If you’re a chemist you have a nice option in Reaxys, or Reaxysfile on STN, but this file is strictly chemistry – it does not cover engineering and mechanical topics.  And you may have heard of Knovel, a non-patent search product that allows property range searching in textbooks.

But where can one find a patent collection with searchable property ranges?  This kind of search is possible in the full text PCT, Australian and Canadian collections on STN.  Read more to find out about the PCTFULL, CAFULL and AUFULL files that have been produced by STN distributor FIZ Karlsruhe.

As background, the PCTFULL, CAFULL and AUFULL files were originally OCR collections produced by LexisNexis Univentio. FIZ Karlsruhe developed an in-house method to index the property data found in these patents.  Indexing was performed over the entire English full text of the patent (title, abstract, description and claims), but note that only the English-language documents will have been indexed for property ranges; for the PCT collection, this omits a very significant portion of the database.

Date range coverage of these files is very good.  The PCTFULL collection covers the full text of PCT publications back to the beginning of the collection in 1978, AUPATFULL covers Australian patent applications and patent specifications back to 1964, and CANPATFULL covers Canadian patent applications and patent specifications back to 1920.  The reason for the specific coverage of the Australian and Canadian authorities is that FIZ Karlsruhe had the recent opportunity to index and re-load these files, and so decided to treat them with the same process.

By necessity, the indexing process includes automatic unit conversion: all indexed data has been converted into SI base units.  For example, the system will index “6 hours” into 2.16×10⁴ sec.  User keyword queries will also be converted to SI base units when the search is executed, so that both query and text are normalized.  For example, a temperature search in Celsius units will retrieve hits with ranges originally listed in Fahrenheit and Kelvin.  Additionally, property searches can be combined with other search terms, and the full range of operators available on STN are available.

Both open range and exact value searches are allowed in the files.  However, open range searches (e.g. any record with the property size > 100nm) may exceed system limits if the query is too broad, so restricting range searches is advised.

Exact value searching supports the use of tolerances (e.g.  100 ± 1 °C returns hits from 99 to 101 degrees Celsius).  The FIZ Karlsruhe support material for range searching demonstrates that using at least small tolerances is a good idea – otherwise relevant references could be omitted.  For example, an exact search on 100°C might miss a hit specifying 373K, which equals 99.85°C.

The searchable fields in these three files include over 30 physical and chemical properties.  Just to give you an idea of the depth of the indexing, fields include:

•  Amount of Substance
• Bit Rate
• Byte Rate
• Molar Concentration
• Conductance
• Degree
• Density
• Energy
• Force
• Frequency
• Viscosity (dynamic)
• Viscosity (kinematic)
• Luminous Emittance/Illuminance
• Luminous Flux
• Luminous Intensity
• Mass
• Mass Flow
• Magnetic Field Strength
• Molar Mass
• Percent (Proportionality)
• pH
• Power
• Pressure
• Radioactivity
• Electrical Impedance/Resistance
• Area/Surface Area
• Spring Constant
• Size
• Surface Tension
• Temperature
• Time
• Velocity
• Velocity, Angular
• Volume
• Voltage

A complete guide to these properties can be found in the Database Summary sheets for the AUPATFULL, CANPATFULL, and PCTFULL files on STN – use the PDF bookmarks to get to the “Search and Display Field Codes” section.  And if you’re an STN user, you’ll understand me when I say that you can use EXPAND/PHP to see the list of searchable fields.

The only major downside to these files is that you must search them on STN – and yes, with apologies to FIZ Karlsruhe, this *is* a downside for those who aren’t comfortable with the STN search environment. However, to those who use STN, the flexibility of the command line environment is an advantage.

How do you handle numeric property range searches?  Do you see yourself using these files in the future?  Let us know in the comments!

This post was contributed by Landon IP Librarian Kristin Whitman. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company, Landon IP, a major provider of patent search, technical translation, and information services.

After the jump, learn about the top five PatBase updates in the fully-reviewed PatBase System Report!

1. Increased full-text country coverage: On the new “Available Full Text Coverage” page, you can learn about the updated full-text patent data now available through PatBase, including new full-text coverage for BE, BR, CA, CH, DK, ES, FI, IN, SE, TH, and TW patent documents.  Also learn about the Smart Claims feature,  previously only available for US full-text claims, which is now available for publications from all countries with full-text available.

2. Color-coded legal status tables: Legal status information for records in PatBase can be called up for free through the “status” link for each family record. The status window will display the INPADOC legal status data for the family, including a color-coded and searchable table of all recorded legal events (including PRS codes (PDF)) for family documents. The Legal Status table also include links (embedded in the document number for each event in the table) to external national legal status register sites, so that users can check the particular status of individual family members.

3. Non-Latin Text Search through the Command Line Interface: Users can “run Text, Assignee and Inventor searches in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian and Thai, in the original language with non-Latin characters” through the command line. The user must first specify the language using the 2 letter country code before entering the query in the command line. For example, to conduct an assignee search in non-Latin text in both non-Latin and machine-translated records of Japanese documents, the user would enter the following query: JP:PA=(フクスケ株式会社). Another example given in the PatBase manual is of a non-Latin text keyword search within the Title, Abstract, and Claims fields of Chinese non-Latin and machine translated records, which would be formatted as follows in the command line: CN:TAC=(用于进行体育运动的具有非均匀压迫作用的服装制品).

4. Custom User Fields: In 2011, PatBase added the feature of Custom User Fields. According to the PatBase Manual, administrators can create up to 10 customized user fields per PatBase account, and these fields “can be made visible and searchable, if required, to all other PatBase users who have access to the same account.” PatBase administrators can search and edit all Custom User Fields, and non-administrators can search these fields if the administrator has granted them view/edit access.

5. Visual Explorer Tool: The Visual Explorer tool, which was integrated into PatBase in October 2011, is a “clustering and visualization tool” that allows users to view top keywords, applicants, and IPC classes (taken from the first 2000 records within a results set).

The Visual Explorer Tool in PatBase.

These are just a handful of the many updates listed in the fully-reviewed PatBase System Report.  Check out the full Report over at Intellogist!

What do you think is the new best PatBase feature of 2011?  Let us know in the comments!

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

]]> http://intellogist.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/top-5-patbase-update-highlights/feed/ 0 jmornini vis1 Patent Searches from Landon IP http://intellogist.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/a-concept-identification-and-visualization-tool-for-patent-analysts-leximancer/ http://intellogist.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/a-concept-identification-and-visualization-tool-for-patent-analysts-leximancer/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:44:06 +0000 jmornini http://intellogist.wordpress.com/?p=4767 ]]>

After the jump, learn about the different versions of Leximancer, how to access the tool, and read about my experience testing the trial version of LexiPortal!

Versions

According to the Leximancer website, versions of the Leximancer software include:

• Leximancer Enterprise - A multi-user server configuration that runs within a desktop browser. Capabilities of this version include:
  • Use of Leximancer’s web-crawling and search features to extract content directly from the internet.
  • Publish “view-only” maps to share around the organization for evaluation and analysis.
• Leximancer Portal (LexiPortal) - A service available via any supported web browser in a hosted “on-demand” platform.
• Leximancer Desktop - Service on stand-alone personal computer or laptop.

Access

For the LexiPortal service, users can subscribe in a “pay-as-you-go” environment, where they “do not have to subscribe every month, but are charged only for your actual months of usage – on either a time or service basis” (according to the website).  Separate monthly rates are charged for the following services listed on the Leximancer website:

• Leximancer “internal” data analytics – Upload internal data files (including but not limited to doc, rtf, csv, txt, pdf and html files).
• Web-crawling “external” data acquisition – Fetch web data from specific sources via a URL (with optional keyword content filtering or user chosen web search terms).
• Leximancer Insight Dashboard service – Users can view Dashboard reports generated by a Leximancer consultant.

Users can also request also request a free trial for LexiPortal through the Leximancer website.

Using LexiPortal

After signing in to LexiPortal, the user can select to create a new project or work on a current project through the side menu “Manage Projects”, which contains a hierarchical list of folders and projects. By right clicking on a folder, the user can select to create a new folder (within the current folder) or create a new project.

