Video games have created a solid industry in the entertainment sector. The world of video games has become one of the most important cultural phenomena in recent times as seen from cultural, social, economic and innovative perspectives. Thus, previous studies argue that IP (Intellectual property) is getting more significant in the game industry. Nevertheless, previous studies have focused only in a specific IP. Patent analysis provide useful information on different aspects of management of technology and asses various aspects of technological change.
This research overcome the limitations of previous studies by the analysis of both patent and trademark information in order to understand the characteristics of innovation strategy in the creative industries. First, it is employed a time series analysis on the number of IP. Second, the evolution of technology is analyzed by developing four technology networks. Third, the IP trends of the top 20 most active firms are analyzed by its IP portfolios. Finally, their performance is evaluated. The findings of this research are expected o help understand the characteristics of innovation in the video game industry (and further the entertainment and creative industry).