Patent Searching

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Patent Searching

• August 2004

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General overview

• Patents invention, and as a research document

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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.
• Since 1995, patents are valid for the longer of
  17 years from date of issue or 20 years from the
  date of the earliest application in its chain of
  parentage.
• The rights given by a patents stops others from,
  amongst other things, making, using or selling it
  without authorization
• Also note that patents can not be renewed.
  (Figa, 1998)

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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)

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Utility patents classes

• Process one or more steps performed on a
  material, composition,
• or article to produce a change in its
  characteristics.
• method of making chemicals
• fabricating metal parts
• 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
• shampoo
• cleaning solution

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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.

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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)

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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
• methods for doing business
• exceptions for software and Internet based
  methods of doing business
• (Carr, 1995, p. 3)

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Why Patents?
Patents may be the only source of technical
information from a corporation regarding their
research. (C. Wenger, personal
communication, March 2000)
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Patent Sources of Importance to OSU

• USPTO
• Espacenet

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Searching by patent attributes

• By subject assume most common
• Patent title, number
• Inventor
• Date of invention
• Country of origin

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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?

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Expand on terms

• Boolean logic
• Computer Literature Searching Worksheet

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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
 
A1 OR A2
A AND B


A NOT B
 

CD-ROM WORKSHOP u.wisconsin, madison njb, mmc,
pjh 12/89 rev. for IIT, cbw 2/99

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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

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Truncation

• Truncate the term
• The use of or ? and the truncated term
  applies to USPTO.
• For example design for designs,
  designation etc.

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How to search and retrieve patents

• US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (Located
  at www.uspto.gov)
• Espacenet
• (Located at http//ep.espacenet.com/
• WIPO
• EP
• US
• JP

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USPTO http//www.uspto.gov

• USPTO US patents, updated daily
• US Patents 1976 to the present
• Select advanced searching
• Select search all years on the pull down menu
• Note search US patent number US 5,888,888 as
  5888888.

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Espacenet

• Espacenet multiple country, weekly update
• worldwide 30 million documents
• Searches title and abstracts, get all WIPO, EP,
  US and JP.
• Quick search simple text (default search)
• Searches title and abstracts, etc.
• Notes field shows WIPO, EP, US, JP which means
  117 countries
• Quick search simple text is the same as
  searching Worldwide for title or abstract

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Espacenet databases

• Simple text (default) kw search title and
  abstract
• Worldwide - kw search title and abstract
• EP kw search title only
• PCT kw search title only
• Go with Simple text and Worldwide

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Espacenet

• To search patent number type in prefix and no
  commas. For example U.S. 5,888,888 us5888888.
  Or ep3444444.
• Type patent numbers into View a patent
  application bar.

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US Patents 18 Month rule

• 18 month rule for publications of US patent
  applications took effect in May 2002. With that
  rule, published applications of US Patents do not
  appear for 18 months after being 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.

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EP WIPO

• US patents applications filed with EP or WIPO
  (subset of all US patent applications) appear in
  Esp_at_cenet after 18 months has elapsed.
• EP European Patent Office
• WIPO World Intellectual Property Network

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Steps involved in a complete 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.

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complete 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. And look at every single patent.

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complete 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_at_cenet, including class codes search.

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USPTO http//www.uspto.gov

• US Patents 1976 to the present
• Select advanced searching
• Select 1976-present on the pull down menu -
  default

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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.
• Search Issued Patents
• friction and testing 20,000 patents
• abst/friction test -- searches the abstract
  8 patents
• abst/friction and abst/test -- searches the
  abstract 265

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3 class/subclass codes
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From Tools Patent Class search type 73
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Definition for 73/9
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End