Select to create a new folder or project within the hierarchical file list of LexiPortal.

After naming the new project and entering a description, a new “Project Control” menu will appear in the main window. Multiple projects can be open at one time, each in a separate tab within the main window.

The project control menu for a specific project on LexiPortal.

Within the project control menu, the user must complete each step listed on the menu, until all steps are listed with a “Ready” status:

1. Load Data - Select data currently uploaded to the system (add to “selected data” section), or upload new files to add to the “selected data” section.  I was unable to upload a collection of patent PDF documents to the system through my trial account, so I had to run the concept analysis on data sets already uploaded to the system.  It is unclear whether this inability to upload a set of PDF documents was due to the trial status of my account on LexiPortal or a temporary glitch in the system.
2. Generate Concept Seeds - Before selecting to run this section, edit the following settings (display options through “Show Settings” button):
   1. Text Processing Settings - Define general (sentences per block, prose test threshold, etc.), tagging (apply folder tags, apply file tags, etc.), and performance (file preparation and processed file storage format) settings.
   2. Concept Seeds Settings - Select general concept seeds identification options (automatically identify concepts, total number of concepts, etc).
3. Generate Thesaurus - Before selecting to run this section, edit the following settings (display options through “Show Settings” button):
   1. Concept Seeds - View lists of auto concepts, auto tags, user defined concepts, and user defined tags. Select to add, edit, remove, download, upload, and merge/unmerge concepts. User defined concepts and tags have the additional option of “sentiment lens” (add sentiment concept seeds and compound concepts).
   2. Thesaurus Settings - Define general (learn concept thesaurus using source document, concept generality, learn from tags, etc.) and concept profiling (number to discover, themed discovery, etc.) settings.
4. Run Project - Before selecting to run this final section, edit the following settings (display options through “Show Settings” button):
   1. Compound Concepts - View lists of name-like concepts and word-like concepts, and merge selected concepts using Boolean operators (AND/OR/NOT) to create compound concepts.
      

      Create compound concepts by merging identified concepts with Boolean operators.

   2. Concept Coding Settings - Select from lists of general concept types, available names, and available concepts to define mapping concepts, kill concepts, and required concepts. Define additional options (word-like concept classification threshold, name-like concept classification threshold, etc.).
   3. Project Output Settings - Define options of Concept Map (map type, size), and Insight Dashboard (general settings, quadrant report settings, and lists of categories and attributes).

After uploading the data and running the “Generate Concept Seeds” and “Generate Thesaurus” steps, the user can select to “run project” to complete the analysis process. The user can always upload additional data, edit settings, and re-run the project to update the analysis.

After all statuses for the sections of the project control menu are listed as “Ready”, the user can select from the three options at the bottom of the menu:

• Concept Map - View a concept map in one panel and a tabbed selection of lists and navigation tools in a side menu: themes, concepts, thesaurus, pathway, and query (search option). The user can customize the appearance of the map through a variety of options in a horizontal menu above the map, and the map can be exported or saved.
  

  A concept map and list of themes generated for a project in LexiPortal.

• Insight Dashboard - A report available in PDF, HTML, or CSV formats and divided into five sections (section definitions from a generated Insight Dashboard report):
  • Quadrant Overview (“a high-level, visual chart displayed in a ‘magic quadrant’ format”)
  • Ranked Concepts for Categories Overview (“a more quantitative analysis in ranked barchart format of the most prominent Concepts within the particular Category”)
  • Ranked Compound Concepts for Categories Overview (“similar to Section 2, providing a ranked list of the most prominent Concept pairs for the Category”)
  • Supporting Text Overview (“This provides a good supporting text excerpt, and real evidence, for the top related Concepts – for each of the Concepts identified and ranked in Section 2.”)
  • Ranked Concept Count (“This provides the actual ranked list of ALL Concepts and their associated reference count from the original base data.”)
• Data Exports - The pop-up window for data exports lists the following available exportable reports:
  • Pairs of Concepts across the entire Data Corpus
  • List or pairs of Concepts within each Text Excerpt
  • List of Concepts within each Context Block, within each Text Excerpt
  • Sentiment Lens Seed Set
  • Pairs of Concepts across the entire data corpus (frequency count)
  • Pairs of Concepts across the entire data corpus (inverted prominence)

The user can either mouse over various options to view further descriptions or explanations, or the user can select the option “Help” in the upper left hand corner, where they can select to view a PDF version of the Leximancer manual.

Conclusion

If a user is able to upload any set of documents or data to LexiPortal and create a customizable list of concepts and associated visualizations, then this tool may me useful for patent analysts looking for common themes in a set of patent documents or non-patent literature documents.  It is unclear whether my own inability to upload a set of patent documents to the system was due to a mistake in my use of the system, a temporary system glitch, or the trial status of my account.  I would recommend testing the capabilities of the tool yourself by requesting a free trial for LexiPortal on the Leximancer website, to see if the tool is useful for your particular patent or non-patent literature analysis needs.

Have you used Leximancer before?  What did you think of the service?  Let us know in the comments!

Landon IP provides professional patent analysis services, including patent landscape studies.  The patent landscape study is a comprehensive analysis of patents to benefit product managers, scientists, and patent attorneys.  It is a map and a discussion of patent activity in a specific technology area that significantly improves your ability to make major business decisions.

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

Now that I am within shouting distance of the jersey manufacturer for a European soccer club, today seemed like a good day to take a look at some of the best sports apparel that has graced the patent office.

1) Combination jacket and sports jersey – US 2004/0163155 A1

If there's one thing Michigan fans love, it's buying themed apparel.

This jacket/jersey combo is a perfect gift for a friend, especially if that friend is 6’8” with bushy hair and is essentially a shut-in, who got his other jacket stolen by a homeless person. Or, if they’re just a big Denard Robinson fan. Either way.

2) Decorative propane tank assembly – US 2011/0210130 A1

There's nothing disturbing about tapping a giant head to get the gas to cook your steak. At all.

With all of the new helmets that are being made to help better prevent concussions, something will need to be done with all the old helmets. Why not help make that propane tank go from ugly to awesome? Your grill will thank you.

3) Collectible display device – US 2002/0011502 A1

Show off your jersey collection and give your children nightmares at the same time.

For the fan that already has everything, a jersey display device.

4) Tear way athletic jersey – US 2010/0192276 A1

Wait a second...this guy was pretending to be a fan of one of the teams, but is secretly the ref? Or a fan of the refs? This raises more questions than it answers, frankly.

For the fan who can’t decide who to root for because they don’t know anything about sports. This person typically wins your office March Madness pool.

5) Novelty sports cap – US 2007/0130670 A1

Get your game face on.

Nothing says true fandom like a part of your favorite player’s face on a baseball cap. Not at all creepy.

Next time: Danny goes to Warrior Sports HQ and asks the actual employees if they know who Liverpool FC is. The response of “who” resonates throughout.

Find previous writings and musings from the off-kilter Danny Rooney here.

This post was contributed by Registered Patent Agent Dan Wolka and edited by Chris Jagalla. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company, Landon IP, a major provider of patent search, technical translation, and information services.

The homepage of the USPTO website is a portal that should allow the user to quickly navigate to their desired resource, and this portal recently got a drastic makeover in late December.  How did this makeover change the navigation features and news available on the USPTO homepage?

After the jump, we’ll take a look at the changes to layout, navigation, and news features on the homepage of the USPTO website!
Just to illustrate the changes, here is the old USPTO homepage (which will be retired on February 29, 2012):

The USPTO homepage before Dec. 20, 2011.

And here is the USPTO homepage that was released December 20, 2011:

The USPTO homepage after Dec. 20, 2011.

