research on statistical analysis, business-method patenting, standards and standard-essential patents (SEPs), patent pools, and other emerging issues at the intersections of IP, technology, information, and innovation management.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE
Editor-in-chief Amy TrappeyPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 2%); most named United Kingdom 10, United States 8, Australia 6, Taiwan, China 4, Germany 4 (48 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Intellectual Property and PatentsBusiness, Management and Accounting33.5%
- Innovation Policy and R&DEconomics, Econometrics and Finance11.2%
- Science, Research, and MedicineMedicine5.8%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.6%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.4%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science5.2%
- Biotechnology and Related FieldsMedicine3.7%
- Earthquake and Disaster Impact StudiesSocial Sciences3.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Information Science & Library Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Information Science & Library Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.53LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.06LetPub ·
- h-index
- 53OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 424OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.94OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 33.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 31.25%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 54LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,340 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 60 | 26 | 17 |
| 2025 | 63 | 19 | 211 |
| 2024 | 49 | 21 | 278 |
| 2023 | 61 | 22 | 414 |
| 2022 | 46 | 7 | 380 |
| 2021 | 39 | 5 | 414 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
Too few articlesOnly 2 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 54 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 116 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | EUR 2,960 / GBP 2,770 / JPY 2,370 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,800 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers2, by deadline
- Intelligence drives future insights: AI-powered tech mining for patent analysis, R&D management, innovation policy, and competitive intelligencesDeadline
- Special Issue on IP Data Analytics and IP Strategic Management in Deep-Tech Industries Using Large Language Models, Generative AI, and Agentic AI – Focuses on R&D- and Capital-Intensive IndustriesDeadline
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
Article types accepted6, with length limits
- book and literature reviewBook and literature reviewsLength not stated
- brief communicationntation generally of 3000 to 6000 words Brief communications on the above topics of up to 1500 words Short reports on relevant meetings and conferences Book andmain text ≤ 1,500 words
- editorialSubmissions must fall within the Aims and Scope of World Patent Information. The following are invited:Papers concerned with any aspect of Industrial Property i…Length not stated
- letter to the editorLetters to the editor commenting on World Patent Information publications or editorial policies and practicesLength not stated
- research paperPapers concerned with any aspect of Industrial Property information and documentation or new regulations pertinent to industrial property information and docume…Length not stated
- short reportShort reports on relevant meetings and conferencesLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Publishing ethics policy Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 0172-2190
- Electronic ISSN
- 1874-690X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about World Patent Information
What CAS zone is World Patent Information in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, World Patent Information is in Zone 4 of Management, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Information Science & Library Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of World Patent Information?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.4; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.5, h-index 53.
How long does peer review take at World Patent Information?
The publisher reports about 116 days (submission to acceptance). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of World Patent Information?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Templates: LaTeX and Word. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of World Patent Information based?
Of the 48 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (10), United States (8) and Australia (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index World Patent Information?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, World Patent Information is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is World Patent Information open access, and what is the APC?
World Patent Information is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,653.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .