Journal of the National Research University Higher School of Economics

Making decisions to determine the current stage of technology life cycle (TLC) based on reliable data, is necessary. The inherent links between patents and science and technology make them essential sources for data on any technology. In the light of this, and considering the importance of patent information for the firm’s strategic decisions, we have attempted to use patent data as a source of information to identify the level of a technology in the S-Curve. This paper starts with the literature review of the life cycle and the role of patents at the various stages of technology development, and then focuses on a technology trend analysis framework using patent data, and discusses the life cycle of CO2 injection technology in the upstream sector of worldwide oil and gas industry. In the final section, the results are presented based on the analysis of the patent data on CO2 injection technology as were recommendations concerning the application of the methodology in future studies as it might be an effective tool for better analyzing any desired technology.