The new USPTO homepage has a different color scheme than the old version of the site, with more shades of blue and less white space than the old homepage.  The new homepage also includes a large scrolling slideshow of images that takes up almost the entire top half of the page, while the old homepage has far fewer images visible at the top of the page.  In my opinion, the new homepage is more visually appealing than the old USPTO homepage, but how much has the navigation changed?  Let’s compare some navigation tools from both the old and new homepages:

The quick search form:

• Old Homepage: The user can search by keyword or select from a list of questions in a drop-down menu (i.e. “How do I: Search for a patent?”).
• New Homepage: The user can search the site by keyword or select to “search for patents” or “search for trademarks.”  The “search for patents/trademarks” links don’t conduct searches through the quick search form.  Instead, they link to a list of patent search databases and the portal page for the Trade Mark Electronic Search System (TESS).

Old search form (top) vs. new search form (bottom).

The main horizontal drop-down menu:

• Old Homepage: The old homepage has three additional options in the horizontal main menu section that the new homepage menu lacks: “Careers”, “eBusiness/Alerts”, and “For Kids”.
• New Homepage: The new menu moves the “About Us” section for the USPTO to the end of the menu and integrates the “Careers” section into the “About Us” drop-down menu.  The “eBusiness/Alerts” section options have been integrated into other sections: the old “Online Services” option is now under the “Products and Services” section, listed as “Online Services Hub.”  The old “eBiz Alerts” option is now under the “News and Notices” section as “Systems Status.”  The “For Kids” section doesn’t appear anywhere in the new menu.

Section Links:

• Old Homepage: Three horizontal menus are available: “Patents”, “Trademarks”, and “IP Law and Policy”.  Each menu lists a number of important links for each topic.
• New Homepage: The new homepage only provides a link (without any important links listed beneath) for each main topic.  The links navigate to a separate homepage for each topic.

Old section links (top) vs. new section links (bottom).

Other Popular Links:

• Old Homepage: At the very bottom of the old homepage, users can find short descriptions and links to the “USPTO Data Visualization” center, the “Director’s Forum” Blog, and the “America Invents Act Online Guide.”
• New Homepage: A number of important links and short descriptions are listed in a vertical menu on the bottom half of the page: a link to the old homepage (until 2/29/2012), “USPTO Updates Rules for Track 1″, “Small Entity Inventors”, “The Director’s Forum”, and the “Data Visualization Center”.  A link to the guide on the America Invents Act is located directly in the center of the page.

Unique to the New Homepage:

• Scrolling slide show of images and recent news.
• Popular links.
• A list of recent USPTO News headlines.
• Other .Gov resources.

Sections unique to the new homepage.

Conclusion

The old version of the USPTO homepage provided a longer list of important links for each of the three main sections directly on the homepage, but these three horizontal menus cluttered the page and banished important links to the bottom of the portal.  By condensing these three sections to just links to section-specific pages, the new homepage makes room for a for a larger menu of important links, a central position for a link to the AIA guide, and space for new features like the “Popular Links ” and “USPTO News” sections.  I was particularly happy to see a newsfeed of recent headlines directly on the  USPTO homepage in a defined location, since the old homepage tended to list only one or two relevant news items at a time.  Now, the user can view the latest headlines directly on the homepage instead of wasting time navigating to the news section of the website.  For patent searchers, every moment counts.

The only disappointment I experienced about the new USPTO homepage was a lack of links to the kids’ section of the USPTO website.  How are we going to enforce a love of patents in children if we can’t even direct them to their section of the website?  Think of the children, USPTO.

What do you think of  the new USPTO homepage?  Let us know in the comments!

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

• New IP research tools: search and create visualizations of IP lawsuits (from 2005 to present) and 2011 patent statistics.
• Company IP portfolios: View intellectual property information on specific companies, including granted US patents, US applications, IP lawsuits, a summary of the company, and the option to follow any updates on the company.
• Nova News: According to the press release, the Nova News Feed, “which delivers content from internal and external sources, now covers innovation news of over 800 corporate and research institutions from the United States, Japan, and Germany.”

New IP Research Tools: IP Lawsuits and IP Statistics

From the Patexia homepage, users should first log in before utilizing the Patexia tools, since registration is completely free and registered users have full access to all research tools and community features.  Users only need to provide a first name, last name, and email address in order to register for Patexia.  The site even includes an HTTPS connection for secure searching.

After logging in, the user can select the “Research” option in the upper left horizontal menu (which also contains a “Nova” option, which we’ll look at later).  Through the “Research” section, the user can access many of Patexia’s research tools, including the “Patents and Publications” search option.  The “Patents and Publications” search option allows users to search for US patents (from 1976-present) and published applications (2001-present) and create a customized graph of the search results.  This search feature is described in-depth in our previous blog post on Patexia.  The main improvement to this search tool since the last blog post is that US published applications are now also searchable.  According to the “About Us” section of the website, “more than 3 million US patent publications (from 2001 to present)” are searchable.

Through the “Research Section”, users can also now search through “over 20 thousand patent lawsuits (from 2005 to present),” according to the “About Us” section.  The search form includes a keyword search option, a date range selection, and the option to add additional search criteria (Plaintiff, Defendant).  When typing in the plaintiffs or defendants, a drop-down menu of available company names from the IP portfolios will appear that match the text currently typed in the search form.

The visualization produced by the search is either a line or bar graph, and users can group the graph according to plaintiff or defendant and zoom in on specific sections of a line graph.  The user can also select specific data points or bars to view a list of lawsuits that apply to that bar or data point.  A list of all relevant lawsuits is displayed below the visualization (the list is not sortable), and each result in the list includes the case number, title, and filing date.

Search for IP lawsuits by date, plaintiff, defendant, or keyword, and view visualizations of the results.

Users can select a lawsuit result to view a full record for the  case.  The full record includes a summary section (listing the case number, filing date, court, plaintiff, defendant, and cause), a list of documents pertaining to the case (including date, document number, and description), and a discussion section for the lawsuit, where users can post their own opinions on the case.

Records on IP Lawsuits include a summary, a list of relevant documents, and discussions.

Besides the “Patents and Publications” tool and the “IP Lawsuits” search, one additional research tool is available on Patexia: 2011 IP Statistics.  Under the 2011 IP Statistics section, users can select to view a number of visualizations of patent statistics from 2011:

• Patent Stats: Total number of patents issued per month in 2011.
• Publication Stats: Total number of patent publications issued per month in 2011.
• Top 10 Innovative Companies: This chart has been created based on the total number of patents issued to each company in 2011.
• Top 10 Patent Applicants: This chart has been created based on the total number of patent publications issued to each company in 2011.
• Top 10 Patent Law Firms: Most active patent agents of 2011.
• Top 10 Innovative Countries: This chart has been created from the patent database based on the country of the assignee for patents issued in 2011.

View IP statistics for 2011, like top patent law firms.

Company IP Portfolios

From the Patexia homepage, users can scroll to the bottom of the page and select the center option “Find Company IP Histories” to access the list of all company IP portfolios.  This “Company Search” list includes the names and icons of all company portfolio pages, and the list can be sorted in alphabetical order (a-z), reverse alphabetical order (z-a), or newest portfolio pages listed first. The user can also use the quick search form in the upper right corner of each page to keyword search for companies (first select the “Companies” option from the drop-down menu of which databases to search through).

View a list of company IP portfolios and search by keyword.

After locating the name of the company through either the “Company Search” list or the keyword search form, the user can view the company IP portfolio.  The portfolio page includes a company summary (with Wikipedia links included) and a pie chart illustrating the number of published US applications and granted US patents belonging to the company.  Besides the summary section, each company portfolio record contains:

• Patents: A list of all patents (with links to the full Patexia patent records) assigned to the company.
• Publications: A list of all US published applications (with links to the full Patexia records) assigned to the company.
• Lawsuits: A list of all IP lawsuits in which the company was a plaintiff/defendant. Links to the full lawsuit records on Patexia are included.

Company IP portfolios include a summary, list of patent applications, granted patents, and IP lawsuits related to the company.

The Nova Feed

After signing in, the user can select the “Nova” option from the upper left menu to view a number of news feeds.  The user can filter the list of news items by selecting to view any or all of the following feeds (descriptions from the “About Us” section):

• Nova News: Read the latest news and information relevant to innovation.
• Analysis and Opinions: Read or write critical examinations of stories related to innovation.
• Patent Reviews: Examine or submit in depth reviews of patents or patent applications.
• Nova Buzz: Share short thoughts and insights or check out what others are saying.

