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Early warning of trends in commercial wildlife trade through novel machine-learning analysis of patent filing

Author

Listed:
  • A. Hinsley

    (University of Oxford
    Oxford Martin School)

  • D. W. S. Challender

    (University of Oxford
    Oxford Martin School)

  • S. Masters

    (Naturalis Biodiversity Centre)

  • D. W. Macdonald

    (University of Oxford)

  • E. J. Milner-Gulland

    (University of Oxford
    Oxford Martin School)

  • J. Fraser

    (University of Oxford
    Imperial College London)

  • J. Wright

    (Oxford Martin School
    University of Oxford)

Abstract

Unsustainable wildlife trade imperils thousands of species, but efforts to identify and reduce these threats are hampered by rapidly evolving commercial markets. Businesses trading wildlife-derived products innovate to remain competitive, and the patents they file to protect their innovations also provide an early-warning of market shifts. Here, we develop a novel machine-learning approach to analyse patent-filing trends and apply it to patents filed from 1970-2020 related to six traded taxa that vary in trade legality, threat level, and use type: rhinoceroses, pangolins, bears, sturgeon, horseshoe crabs, and caterpillar fungus. We found 27,308 patents, showing 130% per-year increases, compared to a background rate of 104%. Innovation led to diversification, including new fertilizer products using illegal-to-trade rhinoceros horn, and novel farming methods for pangolins. Stricter regulation did not generally correlate with reduced patenting. Patents reveal how wildlife-related businesses predict, adapt to, and create market shifts, providing data to underpin proactive wildlife-trade management approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • A. Hinsley & D. W. S. Challender & S. Masters & D. W. Macdonald & E. J. Milner-Gulland & J. Fraser & J. Wright, 2024. "Early warning of trends in commercial wildlife trade through novel machine-learning analysis of patent filing," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-49688-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49688-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Chen, Frederick, 2017. "The Economics of Synthetic Rhino Horns," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 180-189.
    4. Benjamin M. Marshall & Colin Strine & Alice C. Hughes, 2020. "Thousands of reptile species threatened by under-regulated global trade," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Philippe Rivalan & Virginie Delmas & Elena Angulo & Leigh S. Bull & Richard J. Hall & Franck Courchamp & Alison M. Rosser & Nigel Leader-Williams, 2007. "Can bans stimulate wildlife trade?," Nature, Nature, vol. 447(7144), pages 529-530, May.
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