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Patent Searching Primer

Patent Searching Primer. Univ. at Buffalo. Ben Wagner, Sciences Librarian abwagner@buffalo.edu. What is a patent?. An invention protected in a specific country for a specific length of time (usually 20 years if renewal fees paid). It must be novel, useful, & non-obvious. The Process.

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Patent Searching Primer

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  1. Patent Searching Primer Univ. at Buffalo • Ben Wagner, • Sciences Librarian • abwagner@buffalo.edu

  2. What is a patent? • An invention protected in a specific country for a specific length of time (usually 20 years if renewal fees paid). • It must be novel, useful, & non-obvious.

  3. The Process • Write & submit an application to a national patent office • Immediately assigned filing (application) number & date. • If 1st country invention filed in, called ‘priority’ application & date. • Review process and publication schedule starts • File in other countries as desired.

  4. Patent Country Codes • Two letter standard code - universal - all info sources Two Special Supranational Offices • EP - European Patent (w/designated states) • WO - World Patent, aka PCT patent

  5. Patent Numbers • Various schemes depending on country • Straight sequential from year 1 • 2- or 4-digit year followed by sequential number –resets to 1 • Japan – common era or year of emperor depending on type of patent

  6. Stages of Publication • Depends on country - up to 3 separate publications 1) Unexamined application published (usually 18 months after filing) 2) Examined application 3) Granted specification (the actual patent)

  7. Patent Kind Codes (Letter) • A, B, C nearly always 1st, 2nd, 3rd publication • If only one publication done, it is still ‘A’. • Numbers represent sub categories (A1, A2, ...) • Letters above C usually some special type of patent • US Type E Reissue patent

  8. Overview of each country’s patent system Derwent Global Patent Sources • UGL/SEL Reference T210.D47 2001 (1st floor Capen) • Explains numbering system, kind codes, filing rules

  9. Patent Searching • Multi-faceted approach • Patent Number/Family • Company (Assignee) • Subject • Author (Inventor) • Patent Classification

  10. Subject Searching GENERIC LANGUAGE LEGALESE Vendor added indexing very helpful. Use of classification systems can greatly enhance retrieval

  11. Classification Searching • 3 main systems: U.S., International (IPC), European (ECLA) based on IPC, but twice as detailed • Easiest approach is to find key patents via keyword searching and review assigned classes • Use on-line versions of classification system for easy navigation

  12. Where to search – The Big Three 1) SciFinder Scholar, if chemistry, environmental, materials related. 2) EI Patents (Engineering Village) – U.S. & European Patents 3) esp@cenet (Worldwide incl. U.S.)

  13. SciFinder Scholar & Patentshttp://libweb.lib.buffalo.edu/pdp/index.asp?ID=352 • 16% of File CA – 4 million patents from over 54 countries • Rich, deep indexing using technical rather than legal terms. • Extent of coverage varies over time and based on topic. • http://www.cas.org/expertise/cascontent/caplus/patcoverage/

  14. EI Patents • All disciplines, but U.S. & European Patent Office (EP) only. • Auto-analyze feature easiest way to find useful patent classes • http://libweb.lib.buffalo.edu/pdp/index.asp?ID=143

  15. Worldwide Patents (esp@cenet) • Most comprehensive, free patent database avail. • Over 60 million patents from over 80 countries. • Starting date varies by country. • U.S. is earliest at 1836) • Data fields vary greatly (50% have titles; 33% have English abstract. • Can download entire patent with 1 click.

  16. Where to search – The best of the rest • U.S. Patent Office (U.S. only) • Deep backfile, powerful search features, detailed U.S. Classification codes • BIOSIS Previews, if biological and 1999+ only is desired. • Beilstein CrossFire, for old chemistry patents.

  17. UB Patent Guide • http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/engineering/patents.html The “go to” place

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