The list of news can be filtered by other criteria, such as Network (public, following, or connections) and topic (all, legal, science & tech, or business).  Users can subscribe to the Nova news feed as an RSS feed.  On individual new items, users can add comments, select the item as a favorite, or share the item on various social media platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Tumblr, etc).  Users can also post their own news items, including links, media, or images,  and the user can define the topic and who can view their news item.  The entire Nova section is condensed into a simple and attractive interface, with all filters located in a left-hand column, the section to add your own item at the top center of the interface, and all news items listed below in the center of the page.

Through the Nova Feed, view and filter the latest IP news and innovations, and share your own news items.

Conclusion

The visualization feature of Patexia was a useful free tool for patent professionals, and now IP researchers have even more tools to access through the Patexia website, including the IP lawsuits search and the company portfolio pages.  Hopefully Patexia will continue to expand its coverage of IP lawsuit records and the number of company portfolio pages, since the data available in the current lawsuit and portfolio records is so well organized and detailed.   The Nova news feed section creates an innovative way for users to network and communicate within a growing IP community and stay updated on the latest legal, scientific, technical, and business news.  I’d definitely recommend creating an account on Patexia to test out both the old and new features of the website.  Join a growing IP community and access numerous IP research tools, all by creating one free account.

What do you think of the new Patexia updates?  Let us know in the comments!

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.avail

Here at Intellogist, we’ve always prided ourselves on reaching out to the global patent community. As part of this we’ve done many posts on one of the fastest growing patent regions: Asia. In the past few months alone we’ve done posts commenting on translations, chemical and sequence searching in China, and lessons learned from PATINEX 2011 in Korea.

Our sponsor, Landon IP knows that it’s more important than ever to incorporate Asian sources into any prior art search, and not just stick to the same old US and EP databases that English language searchers might be used to.

Intellogist reflects this belief, with resources such as the Interactive Patent Coverage Map for finding patent information around the world. Our Community Reports page is another great place to find niche search systems and tools; check out our China Patent Search tagged articles for example.

With this global focus in mind, let’s take a look at one of our favorite Asian patent information resources on the web: the EPO’s Asian Patent Information Virtual Helpdesk.

Read on to find out about how the Virtual Helpdesk can assist you with finding answers to your common questions, information about grant procedure and numbering, statistics on filing, and even a starter for your next patent search.

The EPO Asian Virtual Helpdesk has pages for the following patenting authorities:

• China (CN)
• Chinese Taipei (TW)
• India (IN)
• Japan (JP)
• Korea (KR)

As you might notice by visiting those pages, they follow a structured format consisting of the following sections:

FAQ

The FAQ section has the most common questions related to each patent authority.

As you might expect, the FAQ section is a list of common questions and answers. Should you have a more specific question that cannot be answered by the FAQ, you are encouraged to: send in the question via contact form, email (including legal questions), or call the Asian Patent Information Services desk directly.

As it is, I’ve found the FAQ section for the various patenting authorities to be quite helpful!

Facts and Figures

The facts and figures section focuses on graphics showing filing trends.

This section contains graphical representations of filing trends by year per every patenting authority. At the bottom of the page, a link to the annual report that the set of graphics was derived from is conveniently displayed.

This page is excellent for getting a birds eye view of patenting activity within each authority (or to beef up on trivia to impress your friends).

Grant Procedure

Flowcharts make the information easy to understand.

The Grant Procedure section contains flowcharts showing all the possible branches and events that can happen from application to grant (and beyond) in the 5 different patenting authorities. In cases where granting procedure has changed, previous systems are sometimes displayed for reference purposes.

Who doesn’t like a good clean flowchart?

Numbering System

Original language and transliteration versions are provided.

Anyone who has had to struggle with an Asian language document (as a non-native speaker) to figure out exactly what the dates meant can find safe haven in this section. Do you know the difference between Japanese imperial years versus Western years? Break out your calculators, class!

Useful Terms & Searching In Databases

The terms section gives you a visual representation and translation to English.

The Useful Terms section provides translations for patent-specific legal terms such as “inventor,” “utility model,” and “examiner.” This section can be used to copy and paste the Asian characters into your document of choice, or simply as a pronunciation guide.

Hand-in-hand with the Useful Terms section goes the Searching In Databases section. Here you’ll find a treasure trove of PDF guides on various topics relating to searching non-English databases. These often have step by step illustrated guides to assist you on your prior art search.

Conclusion
The EPO Asian Virtual Helpdesk is a great resource to consult when you’ve got that tricky intellectual property question about China, Taipei, India, Japan, or Korea. It can be a good place to go to start expanding your prior art search horizons. If you’re interested in having a prior art search done by a native language speaker with the expertise of a company dedicated to serving your needs, we recommend contacting Landon IP’s global prior art search team.

This post was contributed by Intellogist Team member Chris Jagalla. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

After the jump, we’ll look at two more examples of Chinese and Japanese abstracts, translated by both Google Translate and Bing Translator to English.  We’ll also get some input from Sonja Olson,  Landon IP’s Director of Translation Services, on which translation service she thinks produces better machine translations for patent documents.

Example 3: Chinese Abstract

Original Abstract (Found on Baidu Zhuanli - 200920145716) : 本实用新型是有关于一种电性测试模块，适于测试一电子装置与一待测元件之间的电性功能。电性测试模块包括一第一基板、一第二基板、一软性电路板以及一导电材料。第一基板电性连接至电子装置。第二基板电性连接至待测元件且具有第一组信号量测点。软性电路板具有第一组焊垫、第二组焊垫、多个贯孔以及多条线路。第一组焊垫与第二组焊垫分别位于线路的两端，且藉由线路而彼此电性连接。贯孔分别贯穿第一组焊垫与第二组焊垫。导电材料填充于贯孔中。第一组焊垫及第二组焊垫分别通过导电材料与第一基板及第二基板电性连接。待测元件通过第二基板、软性电路板、第一基板而与电子装置电性连接，以进行电性功能的测试。

Google Translation: The utility model is an electrical test on the module, suitable for testing an electronic device with a test between the electrical components function. Electrical test module includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a flexible circuit board and a conductive material. The first substrate electrically connected to the electronic device. The second substrate electrically connected to the DUT and the measurement signal with a first group of points. Flexible circuit board having a first set of pads, pad the second group, a number of through-hole and multiple lines. The first group pad pad and the second group are located at both ends of the line, and by lines and electrical connections to each other. Through-hole pad, respectively through the first set and second set of pads. Conductive material filled in the penetration hole. The first set of pads and the second group of conductive material through the pad, respectively, the first substrate and second substrate with electrical connections. DUT through the second substrate, flexible circuit board, the first substrate and the electrical and electronic devices connected to the electrical function of the test. 

Bing Translation: The utility model is related to electrical test module, suitable for testing electronic devices and electrical features between a test component. Electrical test module includes a first substrate and a second substrate, a Flex circuit board and a conductive material. Electrical connections between electronic devices the first substrate. Electrical connection to the second substrate test components and measuring points with the first group semaphore. FPC with land the first group, second group land, more of the through hole, as well as multiple lines. First set of land and land the second set are located at both ends of the line, and through the line and electrical connections to each other. Cross hole respectively through the first set of land and land the second set.Conductive material filled in through holes. First set of land and land through the second set of conductive materials and electrical connections the first substrate and a second substrate. Test components through the second substrate and FPC, electrical connections the first substrate with electronic devices, electrical function test. 

