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(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Overview of commercial electronic information sources
Stephen Adams,
Magister Ltd., GB
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Topics
• Types of information source
• Examples of each type
• Comparison between sources
• Choosing an information source for a specific job
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Types of information source
• Commercial online suppliers– examples ; STN International, Questel-Orbit,
Dialog.• each supplier (HOST) provides one or more
FILES
• CD-ROM and other disk-based sources– examples ; ESPACE, CASSIS
• Internet sources– examples ; QPAT-US, Patent Explorer, IBM
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Online file categories
Multi-country,multi-technology
Single country,multi-technology
Multi-country,single technology
Single country,single technology
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Online file categories
Derwent WPIINPADOCEDOC
CLAIMS (US)PATDPA, PATOS-DE (DE)FPAT (FR)EPAT, PATOS-EP (EP)PCTPAT , PATOS-WO (WO)JAPIO, PATOLIS (JP)CHINAPATS (CN), etc.
Chemical Abstracts - chemistryAPIPAT - petroleum industryFSTA - food scienceCAB - agricultureINSPEC - engineeringPharm - pharmaceuticals
BioBusiness (US)
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Multi-country, multi-technology
• World Patent Index (Derwent Information)– weekly update– 36 current countries + “Research Disclosure”
and “International Technology Abstracts”– earliest coverage from 1963
• Main strengths :– Subject searching (deep-indexed with quality
English abstracts for most records)
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Multi-country, multi-technology
• INPADOC (European Patent Office)– weekly update– 65 countries + legal status data for 22– coverage from c. 1973 for most countries– no abstracts
• Main strengths : – family searching– speed of updating
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Multi-country, multi-technology
• EDOC (European Patent Office)– monthly update– approximately 17 current countries– earliest coverage from 1877 (Germany)– numeric data + ECLA classes only
• Main strengths :– unique old family data– some unique current countries / document
kinds
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Multi-country, single technology
• Currently abstracting– APIPAT
– Chemical Abstracts
– MPHARM + Pharm
– FSTA
– Foods Adlibra
– CABI
• Subject matterPetroleum &
petrochemicalsChemistryPharmaceuticalsFood scienceFoodAgriculture
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Multi-country, single technology
• Currently abstracting– Aluminium Industry
Abstracts
– APTIC
– Energy Science & Technology
– FLUIDEX
– DGENE
– Metadex
• Subject matterAluminium industry
news and researchAnti-pollution (EPA)Energy technology
(US DoE)Hydraulic
engineeringGenetic engineeringMetallurgy
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Multi-country, single technology
• Currently abstracting– Paperchem
– Pira
– Rapra
– Telegen
– Water Resources
– Weldasearch
– World Surface Coatings Abstracts
– etc.
• Subject matterPaper and pulpPaper, print,
packagingRubber and plasticsBiotechnologyWater WeldingPaints and coating
technology
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Multi-country, single technology
• No longer abstracting– INSPEC
– Beilstein
– BIOSIS
• Subject matter Physics / engineering Chemistry Biology
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Single country, multi-technology
• CN : Chinapats• DE : PATDPA, PATOS-DE, PATDD• EP : EPAT, EPATFULL, PATOS-EP, EPO Register• FR : FPAT• IT : ITALPAT• JP : JAPIO, PATOLIS• US : CLAIMS, USPAT, USPATFULL• WO : PCTPAT, PATOS-WO
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Single country, single technology
• Biobusiness : – US patents only in the biological sciences– File is principally geared towards the
commercial development of biology– The main BIOSIS file contains some patents
from the mid-1980’s but is not updated.
