patent search

PATENT SEARCH
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Andreya Fernandes
Gopakumar Nair Associates
Url: www.gnaipr.com
Email: gopanair@gnaipr.net
Bengaluru, 18th November, 2010
Need for Performing A Search
According to
Thompson Reuters
“80% of all available technical
information is published in Patents
and often nowhere else.”
Source of Information
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Need for Performing A Search
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Prior Art
State of the Art
Patent Validity / Expiration
Legal Status
Infringement Analysis – to Avoid / to Sue
Opposition
Patent Watch / Monitor Patent
Potential Partners for Licensing In/
Licensing Out
• Working Around
• Patent Family
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Patent Search
• Patentability Search
• Freedom To Market Opinion Search
• Patent Landscape Search
• Patent Validity Search
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Types Of Patent Search
• Number Searching
• Name Searching
• Subject Searching
• Legal Status Searching
• IPC Classification based Searching
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Number Searching
• Patent / Patent Application Number and
• Country of Issue
• Common Format - Country Code followed
by a seven or eight digit number
 Eg.GB2013456, WO0213591,
DE19944652
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Number Searching
Cont…..
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Document Kind Code - Number followed by a letter
(A, B, T, etc.)
• Indicates the Publication Stage
• Generally
– ‘A’ first stage of publication (eg US 2002-0002180 A1)
&
– ‘B’ Granted Patent (eg US 6,432,966 B)
• WIPO
• A1- Application & Search Report (eg
WO/2006/114709A1)
• A2 - Only Application (eg WO/2003/020206A2)
• A3 - Only Search Report (eg WO/2003/020206A3)
• A4 - Search report by the EPO added to Search
report done by the PCT
Name Searching
• Inventor(s)
– Smita Govekar , Nandini Khedekar, etc.
• Company and Organization
– Cipla, IPCA, Strides, Pfizer, etc.
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Subject Searching
• Key words
 Titles
 Abstract
 Claims, etc.
• Classification codes:
 The International Patent Classification
 Other classification schemes
 ECLA (The European Classification)
 US classification
 British classification
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Subject Searching
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Cont…..
• The International Patent Classification
The IPC divides patentable technology into 8
key areas:
Section A:
Human Necessities
Section B:
Performing Operations,
Transporting
Section C:
Chemistry, Metallurgy
Section D:
Textiles, Paper
Section E:
Fixed Constructions
Section F:
Mechanical Engineering,
Lighting, Heating, Weapons
Section G:
Physics
Section H:
Electricity
International Patent Classification (WIPO)
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International Patent Classification (WIPO)
Cont…..
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International Patent Classification (EPO)
Cont…..
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Search Engines
Free Sites
• USPTO
• Espacenet
• WIPO
• Free Patents Online
• Google Patent Search
• Indian Patent Office,
etc.
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Paid Sites
• STN,
• DialogPRO
• Thomson
Corporation
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Delphion
Patentweb
Aureka
Derwent
MicroPatent,
etc.
For some more databases :
http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/resources/links.jsp
WIPO
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USPTO
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Espacenet
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Indian Patent Search
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Indian Patent Search
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Indian Patent Search
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Indian Patent Search
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Orange Book
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Orange Book
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Orange Book
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Orange Book
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Orange Book
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ESPACENET
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ESPACENET
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ESPACENET
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ESPACENET
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ESPACENET
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USPTO
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USPTO
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USPTO
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WIPO
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WIPO
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WIPO
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INDIA
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INDIA
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Cont…..
STN
http://www.stn-international.de/stn_home.html?&L=0
• Provides global access to published research, journal
literature, patents, structures, sequences,
properties, and other data.
• You can search patent data such as:
– Front page information, e.g., patent number,
patent assignee, title.
– Abstracts, Full-text, Legal status, Patent family
– Database specific indexing, e.g., names and
structures for specific or Markush structures,
sequences, concepts.
• To access STN you need to obtain authorization from
STN service center to set up an STN account.
• Price List - http://www.stninternational.de/fileadmin/be_user/STN/pdf/prices
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/2010_USD_STN_Pricelist.pdf
DialogPRO
http://www.dialog.com/
• Review
worldwide
Patent,
Trademark,
and
Copyright Developments, view Online Patent Images,
news on Litigation, Settlements, and IP regulations.
• Databases include U.S. copyright data, trademarks
from 14 countries plus the European Community and
WIPO, four million trademark images, Japanese
trademarks in English, over 15 million patents
covering 60 countries, U.S. business process patents
and Korean patent application abstracts in English.
• Price List:
http://support.dialog.com/pricing/dialog1/dialog1_p
ricing.pdf
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Delphion
http://www.delphion.com/research/
• Patent Collection Descriptions
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US Granted Patents & Applications
EP Granted Patents & Applications
Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI)
German Granted Patents & Applications
INPADOC Family and Legal Status
Patent Abstracts of Japan (JP)
Switzerland (CH)
WIPO PCT Publications (WO)
• Price List
– Delphion Unlimited $292.60 per month
– Delphion Premier $146.30 per month
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MicroPatent
http://www.micropat.com
• Online patent & trademark information.
• Full text of US, DE, EP, GB, JP (abstracts
only) and PCT
• PatentWeb
– access PatSearch Full Text with either a daily or
an annual subscription.
– access MPI-INPADOC Plus with an annual
subscription only.
• Aureka
– Searches and Transforms complex patent
information into lucid, organized knowledge
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Importance of Searching the
Legal Status
Whether,
• Patent has been Granted or not
• Granted Patent is still in Force or not.
• Patent has been granted Patent Term
Extension/SPC.
• There are any Amendments to the Claims
• The Ownership of patent has Changed
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i.e. Assigned, Licensed, etc.
Legal Status - US
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Legal Status - US
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Legal Status - US
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Legal Status - US
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Legal Status - US
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Legal Status - US
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Legal Status - EP
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Legal Status - EP
Cont…..
Country - Monaco
Country - Netherlands
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Legal Status - INDIA
• Sec 153 read with rule 134 along with prescribed fee.
• Rule 134. Request for information under section 153
(1) A request for information in respect of the following matters relating to any patent or
application for patent shall be admissible, namely :(a) as to when a complete specification following a provisional specification has been filed or
an application for patent has been deemed to have been abandoned;
(b) as to when publication of application has been made under section 11A;
(c) as to when an application has been withdrawn under section 11B;
(d) as to when a request for examination has been made under section 11B;
(e) as to when the examination report has been issued under section 12;
(f) as to when an application for patent has been refused;
(g) as to when a patent has been granted;
(h) as to when a renewal fee has been paid;
(i) as to when a term of a patent has expired or shall expire;
(j) as to when an entry has been made in the register or application has been made for the
making of such entry; or
(k) as to when any application is made or action taken involving an entry in the register,
publication in the Official Journal or otherwise, if the nature of the application or action
is specified in the request.
(2) Separate request shall be made in respect of each item of information required.
(3) The fee payable on a request to be made under section 153 shall be as set out in the
First Schedule.
Fees: Rs.300 – For natural person (s)
Rs. 1200 - For other than natural person (s) either alone or jointly with natural
person (s).
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Legal Status - INDIA
Cont…..
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• WIPO:
http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en
• India Patent Office:
http://www.patentoffice.nic.in/
• USPTO - http://www.uspto.gov/
• EPO: http://ep.espacenet.com/
• Office of Harmonization for the Internal
Market (OHIM): EU agency responsible for
registering trade marks and designs that
are valid in all 27 countries of the EU.
http://oami.europa.eu/RCDOnline/Reques
tManager
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TIME OUT
• US5443036 - A method for inducing cats to
exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible
light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus
onto the floor or wall or other opaque surface in
the vicinity of the cat, then moving the laser so as
to cause the bright pattern of light to move in an
irregular way fascinating to cats, and to any other
animal with a chase instinct.
• US5996568 - Process for propelling foodstuffs or
the like into a crowd
• US4344424 - Anti-eating face mask
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• US5100127 - Physical exercise treadmill for
quadrupeds (read animals)