Comparing Google (red text) and Bing (green text) Translations through Patent Workbench® Text Comparison:

The utility model is [an]  related to electrical test [on the] module, suitable for testing [an] electronic [device with]  devices and electrical features between a test [between the electrical components function.]  component. Electrical test module includes a first substrate [,]  and a second substrate, a [flexible]  Flex circuit board and a conductive material. [The]  Electrical connections between electronic devices the first substrate  . [electrically connected]  Electrical connection to the [electronic device. The] second substrate [electrically connected to the DUT]  test components and  measuring points with the [measurement signal]  first group semaphore. FPC with [a]  land the first  group, second group  land, more of [points. Flexible circuit board having a first set of pads, pad] the [second group, a number of through-hole and]  through hole, as well as multiple lines. [The first group pad pad]  First set of land and  land the second [group]  set are located at both ends of the line, and [by lines]  through the line and electrical connections to each other. [Through-hole pad,]  Cross hole respectively through the first set  of land and  land the second [set of pads. Conductive]  set.Conductive material filled in [the penetration hole. The first]  through holes. First set of [pads]  land and  land through the second [group]  set of conductive [material through]  materials and electrical connections the [pad, respectively, the] first substrate and  a second substrate  . [with electrical connections. DUT]  Test components through the second substrate [, flexible circuit board,]  and FPC, electrical connections the first substrate [and the electrical and]  with electronic devices  , [connected to the] electrical function [of the] test.

Example 4: Japanese Abstract

Original Abstract (Found on PatBase - JP2001306845 A2) : 

【課題】 本発明は、注文した商品の栽培状況を確認す ることにより、商品がどのようにして生産されたのかが 把握でき、商品の栽培方法を指定できるため、商品の安 全性、信頼性を十分に確認することができる商品販売シ ステムおよび商品販売方法を提供することを課題とす る。 【解決手段】 販売センター端末２は、商品の情報をイ ンターネット５上に提供し、ユーザ端末１から商品に対 する注文を注文情報として受信するとともに、ユーザ端 末１から商品の栽培方法を指定する栽培方法指定情報を 受信し、注文情報に基づいて商品と注文者とを特定する 注文者識別情報を作成し、注文者識別情報と栽培方法指 定情報とを契約農家端末４とユーザ端末１とに送信し、 契約農家は、注文者識別情報と栽培方法指定情報とに基 づいて商品の栽培を行う。

Google Translation:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [is, by checking the growing conditions of their ordercould grasp what was produced and how the products can be specified for how thecultivation of the product, safety of products, reliable whose task is to provide a system and how to sell-sell products that can be adequately verified. [Resolved] unitsales center terminal 2 is to provide product information on the Internet 5, as well as information received orders for products ordered from the user terminal 1, items 1 and cultivation methods of the user terminal cultivation methods to receive informationgiven to specify an order to create an identity and to identify and order products based on order information, the user terminal and the terminal 4 and the informationspecified contract farmers to cultivate their identity and order send to a 1 and contract farmers are doing cultivation and product specification information based on theidentity and cultural system of the order.

Bing Translation:

[Challenge] invention more things you should check the cultivation of the products ordered, merchandise sales can you can grasp of how the product has produced the cultivation method of the item, so thoroughly review the reliability and safety of the products Te providing system and method of selling products challenges assumed that. [Solution] sales center, Terminal 2 is product information Lee offers Internet ５上 user terminal 1 vs. a product creates orders of identity receive cultivation way information specifying the cultivation method of the item as well as to receive orders to order information as user terminals 1 and identifying product and orders based on information in order, contract farmers Terminal 4 and user terminal 1 and send order of identification and cultivation of the information, contract farmers identify the order of and cultivation ways specified information and based on constantly do the cultivation of products.

Comparing Google (red text) and Bing (green text) Translations through Patent Workbench® Text Comparison:

[SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [is, by checking]  [Challenge] invention more things you should check the [growing conditions]  cultivation of [their ordercould grasp what was produced and how] the products  ordered, merchandise sales can you can [be specified for]  grasp of how [thecultivation]  the product has produced the cultivation method of the [product,]  item, so thoroughly review the reliability and safety of products [, reliable whose task is to provide a]  the Te providing system and [how to sell-sell]  method of selling products that  . [can be adequately verified. [Resolved] unitsales] center  , [terminal]  challenges assumed [Solution] sales Terminal 2 is [to provide] product information [on the]  Lee offers Internet [5, as well as information received orders for products ordered from the]  ５上 user terminal [1, items] 1 [and]  vs. a product creates orders of identity receive cultivation way information specifying the cultivation [methods]  method of the [user terminal cultivation methods]  item as well as to receive [informationgiven]  orders to [specify an] order [to create an identity]  information as user terminals 1 and [to identify]  identifying product and [order products]  orders based on order  , information [, the]  in contract farmers Terminal 4 and user terminal  1 and [the terminal 4]  send order of identification and  cultivation of the [informationspecified]  information, contract farmers [to cultivate their identity and]  identify the order [send to a 1]  of and [contract farmers are doing] cultivation  ways specified information and [product specification information] based on [theidentity and cultural system]  constantly do the cultivation of [the order.]  products.

A Patent Translator’s View on Free Machine Translations

Sonja Olson,  Landon IP’s Director of Translation Services, agreed to sit down and talk about her views on the example translations using Google Translate and Bing Translator.  First, I asked Sonja why  the German translations (from part 1) generally seemed to be more coherent for both services, in comparison with the less intelligible translations for the Asian languages.  According to Sonja, the German translations are more coherent and consistent because German-to-English translations are more common than Japanese, Chinese, or Korean-to-English translations, so the machine translation systems have more source material to pull from.  As described in The Future of Patent Translations: Human or Machine?, machine translation systems like Google and Bing use semantic learning technology to improve their translations by “detecting patterns in documents that have already been translated by human translators” (from “Inside Google Translate“).  Since more German-to-English translations are already available for the systems to analyze, their German-to-English machine translations will be higher-quality than less commonly translated languages, like Chinese, Korean, or Japanese-to-English.

When asked which service generally produces a better patent translation, Sonja reiterated that neither service is designed to handle technical documents.  Instead, both machine translation services are designed for general use.  Sonja says that Google’s translations tend to be a bit more fluent and easier to understand, but this readability may come at a price.  The machine translation may stray more from the source material for the purpose of readability, which may not be an issue when skimming for relevancy during a patent search, but this deviation from the source material would be dangerous when utilizing the translated patent for business or legal purposes.  If both readability and  accuracy are needed for a patent translation, then you should utilize the skills of a professional patent translation service.

Which service do you think produced a better translation for the Chinese and Japanese patent abstracts?  Do you agree that Google generally produces more “fluent” translations?  Let us know in the comments!

If you’re interested in downloading the Patent Workbench® Reader for free and testing the text comparison tool (as well as many other features), visit the Patent Workbench® website to request a free trial.

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if there was a patent citation tool, with similar functions to the PatBase citation features, that was also free?  Thanks to the EPO, JPO, and USPTO, such a tool now exists.  The Common Citation Document (CCD) allows users to view documents cited by the EPO, USPTO, JPO, and PCT citations for patent families related to a specific patent application.  The CCD application includes the capability to view full-text of cited patent documents, the division of cited documents in a list by source of citation and connection to a specific patent application, the category of relevance for EPO citations,  a compilation of “classifications and fields searched” for an entire patent family, and a timeline view to illustrate the time span for a collection of citations.

Read on for a detailed description of the coverage, features, and functions of the CCD application!

Coverage

The EPO website described the CCD as:

a patent information tool developed by the Trilateral Offices to provide single point access to citation data for their examined patent applications.  It consolidates the prior art cited by all participating offices for the family members of a patent application, thus enabling the search results for the same invention produced by several offices to be visualised in a single page.  It currently includes data from the Trilateral offices: the EPO, the JPO and the USPTO.

According to the CCD help guide, citation data available through the CCD includes: ^[1]

• EP citations - Both patent and non-patent citations and covers all possible procedures: applicant citations, search citations, examination citations, observations by third parties and opposition citations.
• US citations - References to both patent and non-patent citations and covers only applicant and search citations.
• JP citations - References to patent citations and covers all search, examination, opposition and appeal procedures, but does not include applicant citations.
• WO citations - References to both patent and non-patent citations and covers only applicant and search citations.

Search and Display Features

Within the search form on the CCD homepage, a user can enter a publication number, application number, or priority number. Basic bibliographic criteria (like applicant name, inventor name, publication date, and ECLA class) is also accepted in the search form, and the user may only use the AND operator when joining search terms.^[1] After searching for the document, the system will either retrieve a document directly, which will be loaded in its own tab, or the system will generate a list of choices to select from. Multiple tabs (with a document result list displayed under each tab) can be open within the application.

