6. The method as described in claim 3 , wherein the step of introducing a hierarchy of patent indices comprises introducing one or more of the following sub-indices characterizing a patent index of inventive merit: invention scale; degree of the solution of the problem; uniqueness of the invention; degree of novelty; originality of the solution; and technical effectiveness of the proposed solution.
3. The method as described in claim 1 , the step (a) comprising introducing a hierarchy of patent indices, each of said patent indices being further characterized by one or more respective patent sub-indices.