Researchers use Triz to design around patents

In a research paper, Yung-Chieh Hung and Yeh-Liang Hsu in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Yuan Ze University, Taiwan, say: “Designing around existing patents of competitors is a task constantly faced by designers.” They say that new design problems are often a ‘local innovation’ of an existing patent, and are generated during the design-around process. “Innovative design methodologies are needed to solve these new design problems, while the rules of patent infringement judgement present the major constraints to such design problems,” they say, proposing an “integrated process” for designing around existing patents using Triz.