Searching for Beauty: How to Search for US Plant Patents

Spring is here, and since the azaleas are blooming and gardens everywhere are looking lovely, I thought I’d honor spring by writing a quick primer on searching for U.S. plant patents.  The USPTO website provides a thourough guide on how to apply for a plant patent, and this guide gives the following definition for plant patents in the U.S.:

A plant patent is granted by the Government to an inventor (or the inventor’s heirs or assigns) who has invented or discovered and asexually reproduced a distinct and new variety of plant, other than a tuber propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state. The grant, which lasts for 20 years from the date of filing the application, protects the inventor’s right to exclude others from asexually reproducing, selling, or using the plant so reproduced.

Plant patents account for only a very small percentage of total US patent applications and granted patents: in 2012, there were only 1,149 plant patent applications, out of 576,763 total applications, and 860 granted plant patents.  So where should you begin your hunt for this rare species of US patent?

Read on to learn the best search strategies for searching for plant patent records on the USPTO website and Google Patents!

European Unitary Patent: A Quick Primer

The European Unitary Patent has been a long time coming (depending on who you ask)! In any case, the process to get us where we are today has been a lenghty one. The reality of a European Union-centric patent may seem obvious to outsiders, following the economic ties generated by the creation of the EU, but the unitary patent has long been a subject of contention.

The European Patent Convention (EPC) of 1973 is the origin of the current “EP” patent administered by the European Patent Office. This patent provides protection in the member states (and extension states) party to the EPC.

The new unitary patent will live alongside the traditional “EP” patent as an option, according to the European Patent Office:

A unitary patent will be a European patent granted by the EPO under the provisions of the European Patent Convention to which unitary effect for the territory of the 25 participating states is given after grant, at the patentee’s request. The unitary patent will thus not affect the EPO’s day-to-day search, examination and granting work.

New Indonesian Coverage in DWPI & the Digital Public Library of America Gears Up

Hello Intellogist Blog readers! Today we’ll touch on two interesting news stories: DWPI celebrates its 50th year with new Indonesian coverage, and the Digital Public Library of America is getting ready to launch a new project in April with the addition of National Archives material.

Derwent World Patents Index is a long respected and unique source of value added patent data. Specializing and known for human-generated content such as translated and summarized abstracts, controlled vocabulary, and indexing, DWPI has entered its 50th year of availability.

Coverage within DWPI has grown in recent years to encompass many emerging markets, and Indonesian coverage is the latest example of this expansion. Coverage will include all patent applications and Indonesian Simple Patents published from 2010 forward. The 50th data source in DWPI will be deployed in the following way according to CAS:

Records identified as basics will have DWPI titles and abstracts and manual coding, with deep indexing for chemical records where applicable. The first records, from October 2012, appeared in DWPI update 201309, with the most recently published records being loaded first, followed by the backfile to 2010 over subsequent weeks. The backfile load is expected to be completed in Q2.

A Free Online Portal of Swiss Intellectual Property: Swissreg

I’ll admit, my interest in exploring the online search portals for various intellectual property office websites has gotten a bit out of hand. From Hungary to Singapore, I’ve taken a world tour of the many innovative websites that offer free access to a broad assortment of intellectual property records, ranging from utility patents and industrial designs to trademark and copyright records. This obsession for exploring worldwide IP portals has even created an entire section on Intellogist dedicated to patent authority websites.  I recently visited the free online IP search portal for the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, called Swissreg, which allows users to search through data on Swiss patents, trademarks, designs, SPCs, and even topographies.  This portal offers a variety of fielded search forms for each intellectual property type (except topographies), and users can view bibliographic details and legal status information for each IP record.  Links are also provided for patent results to the full documents accessible on Espacenet.

Continue reading for an overview of the coverage, search, and display options on the Swiss IP search portal Swissreg!

The 3 Best Ways to Find Google Search Product News

In 2012, I discussed some of the best websites for locating database updates and search platform news.  A network of blogs and websites exists that caters specifically to professional searchers and IT specialists, and these sites discuss the latest updates to popular patent and non-patent literature search platforms.  The websites for specific database and search systems also often list the latest news about their respective search platforms, although these press releases are usually rather promotional in comparison to the more objective search engine news sites.  One specific search platform mentioned frequently on these sites is both highly utilized and highly controversial within the prior art search community: Google.

Google produces a number of useful products that often provide a good starting point for patent and non-patent literature (NPL) prior art searches, such as Google Scholar, Google Books, and Google Patents.  Users should remember, however, that Google is not the end-all resource for prior art searches.  Both free and subscription patent and non-patent literature (NPL) databases exist that contain specialized collections of patent records, scholarly journal articles, etc. that aren’t accessible at all on Google.  The Google search algorithm will also never replace the human strategy, technical knowledge, search skills, and multilingual knowledge of professional patent searchers. Just as a machine translation tool like Google Translate can’t replace the knowledge and comprehension of a professional human translator, Google search products can’t replace the expertise and strategy of a professional searcher.  Google is just one of many search resources in the patent searcher’s tool belt.

Keeping that caveat in mind, Google products still provide an excellent starting point for scoping out relevant prior art (especially non-patent literature), so searchers should stay up-to-date on the latest Google news and product releases.  After the jump, learn about three techniques for finding the latest Google search news!

