Patent Searching August 2006 Slide 2 General overview Patents
invention, and as a research document Definitions Searching
complete preliminary patent search. Slide 3 Definition of Patent A
patent is a legal title granting its holder the exclusive right to
make use of an invention for a limited area and time. Before 1995,
utility patents are in force from 17 years from the date of issue.
From 1995 to present, utility patents are in force for 20 years
from the date of application. Design patents are in force for 14
years from the date of issue. Plant patents are in force over the
same period as utility patents. The rights given by a patent stops
others from, amongst other things, making, using or selling it
without authorization Also note that patents can not be renewed.
(Figa, 1998) Slide 4 Three types of patents Design (has to do with
the appearance of an item): Ornamental design for an article of
manufacture Plant (agriculture): Distinct and new variety of plant
Utility: (this is the type most often associated with invention)
Process Machine Article of manufacture Composition (Gordon &
Cookfair, 1995, p.16) Slide 5 Utility patents classes Process one
or more steps performed on a material, composition, data or article
to produce a change in its characteristics. method of making
chemicals fabricating metal parts data manipulation Machine group
of elements or parts that interacts for a result dishwasher
carburetor lathe Article of manufacture -- practically anything
made by humans toothbrush table golf ball Composition of matter --
chemical compound or mixture of ingredients toothpaste cleaning
solution Slide 6 What Qualifies a utility patent? Novelty. It must
be the first of its kind. Usefulness. It must be useful. Not
Obvious. It must not be obvious to others of ordinary skill in the
field to which the patent pertains. (Gordon & Cookfair, 1995,
p.23) Statutory. Slide 7 What qualifies a utility patent? The
preceding qualifiers yield the following terms: Obviousness a
function of Scope and content of prior art Differences between
prior art and the claims at issue Level of ordinary skill in the
art Prior Art Public knowledge Prior publications Patents, etc
Gordon & Cookfair, 1995, p.16 & 23) Slide 8 What is not
patented? Patents are not issued for: naturally occurring articles
scientific principles mental steps (thought processes) An exception
is software printed matter An exception is software Some methods
for doing business. (Carr, 1995, p. 3) Slide 9 Why Patents? Patents
may be the only source of technical information from a corporation
regarding their research. (C. Wenger, personal communication, March
2000) Slide 10 Patent Sources of Importance to OSU: USPTO Espacenet
Slide 11 Searching by patent attributes By subject assume most
common Patent title, number Inventor Date of invention Country of
origin Slide 12 Constructing a keyword search: generate & list
terms What is known about the invention? Function Describe what it
does in as many ways as possible; use synonyms Structure What parts
compose it? Electrical? Structural and chemical forms: steel,
silicon,etc Chemical reactions? What are end products? Slide 13
Expand on terms Boolean logic Computer Literature Searching
Worksheet Slide 14 Boolean Logic {IDEA A(1) TERM(S)} OR {IDEA A(2)
TERM(S)} OR Retrieves all records including either term. -- usually
used to connect synonyms in a search Example: column OR pillar
{IDEA A TERM(S)} AND {IDEA B TERM(S)} AND Retrieves only those
records containing both terms. -- usually used for contrasting
terms in a search Example: brittle AND elastic {IDEA A TERM(S)} NOT
{IDEA B TERM(S)} NOT Excludes records containing a particular term.
Example: brittle NOT elastic CD-ROM WORKSHOP; u.wisconsin, madison;
njb, mmc, pjh 12/89 rev. for IIT, cbw 2/99 A 1 OR A 2 A AND B A NOT
B Slide 15 Computer literature searching Idea 1 Idea 2 Idea 3
(Synonyms or Alternative words) (Synonyms or Alternative words)
(Synonyms or Alternative words)
--------------------------------------
-------------------------------------
--------------------------------------- OR OR OR
--------------------------------------
-------------------------------------
--------------------------------------- OR OR OR
--------------------------------------
-------------------------------------
--------------------------------------- OR OR OR
--------------------------------------
-------------------------------------
---------------------------------------- AND AND STATE YOUR TOPIC
IN A SENTENCE OR PHRASE Sample: brake lights with varying intensity
UNDERLINE THE 2 OR 3 MOST IMPORTANT IDEAS Write each of these ideas
on the first line of a different column above. Underneath, list
synonyms or related terms if applicable. Use a thesaurus if
available CD-ROM WORKSHOP; u.wisconsin, madison; njb, mmc, pjh
12/89 rev. for IIT, cbw 2/99 Slide 16 Truncation Truncate the term
The use of $ or ? and the truncated term; $ applies to USPTO. For
example design$ for designs, designation etc. Slide 17 How to
search and retrieve patents US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
(Located at www.uspto.gov)www.uspto.gov Espacenet (Located at
http://ep.espacenet.com/http://ep.espacenet.com/ WIPO EP US JP
Slide 18 USPTO http://www.uspto.govhttp://www.uspto.gov USPTO US
patents, updated daily US Patents 1976 to the present for keyword
searching. (1790 to the present for class/subclass searching.)