According to the help guide, “the CCD web application outputs the simple patent family first”, and to retrieve the extended family, the user must select the button “Get all family members.” Simple family groupings are indicated in a CCD viewer list “of lookup results with alternating white and gray background shading.”^[1] On the left side of the screen, the CCD viewer pane lists all family applications and related citations (grouped by simple families). Under each application name (which lists the country code, “‘Application N°’ followed by the EPO application number and the domestic application number in parentheses and the filing date associated with the family member”), users can expand a list of citations. The citation information includes the category of relevance, details on the relevant sections within the cited document, and the claims of the original document to which the citation document is relevant (“this information is only available for searches performed at the EPO, e.g. EP or WO where the EPO has acted as International Search Authority”).^[1] The citations for each application are arranged under search type/who cited the document (i.e. National Search Report, National Examination, Applicant, etc).

A list of all citations for a patent family. The list is in the left pane, and the bibliographic data for a specific cited patent document is displayed in the right pane.

If a user selects a family member application or cited patent document within the CCD viewer, they can view the bibliographic data (including abstract) for the document in an adjacent screen. Within the adjacent screen, the user can also view the description, claims, and original document (which the user can navigate through page by page). Users can’t view non-patent literature citations in the adjacent panels.

The list of cited documents for a patent family is in the left pane, and the original document for a specific family member is displayed in the right pane.

Within the CCD viewer panel, user can select:

• Citation only view - Instead of arranging citations under each application, a list of citations is presented with the relevant application noted in a separate column. Additional option in this view to “group across extended families.”
• Compact/Expand View - Show or hide all citations under each application.
• Sort by country - Sort application list by country.
• Filter - Options to “hide applicant citations” or “hide applications without citations”.
• Classification and fields searched - In the panel to the right of the CCD viewer, the user can view a compilation of classifications (“technical domains in which the subject-matter of such a document belongs”) and “fields searched” (“technical domains in which the search for each family member has been performed”).^[1] The classifications/fields searched are arranged under country codes (related to family member applications). This list applies to the entire family, and not individual family members.

Above these CCD Viewer options are additional options:

• Hide/Show the CCD viewer.
• Double Inspector/Single Inspector – Users can view one or two panes adjacent to the CCD viewer. Most documents will appear only in the first adjacent pane if the double pane option is utilized, but the “Timeline” view gives users the option to view a citation in pane 1 or pane 2.
• Timeline – The Timeline “graphically shows the timespan for a collection of citations, such as relevant priority, filing and publication dates of a patent application.”^[1] Users can select from three timeline modes:^[1]
  • Default or “simple” - Gives the full view of the citations surrounding the input criteria used for a CCD lookup.
  • Single application mode - Pares down the data down to one application and related prior art.
  • Compare mode - Uses a circular list for comparing up to 4 applications in the timeline — indicated with color coding and their related citations.

The timeline view in the far left pane (in compare mode) with two specific documents viewed in two adjacent panes.

Conclusion

Although the CCD application may not have the broad citation coverage of PatBase or the variety of visualization features for citations (such as the “citation tree”), the CCD still provides a solid coverage of citation data for three major patent authorities (USPTO, EPO, and JPO), as well as PCT citations.  Like the PatBase citation feature, the CCD allows users to view citation data for both entire patent families and individual family documents, and the CCD additionally provides the the category of relevance, details on the relevant sections within the cited document, and the claims of the original document to which the citation document is relevant (for EPO citations).  The CCD application is a tool that may be useful not just as an alternative to subscription-based citation features but as a supplement, since it provides additional data for EPO citations.

Do you know of other free or subscription patent citation search and analysis tools?  let us know in the comments!

Sources

[1] – “Trilateral-CCD Help (v1.10).” CCD website, http://ccd.trilateral.net/20111223/html/help/. Accessed December 29, 2011.

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

Well, we’re still here. I guess the Mayans were wrong. Who would have expected that the end of the world wouldn’t have actually occurred except for Harold Camping …wait, what’s that? The Mayans actually predicted that December 21 was the date in question? And it’s really just the end of a cycle and not the end of the world? John Cusack, how could you let me down like that? I haven’t been this disappointed in you since Hot Tub Time Machine.

The New Year is a time for deep reflection and creating resolutions based upon said deep reflection. But who are we kidding…everyone’s top two resolutions are losing weight and making more money. I can’t help you out with the later unless you are interested in some real estate that also happens to cross a body of water, but I can help you lose those holiday pounds fueled by booze, cubed cheese, cookies, and processed meat-based substances using products that Billy Mays would have been proud to shoot at you while watching TV at 3 am on a Tuesday.

Read all about the exciting world of workout-while-at-work patents ahead!

Treadmill desk – US 2008/0058169 A1

Strap in, so that surprise e-mail from your boss doesn't result in a tragic accident.

For those who want to jump into their new resolution, the treadmill desk is perfect for you. That $5000 will go to good use for a few days, until you become tired of it, and put it in the basement with your Tickle Me Elmo doll, your spaghetti lid strainer, and your Juice Loosener.

Exercise device for under a desk – US 2005/0054492 A1

Pedal hard enough and your desk will launch into orbit.

For those who want to be a bit more discreet with their exercising, the under the desk pedal set will get those legs burning in no time. Just plan your responses ahead of time for the inevitable question from co-workers: “Why are you breathing like you just ran a marathon, if you’re just sitting there?”

Office exercise furniture – US 2002/0142898 A1

Arm rests just sound lazy. They're called "rests," after all!

Once you’ve blasted your quads, why not work out the guns. Plus, you can practice your moves for that Top Gun 2 audition coming up.

Apparatus enabling one person to do arm-wrestling exercise – US 5,458,554 A

Do you think Stallone practiced with this for his role in Over the Top?

Why would someone keep an arm-wrestling machine at their desk? Let’s just say I’ve seen worse.

Furniture for mitigating the effects of a disaster – US 2007/0125012 A1

This desk has blast shields, is bulletproof, and can withstand different types of disasters, like earthquakes. This is all true.

You know, just in case the Mayans were right.

Find previous writings and musings from the off-kilter Danny Rooney here.

This post was contributed by Registered Patent Agent Dan Wolka and edited by Chris Jagalla. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company, Landon IP, a major provider of patent search, technical translation, and information services.

Machine translation will get the gist of the document, but it will lose the nuance.  Machine translation can plug words together, but it can’t understand the sentence as a whole.

Sonja suggested that “if you need to know if a document contains information on a topic, you can go with a machine translation.  If you need to know how that topic relates to the document overall, then go with a professional translation.”

So, users should be forewarned, neither of the free translation services discussed in this post should be used as a substitute for professional human translations.  As you’ll see in the following tests, neither translations (from German to English and Korean to English) for Google Translate nor Bing Translator are entirely coherent.  Although the user can get an overall idea of the content of the documents from these machine translations, both Google and Bing translations would never be acceptable in any legal or official context.

Google Translate and Bing Translator (powered by Microsoft Translator) are useful, however, for evaluating the general content of a patent document during a prior art search.  Which free service produces a better machine translation of a patent document?  Continue reading as we compare the two services!

Comparison of Languages and Interfaces

First, let’s look at the easiest way to test the quality of machine translation service: the number of language options.  According to “Inside Google Translate“, the service supports 58 languages (7 of which are “alpha languages”, which “may have less-reliable translation quality” than the other supported languages).  Bing Translator only supports 37 languages, according to its Help section.

While Google Translate clearly has a larger selection of supported languages than Bing Translator, there are only minor differences between the interfaces of the two systems.  On the homepage of both translation services, the user can select the original language and target language of the text or webpage from drop down menus at the top of the page.  The user can then paste the text or URL for the web page into the first of two adjacent text boxes and select to translate the text/webpage.  If text is entered in the first text box for either service, a translated version of the text will appear in the second text box.  In Google, the user can mouse over individual terms in the translated text to view alternative translations (this feature isn’t available in Bing).

The Google Translate interface (Korean to English) with the alternate translation function.

