SPIE acquires open-knowledge platform The Lens to expand research data reach
What's the deal? SPIEDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the international society for optics and photonics, has acquired The LensDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a global open-knowledge platform. Terms were not disclosed. The move expands SPIE's offerings to the research community through improved access to patent data.
The players: Founded in 1955, SPIE runs conferences, exhibitions, and the SPIE Digital Library of journals and books. The Lens is an open platform with linked citations and tools for discovering and analysing scholarly works, patents, and biological sequences disclosed in patents.
The rationale: "Our missions are highly aligned and complementary," said Kent Rochford, SPIE chief executive officer and executive director. He added the society aims to "accelerate their impact and deliver a valuable and impactful global resource."
Why now? The two organisations already have a working history. SPIE introduced The Lens to the optics and photonics community in November 2020, integrating scholarly and patent citation data for SPIE publications into the SPIE Digital Library.
What changes for users? The Lens keeps its open web format, which offers free access to scholarly works and patents. That model supports research, analysis, and collaboration across the optics, photonics, and broader scientific communities.
The signal: The deal reflects how scholarly bodies are moving beyond publishing into research infrastructure and data analytics. Over the past five years, SPIE has invested more than $26 million in the optics community; folding in patent and citation tools extends that support into how researchers discover and measure their work.
Read more: Optics.org