Select advanced searching Search by field codes also. Slide 19
Espacenet 1. Espacenet multiple country, weekly update 1. worldwide
30 million documents 1. Searches title and abstracts, get all WIPO,
EP, US and JP. 2. Quick search: simple text (default search) 1.
Searches title and abstracts, etc. 2. Notes field shows WIPO, EP,
US, JP which means 117+ countries 3. Advanced search more options,
with examples provided. Slide 20 Espacenet Advanced search Keyword
search title or (title and abstract) Search International Patent
Classification (recommended for a more comprehensive preliminary
search). Slide 21 US Patents: 18 Month rule 18 month rule for
publications of US patent applications took effect in 2001. With
that rule, published applications of US Patents appear after 18
months from the date they are submitted to the Patent Office.
Applications of US Patents appear in Published Applications file on
the USPTO website After the patent is made official it appears in
the Issued Patents file on the USPTO website. Slide 22 EP &
WIPO US patents applications filed with EP or WIPO (subset of all
US patent applications) appear in Esp@cenet after 18 months has
elapsed.Esp@cenet EP European Patent Office WIPO World Intellectual
Property Network Slide 23 Steps involved in a preliminary patent
search 1. In USPTO: Search Issued Patents using keyword; Rough
search, hit or miss Useful - Find a relevant patent Only works for
patents from 1975 to present Thorough search requires searching
class, subclass, which goes back prior to 1975. Slide 24
preliminary patent search cont. 2. Identify relevant patents and
the corresponding class/subclass codes (CCL) 3. Search Issued
Patents with all CCL identified using Tools..searching by Patent
Classification or Advanced Searching link on the USPTO search page
(be sure to select all years 1790 to present). And look at every
single patent. Slide 25 preliminary patent search cont. 4. Search
Published Applications using all CCL identified. Look at all
patents listed. 5. Search European, WIPO, and Japanese patents via
Esp@cenet, including international class codes search.Esp@cenet
Slide 26 USPTO http://www.uspto.govhttp://www.uspto.gov US Patents
1976 to the present Select advanced searching Select 1976-present
on the pull down menu - default Slide 27 Search What terms would
one use to locate patents on friction testing devices, pertaining
to friction between moving parts, and friction and lubrication
issues, etc. Slide 28 Search Issued Patents friction and testing
searches full text -- 20,000 patents Search within the abstract to
eliminate irrelevant patents abst/friction test -- searches the
abstract 8 patents -- cannot use truncation $ within a phrase
abst/friction and abst/test$ -- searches the abstract 278 patents
search limited to abstract with Boolean operator gives more results
Slide 29 Slide 30 Slide 31 Item 49 Slide 32 Slide 33 3
class/subclass codes Slide 34 Select ToolsSearching..Patent
Classification Link Slide 35 Enter the class number, 73 Slide 36
Then scroll to the subclass, 9 in this case. Slide 37 Click on P to
the left of 9 for patents, or select 9 for the definition of the
subclass Slide 38 Look at each patent to see if it matches your
topic. Then search class/subclasses 73/7 and 73/121 and look at
each patent in the results to see if any of them match your topic.
At any given time during your search, you may discover other
relevant patents and class/subclasses. The goal is to identify all
class/subclasses (CCL) that pertain to your topic, then review the
corresponding patents. Slide 39 Definition for 73/9 Slide 40
Searching class/subclass using advanced search and selecting
1790-present produces the same result Select range 1790 to present
Slide 41 Search other relevant class/subclasses already identified
before proceeding to search the published applications Slide 42
Search Published Applications using all CCL identified in the
search of issued patents Slide 43 Slide 44 Look at each patent
listed for this class/subclass & other relevant
class/subclasses, including ccl/73/7 and 73/121. Slide 45 Search
European, WIPO, and Japanese patents via Esp@cenet, including
international class codes search. Esp@cenet Slide 46 Download
AlternaTIFF image viewer from the web - Slide 47 View images in
USPTO via AlternaTIFF image viewer Slide 48 Printable patent image
Slide 49 Slide 50 www.pat2pdf.org Use the US patent number to
locate and download the PDF of US patents. Less cumbersome than
printing individual pages using AlternaTIFF from the USPTO
website.
