Updating the Top Patent Blogs

I updated the Top 50 Patent Blogs list that Gene started back in 2009.  Its dwindled below 50 because a few sites no longer exist.  I provide two different ways to rank the blogs in the list.  The first method which is Google’s page rank is more qualitative which I think might be a bit more fair to those that write and maintain their blogs out of passion.  The second method is Alexa figures which calculate traffic to a blog over the past three months.

When I first started blogging, I read most of the blogs in Gene’s top 50 list.  Its possible if you read them through a reader.  Over a very short period of time, I stopped reading a few of the blogs.  Believe it or not.  I stopped reading some of the most popular blogs.  The writing style and content of those blogs didn’t give me any useful content.  As I was compiling the Top Blogs list below, I started to think about a more equitable ranking system.  Each blog has its own flavor and that is the way a blog should be written.  As you will see, I didn’t include magazines that had a popular blog because the blog didn’t have a personality behind the blog.  I just think that a blog should be an extension of one’s persona online.

As you click through to each of the blogs, you will notice the content on each of the blogs is different. Patentlyo.com appears to be statistically driven.  Mr. Crouch produces many different patent stats.  We appreciate him for that.  Gene’s IPWatchDog.com blog is filled with opinion of legal patent developments.  Againstmonopoly.com highlights how patents and other IP protection hurt society.  The list goes on and on.  Instead of visiting only the top blogs, I recommend that you spend some time reviewing each of the blogs because each blog infuses a bit of their own perspective and personality into the online conversations currently occurring in the blogosphere.

Google Page Rank.

I thought that an equitable ranking system would be through Google’s own pagerank system which somewhat reflects the quality of a website and not necessarily popularity.  As you will see, most blogs fall within the 4, 5, 6 range.  Who is to say that ipwatchdog.com is top dog and patentlyo.com has a lower rank.  Both have a page rank of 6 which reflect the hard work that they have put into their blogs.  Both are awesome blogs that provide great content to their respective readership.  I really can’t say that one is better than the other. I think that most people would agree.

Here is a description of the meaning of Google’s page rank according to a few seo sites I’ve found on the internet.  After reading the description, see where the blogs that you like fall within this ranking system.  I think that you will get a sense that Google is the number one search engine because their page rank is fairly accurate.

  • PR-0: Failed.  You are not in Google’s index and may have been banned.
  • PR-1:  Failing.
  • PR-2:  Below average.  Google will see what you do.
  • PR-3:  Average.  Most legitimate websites are right here.
  • PR-4:  Above average.  You’ve done something good.
  • PR-5:  Great job.
  • PR-6:  Superb job.
  • PR-7:  Perfect.  You have one of the top sites on the internet.
  • PR-8-10: Reserved for only the best of the best.  E.g., yahoo.com

Alexa Ranking

The Alexa ranking is based on the number of hits a site receives.  If more people visit a site, then the better the statistics.  By the way, for Alexa, a lower number is better.  The number of visitors is dependent upon a number of factors including the number of pages that you have in your blog.  Hence, if you post more blog posts, then you will generally have more visitors.  The flip side is that Google is very smart in determining whether you are producing quality content.  Hence, if you post crappy content, then no matter how many pages and posts you have, google will not drive traffic to your site.  Hence, the Alexa ranking reflects a blend of quality and quantity.  As you can see from the list below, PR6 sites are generally at the top, while PR4 sites are generally at the bottom.

Here is the list.