Patents to defend us against meteors

It seems we can’t go a single column without mentioning some sort of apocalypse. We had a bacon-apocalypse, the Mayan apocalypse, and now we have a potential apocalypse due to a large chunk of meteor flying across the sky in Russia recently, caught on numerous dashboard cameras, injuring over a thousand people due to the shockwaves. Now everyone knows that Russians put cameras on their dashboards to catch footage of cows being dumped from a truck that tips over (go to 3:01 mark), but who would have thought that technology would be used to capture what could have been the destruction of a part of Russia had the meteor impacted the Earth at a more direct angle. Since the world is largely ill-prepared to deal with a much bigger object headed toward the Earth, we need to turn to our heroes to save the day.

Here are some patents that might help us in the fight against meteors:

Don’t Fall Prey to “Awkward” Patent Claim Translations

Applying for patent protection in a foreign jurisdiction can be fraught with difficulties every step of the way. If not handled properly, translating the patent application from its original language to that of the target jurisdiction can lead to huge problems that could come back to bite you down the road, sometimes to the tune of millions of dollars in lost intellectual property protection.

Recent news out of the Northern District of Georgia provides even more evidence of the fact that shoddy patent claim translation can result in reduced intellectual property rights. According to an article on Lexology:

In a case between KEG Kanalreinigungstechnik GmbH and KEG Technologies, Inc. (“KEG”) and Reinhart Laimer, Sewer Equipment Corporation, USB-Sewer Equipment Corporation, Ulrich Simpfendörfer, USB-Duesen, USB-Sewer Equipment International GmbH, Patrick Savio, Daniel Long and Elke Krantz (“Laimer”) over patents drawn to “hydrodynamic nozzles” for cleaning the inside surface of underground sewer pipes, Chief Judge Julie Carnes appointed Special Master Gale R. Peterson of San Antonio, Texas to preside over the Markman claim construction hearing and submit a report and recommendation on claim construction to the Court.

The patent applications in question were originally filed in Germany and then translated to English and filed in the United States. The Special Master concluded in his report that:

some of the claim language is “awkward” as a result of the translation.

Furthermore:

Laimer contended that some of the claim terms and phrases are beyond “awkward,” and instead are “unintelligible” and render the claims indefinite and invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 112(2).

The report stated:

although the master finds the claims amenable to construction, that does not necessarily mean that the claim passes muster under § 112(2). That is a question for another day.

Although the parties agreed on constructions for some of the terms and phrases of the asserted claims, the Special Master recommended constructions for the other disputed claim language as well. This is yet another example of a poor translation preventing an applicant from getting the exact protection they were seeking.

One bad document translation can cost a company dearly, and this has been clearly demonstrated again by Special Master Peterson. Gale R. Peterson is also a faculty member of Patent Resources Group, the leading provider of U.S. patent bar review and advanced U.S. patent law education, and a fully-owned subsidiary of Landon IP.

How can you avoid a bad patent translation ruining your business?
Customers should only consider professional technical translators who possess an in-depth knowledge of the patent process and the relevant technical art when choosing who will translate the patent documents they intend to use to file an international patent application. Landon IP is a leading provider of patent translation services and other patent-related services, including patent search, and advanced patent law training (Patent Resources Group).

Use These Patents to Control the Weather

We’ve had a recent cold snap here on the East Coast of the US, and technology for controlling the weather would sure come in handy right now.  I was surprised to learn from a quick Google search that a variety of weather modification technology already exists, ranging from cloud seeding to hail cannons.  Many of these technologies have very limited or no scientific evidence to validate their effectiveness, but I still find it fascinating that people have generated so many ideas and inventions for weather control.  Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a product on the market that I can use to flip a switch and instantly make the weather in Washington D.C. 70 degrees and sunny.  While I wait for that invention to get a grant from the USPTO, let’s take a quick look at five granted US patents (located through Google Patents) which describe various technologies for weather modification.

Continue reading for an overview of recent inventions for controlling the weather!

USPC-to-CPC Concordance Tool Now Available on the USPTO Website!

On January 1, 2013, the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) completely replaced ECLA, and all US published applications will now carry CPC classifications. The EPO’s Espacenet search system has already added a CPC search tool to its portal, and many subscription-based patent search systems have also integrated the CPC into their US and EP patent records and search options. The official CPC website currently offers an “ECLA to CPC to IPC” concordance table for users who need find a relevant CPC symbol that corresponds to an IPC or ECLA classification symbol.  The USPTO website now offers an additional useful tool to help users locate the correct CPC symbol by searching for a corresponding US Patent Classification (USPC) symbol. With this tool, users can enter any USPC symbol and automatically generate a list of the closest corresponding CPC symbols.

After the jump, Landon IP’s librarian Kristin Whitman provides a brief guide on how to use the “Statistical Mapping from USPC to CPC” concordance tool!

Apply for the Brian Stockdale Memorial Award to Attend the PIUG 2013 Annual Conference for Free!

The mission of the Patent Information Users Group (PIUG) is to “support, assist, improve and enhance the success of patent information professionals through leadership, education, communication, advocacy and networking.” This year, the PIUG 2013 Annual Conference will be held from April 27 to May 2, 2013 in Alexandria, Virginia at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, and the organization is again offering new patent information professionals the chance to attend the conference for free by entering to win the 2013 Brian Stockdale Memorial Award.  This annual award is dedicated to the memory of one of the world’s most talented patent information search professionals, Dr. Brian Stockdale, who traveled extensively throughout the world imparting his knowledge of patent searching.  Are you a student or a new professional with less than three years experience in the patent information field who wants to attend the PIUG 2013 Annual Conference?  Then you should submit an essay by February 8, 2013 to be considered for the 2013 Brian Stockdale Memorial Award, which offers an award that covers membership in PIUG for the current year, conference registration, and standard travel expenses to the conference.

Read on to learn about the entry process and awards package for the 2013 Brian Stockdale Memorial Award!