Benchmarking Patent Embeddings: A Multi-Task Evaluation of 22 Models Across Retrieval, Classification, and Clustering
Researchers benchmarked 22 embedding models on patent data, finding that optimal fine-tuning strategies vary by task and that single-landscape fine-tuning degrades cross-domain performance. The study reveals significant gaps between in-domain and out-of-domain retrieval that cannot be closed with hybrid approaches, challenging assumptions about universal embedding solutions.