Page Rank Alexa
1. IPWatchdog 6 113811
2. Patently-O 6 170490
3. Against Monopoly 6 477076
4. IP NewsFlash 6 519665
5. Spicy IP 4 522978
6. IP Kat 6 541659
7. Patent Docs 6 711234
8. India Patent 5 1146582
9. Patent Baristas 6 1241604
10. Patent Prospector 5 1626753
11. The Business of Patents 4 1764483
12. Holman’s Biotech IP 5 2019445
13. The Invent Blog 5 2046534
14. 271 Patent Blog 5 2052018
15. IP Think Tank 4 2520629
16. Chicago IP Litigation 5 2610811
17. I/P Updates 5 2734019
18. IP Spotlight 5 2872478
19. Anticipate This! 5 3262838
20. PHOSITA 5 3271249
21. BlawgIT 5 3343603
22. The prior art 6 3615654
23. Inventive Step 5 3990899
24. Patentnapsis 3 4001270
25. Orange Book Blog 5 4070050
26. European Patent Caselaw 5 4277293
27. The IP Factor 5 4519602
28. Russian Patents 4 4816038
29. OC Patent Lawyer 4 5036570
30. PatLit 5 5171947
31. Patentably Defined 5 5531372
32. Honoring the Inventor 4 5647270
33. IPJUR 5 6737618
34. Patent Circle 5 8036435
35. Patentability 3 8188643
36. Patent Arcade 5 9607932
37. Patent Infringement Updates 5 11729006
38. Patents 101 4 13968472

Just An Examiner had a page rank of 5.  However, its Alexa rank appeared to relate to the livejournal and not the Alexa rank of the blog itself. It wasn’t fair to include this blog in the mix up above since I didn’t know where it fell.

If a blogger stopped posting content or the site was down, then the blog was not included in the list.

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Join the Discussion

18 comments so far.

  • [Avatar for George]
    George
    November 28, 2011 12:16 pm

    Another European case-law blog:
    http://www.k-slaw.blogspot.com/

  • [Avatar for Anon]
    Anon
    November 22, 2011 10:25 pm

    Hans,

    Look at the occasional statistics captured on who is posting at Patently-O. There are typically only four “names” that account for well over 60% of the high volume posts. Add about a half dozen more that reply to this very noisy few and you have accounted for well over 90% of the volume of posts there.

    I have said many times that Gene’s running a tght ship here elevates the conversation – and would probably wipe out 80% of what is posted at Patently-O. If you take into account the one or two typical “hot threads” and the baseless assertions of law and easily 90% in total would not make it on this blog.

    You have skew going on alright, just not the skew you might think you have.

  • [Avatar for Gene Quinn]
    Gene Quinn
    November 22, 2011 01:47 pm

    Hans-

    I don’t think Alexa counts e-mail distribution, and neither does Google PR.

    You put your finger on one of the reasons back in 2009 that I wanted to include a voting element to the overall ranking. Patently-O is close or equal on almost all metrics, but in 2009 they blew everyone away with voting. So when I do this again voting will be a part to try and make sure to capture reader intensity and reach. Patently-O does every well on those measures.

    One of the reasons to do this, however, isn’t just to recognize the top handful of patent blogs. We are lucky as an industry to have a number of really great blogs out there and this is one way to get some recognition to everyone.

    Cheers.

    -Gene

  • [Avatar for Hans]
    Hans
    November 22, 2011 11:11 am

    Does Alexa count email distribution? For example, Patentlyo’s daily email includes the entire post so that you don’t have to click through to the site. However, ipwatchdog only gives you a teaser and requires you to click through. I presume this would substantially skew the ranking if it is not taken into account.

  • [Avatar for Paul F. Morgan]
    Paul F. Morgan
    November 22, 2011 11:01 am

    Yes,
    http://www.patentspostgrant.com/
    is essential for present reexamination and reissue law and practice developments and the 5 different reexamaminations [under different names] you will all have in about 11 months from now under the AIA.

  • [Avatar for Dean Larson]
    Dean Larson
    November 22, 2011 10:26 am

    James,

    Great list. Thanks for your efforts. Another blog, not on your list, is NWPatentLitigation.com. A newer blog by a bright attorney.

    I’d love to see another list in 2012!!!

    Dean

  • [Avatar for asved]
    asved
    November 22, 2011 09:06 am

    Dear Blogger
    I am looking for Patent blog for specific for Biological. Do you have any information

    Thanks in advance

    Regards
    Asved

  • [Avatar for Spain]
    Spain
    November 22, 2011 07:24 am

    Hi,

    There is one blog about IP in spanish: http://www.inventosnuevos.com

    I think it deserves to be on the list.

    Great job. Best regards!!

  • [Avatar for Alex]
    Alex
    November 22, 2011 05:57 am

    These are very interesting and helpful information. Thanks for sharing James.

