JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE 366 In different technological fi elds, some authors have studied patent information with the purpose of (a) estimating the market value of a company (2), (b) monitoring convergence between different industries (3), (c) developing strategies for technology management (4), (d) plotting technological life cycles (5), (e) identifying new businesses (6), (f) assess- ing R&D effi ciency (7), (g) benchmarking companies (8), and (h) determining the tech- nological impact of one technology over another (9), among others. Obviously, patent analysis represents a broad fi eld of research. On the other hand, we could barely fi nd sci- entifi c patent analysis specifi cally devised for the cosmetic industry. A peculiarity of the data reported in granted patents is that they are not found elsewhere before the occasion of patent application. This is one reason why patents represent a unique source of information to develop innovative thinking (8). Furthermore, patents are so closely related to the life cycle of technologies, that it is possible to study innovation and technological trends through patent information. For example, when a technology is in process of development, fundamental scientifi c and technological issues have to be solved and risks must be taken in order to achieve an innovation. Therefore, the number of patent applications is low and increases slowly. Afterward, as technological and market uncertain- ties fade, many innovations based on the initial technology are developed and the number of patent applications increases. Then, the technology reaches its maturity period, and the number of patents decline, though some incremental innovations may remain constant (5). Certainly, patents play the role of providing scientifi c and technical information. In fact, one study showed that in most areas of chemistry, patents are a rich source of fi rst publications (10). Moreover, this study shows that only 7% of the polymers patented in 1980 (1980– 2003) were ulteriorly published in non-patent literature and that 43% of all polymers de- veloped that year were published only in patents (10). This scenario suggests that patent information is more dynamic than non-patent literature, although it is not well explored. In this context, our objective was to perform a survey of patents related to skin care products, which were granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Offi ce (USPTO) between 2006 and 2010, to identify opportunities for innovation as well as technological trends. METHODS DATA COLLECTION In this survey, we used the search tools available on the homepage of the USPTO to col- lect data (11). We searched patents granted during the period of January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2010, which contained the words “cosmetic” or “cosmetics” in their title. This search procedure resulted in a total of 1036 patents. Afterward, we read and ana- lyzed the patents, selecting only those that claimed for application in skin care products. Consequently, we excluded patents related only to manufacturing processes, ornamental designs, or other types of products. This fi ltering procedure resulted in a total of 335 patents (32.3% of the initial number). We limited this survey to skin care products be- cause there is a common expectation of even more effi cient products in this area, once they are capable of, for example (a) reducing the risk of acquiring age-related skin diseases (b) preserving against the effects of UVA and UVB radiations (c) avoiding the urge for cosmetic surgeries (d) reducing the psychosocial impact of aging on the human being and (e) keeping a youthful and healthy aspect.

HOW COULD TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING HELP COSMETIC CHEMISTS 367 PATENT CLASSIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION After selecting the patents, we went on to analyze them considering the International Patent Classifi cation (IPC) system established by the Strasbourg Agreement (12). The IPC is an international agreement on how to systematically classify patentable technolo- gies and inventions. We used the IPC internet publication version 2011.01 to browse for IPC code defi nitions (13). The Appendix presents a list of some IPC codes and their meanings. Further, simply for didactic and practical purposes, we proposed a categoriza- tion of the IPC codes observed in our patent sample. This categorization is based on the use and similarity of the IPC codes. Table I presents the categories proposed and the families of IPC codes related to them. Categories IPC codes includeda Cosmetic preparations General cosmetic or toilet preparations A61K 8 Preparations characterized by a special physical form A61K 9 Preparations containing organic active compounds A61K 31 Preparations containing inorganic active compounds A61K 33 Preparations containing natural ingredients A61K 36 Preparations containing peptides A61K 38 Make-up preparations A61Q 1 Hair care preparations A61Q 5 and A61Q 7 Sun care and other barrier preparations A61Q 17 Skin care preparations A61Q 19 Others A61K 6, A61K 35, A61K 39, A61K 47, A61L 9, A61Q 3, and A61Q 15 Excipients and active compounds Preservatives A01N Non-heterocyclic organic compounds C07C Heterocyclic organic compounds C07D Sugar derivatives C07H Peptides C07K Other macromolecular compounds C08B, C08F, C08G, and C08L Detergents C11D Others A61P, B32B, B60C, C01B, C07F, C07G, C08J, and C08K Functional packaging and applicators A45D, A46B, A47L, A61F, A61H, A61J, B43K, B43M, B65B, B65D, B67D, F25D, and G01F Processes applied to cosmetics A23B, A23C, A23J, A23L, B01J, B05D, C11B, C12N, and C12P Table I Categorization of the IPC Codes Observed in this Study a Subclasses were omitted. For further information on IPC codes, see Appendix or visit http://www. wipo.int/ ipcpub.