The Bing Translator interface (Korean to English).

If a user pastes a link in the first text box in Google, another link will appear in the second text box that links to the translated web page, with a Google Translate toolbar situated above the webpage.  Mousing over the translated text of the webpage will display the original language text in a pop-up window. The user can enter a new URL through the toolbar, change the original and target languages, and select to view the translation or original webpage.

If the user enter a URL in Bing Translator, the service will automatically generate a translated version of the web page within the “Billingual Viewer”, which provides the following features:

• Options to enter a new web page URL or select a new translation language.
• Four bilingual layouts: “side by side”, “top/bottom”, “original with hover translation”, and “translation with hover original.”
• View the original web page by selecting “Go to original page.”

Example 1: German Abstract

Original Abstract (Found on DEPATISnet - DE102009045236A1):  Die Erfindung betrifft ein Fahrzeug (1), insbesondere Kraftfahrzeug, mit einem elektrischen Energiespeicher (5), einer elektrischen Maschine (10) und einem Antriebsstrang (11), wobei der elektrische Energiespeicher (5) mit der elektrischen Maschine (10) elektrisch und die elektrische Maschine (10) mit dem Antriebsstrang (11) mechanisch verbindbar ist. Die Erfindung sieht vor, dass das Fahrzeug (1) einen pneumatischen Energiespeicher (3) aufweist, der mit dem Antriebsstrang (11) und/oder mit dem elektrischen Energiespeicher (5) in Wirkverbindung bringbar ist. Die Erfindung betrifft weiterhin ein Verfahren zum Betreiben eines Fahrzeugs (1).

Google Translation: The invention relates to a vehicle (1), particularly motor vehicle with an electrical energy storage (5), an electric machine (10) and a drive train (11), wherein the electrical energy storage device (5) with the electrical machine (10) electrically and electric machine (10) with the drive train (11) is mechanically connected. The invention provides that the vehicle (1) a pneumatic energy storage (3) which, with the drive train (11) and / or with the electric energy storage (5) is brought into operative connection. The invention further relates to a method for operating a vehicle (1).

Bing Translation: The invention relates to a vehicle (1), in particular motor vehicles, with an electrical energy storage (5), an electrical machine (10), and a drive train (11), where electrical energy storage (5) with the electrical machine (10) electric and the electric motor (10) with the drive train (11) is mechanically interconnected. The invention provides for that the vehicle has pneumatic energy storage (3) (1), that is items with the drive train (11) and/or with the electric energy storage (5) in active connection.The invention concerns a method for operating a vehicle (1) continue.

Comparing Google (red text) and Bing (green text) Translations through Patent Workbench® Text Comparison:

The invention relates to a vehicle (1), [particularly]  in particular motor [vehicle]  vehicles, with an electrical energy storage (5), an [electric]  electrical machine 10 [)]  ), and a drive train (11), [wherein the]  where electrical energy storage [device] (5) with the electrical machine (10) [electrically]  electric and  the electric [machine]  motor (10) with the drive train (11) is mechanically [connected.]  interconnected. The invention provides  for that the vehicle [(1) a]  has pneumatic energy storage (3) [which,]  (1), that is items with the drive train (11) [and / or]  and/or with the electric energy storage (5) [is brought into operative connection. The]  in active connection.The invention [further relates to]  concerns a method for operating a vehicle 1 [).]  ) continue.

Example 2: Korean Abstract

Original Abstract (Found on KIPRIS - App no#: 10-2008-7001230 (20080116), Unexamined Pub #: 1020080065577 (20080714) ) : 의료적 치료를 위해 경두개 또는 내두개에 전기적 에너지를 최적으로 제공하는 방법이 결정된다. 환자의 뇌에 대해 MRI나 CAT 스캔 데이터, 또는 이들 모두의 데이터를 획득한다. 획득한 데이터에 기초해서 환자의 뇌의 일부 부위에 상이한 전기적 저항값을 할당한다. 전극 위치를 선택한다. 이러한 할당과 선택에 기초해서, 경두개 또는 내두개에 치료를 위한 최적의 전기를 제공하기 위한 하나 이상의 인가된 전기적 입력을 산출한다.

Google Translation: For medical treatment or naedugaee transcranial electrical energy to provide the optimum is determined. About the patient’s brain MRI or CAT scan data, or all of these data are obtained. On the basis of data obtained in the patient’s brain, some areas are assigned a different electrical resistance. Select a location to the electrode. Based on these assignments and selections, the best treatment for transcranial or naedugaee to provide electricity to more than one licensed electrical input is calculated.

Bing Translation: Medical treatment for two or my two electrical energy to determine how best to deliver. The patient’s brain MRI or CAT scan data, or for all of the data acquisition. Acquired data are part of the patient’s brain based on different parts of the electrical resistance. Electrode position is selected.Select these two assignments, based on my two best electric for treatment or for the provision of one or more licensed electrical input and output.

Comparing Google (red text) and Bing (green text) Translations through Patent Workbench® Text Comparison:

[For medical]  Medical treatment  for two or [naedugaee transcranial]  my two electrical energy to [provide the optimum is determined. About the]  determine how best to deliver. The patient’s brain MRI or CAT scan data, or  for all of [these]  the data acquisition. Acquired data are [obtained. On the basis]  part of [data obtained in] the patient’s brain [, some areas are assigned a]  based on different  parts of the electrical resistance. [Select a location to the electrode. Based]  Electrode position is selected.Select these two assignments, based on [these assignments and selections, the]  my two best  electric for treatment  or for [transcranial]  the provision of one or [naedugaee to provide electricity to] more [than one] licensed electrical input [is calculated.]  and output.

Japanese and Chinese Abstract Examples to Come…

Both Google and and Bing translations for the German abstract have more words in common, as illustrated by the Patent Workbench® Text Comparison.  The German translations for both services also appear to be more coherent overall than the Korean translations.  It’s possible that both services are more adept at translation of  Latin-based text than non-Latin text.  The translation of non-Latin text by both services will be further tested in the next blog post, when we look at examples of Japanese and Chinese abstracts translated by both Bing and Google.

Google has a longer list of languages which the user can translate, and although both services have similar interfaces, Google Translate has the additional useful feature of viewing possible alternative translation terms.  I’ll wait to make any judgement on the overall quality of the actual translations until we see a few more example translations.  You can be the judge, though….which translation service works better for you when translating patent documents during prior art searches?  Are the above examples good representations of the quality of machine translations produced by each service?  Let us know in the comments!

If you’re interested in downloading the Patent Workbench® Reader for free and testing the text comparison tool (as well as many other features), visit the Patent Workbench® website to request a free trial.

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

The Minesoft search interface for FDA Orange Book data allows users to utilize additional search criteria and more advanced result viewing features than what is currently available on the FDA website.  After the jump, learn about the search and display features of Minesoft Orangebook!

On Minesoft Orangebook, users can select from three tabs to search under:

• Patents- Search for patents expiry by company name, year, or patent number. Under the “Patents” and “Exclusivity” tabs, the company name search form provides users with an auto-suggest function for common company names, which appear in a dropdown menu as the user types in the form.
  

  Search by company name (including auto-suggest function), patent expiry date, or patent number under the "Patents" tab.

  Search results are organized in a table that lists application number, patent number, patent expiry date, proprietary name, active ingredient, and applicant. The user can also sort the table by any of these criteria in ascending or descending order. Besides the table format, the user can also view results in a graph format (bar graph for a search by company name and pie chart for a search by year or patent number). Selecting an application number from the list of results will take the user to the full record for that FDA application number.

• Exclusivity- Search for exclusivity expiry by company name or year. Search results are organized in a table that lists application number, exclusivity code, exclusivity expiry date, proprietary name, active ingredient, and applicant. The user can also sort the table by any of these criteria in ascending or descending order.
  

  The chart format of search results under the "Exclusivity" tab.

  Besides the table format, the user can also view results in a graph format (bar graph for a search by company name and pie chart for a search by year).

  

  The graphic format of search results under the "Exclusivity" tab (pie chart).

  Selecting an application number from the list of results will take the user to the full record for that FDA application number, and selecting an exclusivity code will display the code description.