  • [Avatar for @PatenTM]
    @PatenTM
    November 22, 2011 04:31 am

    I do not agree that Google Page rank is a right barometer to gauge the popularity of a blog as Spicy IP, a leading blog from India, is ranked below India patent. I think the right parameter would be the number of page view per day I know it’s difficult to obtain. Moreover, SiNApSE, another blog from India is missing from the list.
    The possible reason India Patent ranks higher than SPICY IP is better SEO ;).

    -Abhishek Saini (@PatenTM)

  • [Avatar for Anon]
    Anon
    November 22, 2011 12:01 am

    One should also make the distinction between reading a blog for valuable content and intelligent conversation (which I would include IPWatchdog in) and reading a blog for the sheer trainwreck of a few very vocal and quite insane posters(which I wouldinclude Patently-O in).

    Each has its place, but there are clear differences as to what one can gather from the comment sections.

  • [Avatar for Gene Quinn]
    Gene Quinn
    November 21, 2011 04:38 pm

    Suzanne-

    Thanks! Great suggestions!

    I hope all is well.

    -Gene

  • [Avatar for Gene Quinn]
    Gene Quinn
    November 21, 2011 04:22 pm

    Yes, how could I forget Tactical IP! That is why getting help from everyone will be essential to having a complete list.

    Here are the URLs of those mentioned not already in the 38 above:

    http://tacticalip.com/

    http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/

    http://allthingspros.blogspot.com/

    http://www.717madisonplace.com/

    http://alleylegal.com/blog/

    http://www.grayonclaims.com/

    Keep them coming!

    -Gene

  • [Avatar for Suzanne A. Sprunger]
    Suzanne A. Sprunger
    November 21, 2011 02:48 pm

    PharmaPatents (http://www.pharmapatentsblog.com/) Courtenay Brinckerhoff analyzes the most important patent developments in an exceptionally clear and insightful way, and from the perspective of a real-life patent practitioner. A helpful read for anyone, but absolutely required reading for those in biotech and chemical practice.

    Intellectual Property Expert Group (http://www.ipeg.eu/) – A strange graphic on their blog page, to be sure, but a worthwhile contributor on IP topics from a European perspective.

    For updates on EU patent case law, there’s the Kluwer Patent Blog (http://kluwerpatentblog.com/). I find that it *explains* the relevant points (unlike the EPLAW patent blog), and is more succinct than other EU case law blogs.

    Finally, if you’re including blogs relating to India, Israel, and Russia, why not China (http://ipdragon.blogspot.com/) or Latin America (http://iptango.blogspot.com/)?

  • [Avatar for Renee C. Quinn]
    Renee C. Quinn
    November 21, 2011 01:46 pm

    Hey, Don’t forget to include…

    Tactical IP

    -Renée

  • [Avatar for Gene Quinn]
    Gene Quinn
    November 21, 2011 01:04 pm

    Thanks Submitter. I forgot about FOSS. That is another one I check out regularly as well.

    Cheers.

    -Gene

  • [Avatar for Submitter]
    Submitter
    November 21, 2011 12:53 pm

    All things Pros
    717 Madison Place
    Ryan Alley IP Law Blog
    FOSS Patents
    Gray on Claims

  • [Avatar for Gene Quinn]
    Gene Quinn
    November 21, 2011 12:26 pm

    Thanks for taking the time to update the 2009 list James!

    I have heard from time to time that I should redo the top 50 patent blogs, but I have wondered how to pull that off given some of the “squishy” metrics out there. Alexa is good, but only represents a small universe of traffic. Google PR seems to be one good and relatively objective way to go about it. I also think the new Technorati rankings are more reliable than the older rankings, which seemed questionable and really prevented new websites from getting any love. Perhaps it is time to revisit the top list.

    This is a very good first step, but there are some blogs I know of that I read not represented because they were not online in 2009, or were so new back then. I’d appreciate it if readers could identify any blogs not on this current list. I’ll start with:

    http://www.patentspostgrant.com/

    http://www.whda.com/blog/

    So let’s get as complete a list as possible and then we can go through the metrics for everyone and add some kind of voting component.

    Cheers.

    -Gene