SPIE acquires The Lens to strengthen access to patent and research data
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, has announced the acquisition of The Lens, the global open-knowledge platform known for linking scholarly literature, patents, and biological sequence data through open-access discovery and analytics tools.
The acquisition is intended to expand SPIE’s offerings to the global research community by improving access to patent information and strengthening connections between scientific research and innovation.
The Lens provides an open web platform that curates scholarly works and patents, enabling researchers, innovators, and organisations to explore relationships between publications, intellectual property, and emerging technologies. Its linked citation infrastructure and analytical tools are widely used by the research and innovation communities.
“I am thrilled that SPIE is part of The Lens and its legacy of support of the global innovation community,” said Kent Rochford, SPIE CEO and Executive Director. “Our missions are highly aligned and complementary. We look forward to working with The Lens team to accelerate their impact and deliver a valuable and impactful global resource.”
SPIE said the acquisition aligns with its mission of advancing light-based science and technology and supporting the global optics and photonics community.
The two organisations already have an established relationship. In November 2020, SPIE introduced The Lens platform to users of the SPIE Digital Library, integrating scholarly citation and patent citation data curated by The Lens into SPIE publications and making the information available to readers.