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
CD-ROM and other disk based sources
• Initially used as a means of saving space (“espace”) when storing documents
• Early search capability was crude, and limited to one disk at a time
• Current capability allows better searching, sometimes across more than one disk
• Fewer specialised computing components required in order to work properly
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
CD-ROM and other disk based sources
• Characteristics :– Well-defined technical standards for CD-
ROM file formats– Products based upon higher storage capacity
disks (DVD) starting to come on stream– Wide range of compatible products as a result
of patent office collaboration (EP, JP, US)
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
CD-ROM and other disk-based sources
Facsimile documentse.g. ESPACE
Bibliographic datae.g. ACCESS, CASSIS,GlobalPat
Hybrid productse.g. MicroPatent “TOPS”
Linked productse.g. Derwent “Derpict”
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Facsimile products
• Provide a good means for accumulating a document archive– high quality paper copies– correction and supplementary documents
• Limited use for retrospective searching
• Very useful tool for current awareness
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Bibliographic products
• Large volumes of data on one disk– e.g. ACCESS-EP search across many years
of data– cross-references to facsimile products
• Mostly “front page”-type data +/- drawing ; a few full text (ASCII) products
• Relatively slow updating compared to corresponding online files
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Hybrid products
• MicroPatent’s “TOPS” system– CD-ROM based search across WO, EP, US
documents– electronic transfer of “hit” documents to
MicroPatent Internet site for delivery of complete documents
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Linked products
• Derwent Information “DAJ on CD-ROM”– only available to Derwent subscribers– can be used for current awareness
• limited search capability, delivers facsimiles of Derwent Documentation Abstracts each week
– can be used as archive of abstracts• online search of Derwent WPI file
• download accession numbers
• locate and print out corresponding abstracts
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Internet sources
• Initially, mostly a new form of document delivery
• Now, developing increasingly sophisticated search capability– BUT requires more complex software and
reliable telecommunications in order to work properly
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Internet sources
• Characteristics :– Many new companies have entered the patent
information market– National patent offices have started to market
their information directly to the public– Much of the information is “raw data”– A small (but increasing) proportion of the
data is unique to the Internet
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Internet sources
• No current Web server allows simultaneous searching across more than one country– Multiple individual files mounted on
Derwent’s Patent Explorer and MicroPatent’s PatentWeb
– IBM’s Patent Server experimenting with additional countries ; currently US only.
– EPO’s DIPS project may permit this type of searching
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Comparison factors
A) Technology & cost – Computer hardware & software requirements– Networking / telecommunications needs– Capital investment– Running costs– Difficulty of budgeting (predictability of
costs)
• Low = good, high = bad
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Technology and cost factors
0
1
2
3
4
5
Hardw are / softw arerequirements
IT infrastructure / netw ork needs
Initial investmentRunning costs
Diff iculty of budgeting
Web
CD-ROM
Online
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Comparison factors
B) Search features– Range of sources available– Command language power– User acceptability (amount of training
required)– Level of support available to users
• High = good, low = bad
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Search features
0
1
2
3
4
5Command language pow er
User support available
User acceptability
Range of sources available
Web
CD-ROM
Online
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Choosing an information source
• Search classification– Novelty (patentability)– Infringement (“freedom of action”)– Validity & opposition– State-of-the-art– Alerting (current awareness)– Family & equivalent– Citation
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Novelty
• Subject matter search focused upon the specific details of the invention
• Requires :– multi-country source (essential)– multi-technology source (preferable)– detailed subject indexing and search features– patent and non-patent literature– rapid updating (up-to-date content)
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Infringement
• Limited to specific geographic area(s) and to claims of valid, in-force patents only
• Requires :– one or more single-country sources
• including appropriate regional patent systems
– multi-technology sources (preferable)– detailed subject search facilities + ready
access to exact text of claims– links to legal status of retrieved records
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Validity & opposition
• Similar to novelty, but limited to matter published before the priority date
• Requires :– multi-country, multi-technology sources– extensive subject indexing (full-text is
helpful)– patent and non-patent literature– search features allowing date limitation
(useful)
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
State-of-the-art
• Review of a defined subject area, perhaps before commencing research
• Requires :– good indexing for broad subject matter– multi-country coverage– good access to complete texts
• the preamble of patents can serve as mini-reviews
– (sometimes) statistical analysis capability
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Alerting searches
• Ongoing awareness of new patents in specific industries or by specific companies
• Requires :– reliable high speed updating– adequate broad-based subject capability
(typically classifications)– standardised formats for quick scanning
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Family & equivalent
• Identifies the geographic extent of patent protection and/or texts in preferred languages
• Requires :– accurate and timely collation of family data– intellectual added-value (for legal variations)– extensive time coverage (publication of
family members may spread over many years)
(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998
Citations
• In support of other types of search (particularly validity) or as an exercise in statistical evaluation of competitors
• Requires :– complete data sets (not yet routinely
available)– highly standardised data fields (e.g. assignee)– easy access to related files (for examination
of subject) or statistical software (for analysis)
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