• Search- Combine two search forms using a Boolean operator, and define the fields to search within each form through a drop down menu of field options (applicant, proprietary name, application number, or active ingredient). Search results are organized in a table that lists application number, proprietary name, active ingredient, and applicant. The user can also sort the table by any of these criteria in ascending or descending order. Selecting an application number from the list of results will take the user to the full record for that FDA application number.
  

  The full record for a result (under the "Search" tab).

Conclusion

Like TMQuest can be used as an alternative to TESS, Minesoft Orangebook can be used as an alternative interface for searching the free FDA drug data that is also available through the FDA website.  The Minesoft interface provides additional search criteria (patents expiry/exclusivity expiry year) and display functions (pie/bar graph format for viewing results) that aren’t available on the FDA website interface.  Through both TMQuest and Orangebook, Minesoft uses the free data produced by the US government to create user-friendly search systems with additional features that aren’t available on the government website search interfaces.

Do you know of any other free interfaces for searching US trademark or FDA Orange Book data? Tell us about them in the comment section!

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

1. Godly Powers: A Mystical US Patent Application - Christopher Anthony Roller submitted a patent application to gain exclusive rights to his godly powers, and he certainly made some convincing arguments throughout his correspondence with the USPTO.  A visit to the public PAIR portal yielded an Image File Wrapper with some interesting content: a comparison of godly powers to business method and software patents, a lawsuit against David Copperfield, and a rather exasperated non-final rejection.

2. Free Bulk Patent Download Solutions Compared - In this useful post, Chris Jagalla compares the utility of a number of free bulk patent download options, including Espacenet, SumoBrain, PAT2PDF, Patent Retriever,  and poxoq for patents. Chris compares the download features and patent document coverage of each system, and a rather surprising underdog application comes out on top as the “best all-around free bulk downloading solution.”

3. The Literature Search Secrets of U.S. Patent Examiners - What types of resources do USPTO Examiners search when they investigate a new patent application?  Kristin Whitman sheds some light on the mystery by describing the USPTO Search Templates, available for free on the USPTO website, where users can search templates by US Class/Subclass.  Kristin describes some of the problems with the lists of databases recommended in the templates, and she also explains how the Intellogist Resource Finder was designed to overcome many of these issues.

4.  How is Exalead Better Than Google? - Exalead is a free online search system with some features that just may give Google a run for its money: advanced search options entered directly into the search form, filters, related terms, and thumbnails in search results, thumbnail bookmarks, and Exalead Desktop.

5. Free Patent Search Sites: US Patents and Applications - This post describes some alternatives to searching for US patent documents for free on the USPTO website, FreePatentsOnline or Google Patents.  Patent Genius, PatentStorm, and Patents.com are three free online search sites where users can search issued US patents (and applications, on PatentStorm and Patents.com).  Read about the pros and cons of each search tool, as well as any notable special features.

Look back through the past posts from 2011, and let us know which blog post was your favorite!  Thanks for reading the Intellogist Blog, and have a Happy New Year!

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Bonita Springs, FL.

Let’s take a look at the 14 courses offered in the Spring 2012 Advanced Courses Program, after the jump!

America Invents Act: Monumental Changes, the Consequences and the Unanswered Questions (March 28, 6.0 hours) -  As all of us in the patent profession know, the time has come for us to become intimately familiar with the new law, some portions of which have already become effective, others of which will become effective on September 16, 2012, and the remainder of which will become effective on March 16, 2013. The content of this course and its accompanying materials (including a black line edition of Title 35 showing the removed language of the statute stricken-through and the added language underlined, and with a reprint of the House Judiciary Committee Report 112-98 summarizing the purposes, background and perceived reasons that stimulated the changes) were created in an effort to assist patent professionals in acquiring a more or less profound understanding of the new law, its consequences, and the important issues raised by the changes but left unanswered.  Learn about a special offer that cuts the tuition cost in half for this course!

Art and Science of Patent Searching (March 25-27, 15.0 hours, optional Searching Workshop) - The course presents a systematic process for performing prior art searches with greater efficiency and precision. It is designed to benefit a broad audience including novice searchers, seasoned patent practitioners, and search professionals. The course also provides unbiased, detailed information concerning the latest databases and tools of the trade. Expert tips from search professionals are provided to enable high-level patent research through proper scoping, structuring, and performance of the search. Patent practitioners will recognize that a robust understanding of the prior art is a vital part of the patent process, particularly in view of accelerated examination demands and the America Invents Act.  Read more about this course and the expert instructor Matthew Rodgers in this interview.

Chemical Patent Practice (March 25-27,  16.5 hours) - Are you well-versed on how chemical claims are constructed and construed? Well enough to avoid an overly narrow, often disastrous claim construction leading to a royalty-free transfer of patented technology to your competitor? Well enough not to trip up on obviousness post-KSR? If you’d like to answer these questions with a resounding “yes” then you should attend the highly-acclaimed, comprehensive Chemical Patent Practice course.

Comprehensive PCT Practice: How to Master Its Challenges (March 25-27, 15.0 hours) - This Comprehensive PCT course discusses:

• when the use of the PCT is advantageous and when it is not;
• the effects on patent term based on the first (priority) application;
• selection of international authorities under the PCT for greatest advantage;
• the information received by applicants during the PCT process;
• entering the national phase;
• upcoming changes in the PCT;
• a host of other PCT-related topics.

In addition, the course presents the growing information available from the WIPO Internet site via the PATENTSCOPE® search tool.  The Comprehensive PCT course includes a detailed look at patent-related provisions of the Paris Convention.

Crafting & Drafting Winning Patents (March 29-31, 15.0 hours) - Learn the areas of chaos in Federal Circuit jurisprudence of primary concern to practitioners who prepare and prosecute patents. The course will focus on a series of cases where the patent owner lost, not because of what the litigators did, but because of how the patent practitioners drafted and prosecuted the application. Compounding the problem is the time pressure created by moving to a first-inventor-to-file system under the recently enacted America Invents Act (“AIA”) and the anticipated increase in the filings of provisional applications — with their many traps for the unwary. The course will teach you how to write provisional applications and draft and prosecute nonprovisional patent applications to avoid these pitfalls.

“Designing Around” Valid U.S. Patents (March 29-31, 15.0 hours) - The Designing Around course distills the patent infringement analysis into comprehensive yet concise step-by-step checklists that can be used by attorneys at all experience levels to assist their clients in developing competitive, noninfringing products.

Drafting Patent License Agreements (March 29-31, 15.0 hours) - The course lays the groundwork for a clause-by-clause examination of all significant elements of the patent licensing agreement. The practical questions always focused on are how and whether each element is sufficient to serve the business needs of the parties while remaining legally viable. The main components of typical licensing agreements, from the opening part through the execution and authentication provisions, are examined in detail. Practical, hypothetical illustrative examples are used, often in workshop form, with carefully crafted problem handouts distributed to the attendees during the course.

Due Diligence Investigations (March 25-27, 15.0 hours) - In these difficult economic times, now is the time for the patent practitioner to be empowered to increase his suitor clients’ revenues, with excellent return on investment, by becoming a master due diligence provider on both acquisitions of targets’ IP and license-ins of that IP. By the same token, those who represent the targets must know the principles of power for molding the targets’ IP strategies to maximize income from either takeovers or license-outs. The critically acclaimed Due Diligence course is designed to raise your game to new levels, whether you are representing suitors or targets.

Federal Circuit Law (2010-2012) (March 25-27, 15.0 hours) - Each week the Federal Circuit publishes opinions that materially “clarify” and sometimes “alter” existing practice. One cannot competently practice as a patent attorney today, in prosecution, litigation, counseling or licensing without an understanding of the Federal Circuit’s most recent opinions. The distinguished faculty of Federal Circuit Law (2010-2012) will expertly guide you through two years of relevant and up-to-the-minute cases in an interactive lecture format that encourages active attendee participation. Moreover, lecturers will discuss new cases in the context of prior cases (many outside the two-year time span), thus giving you not only “current law,” but also a perspective on how the law has changed.

Patent Damages (March 25-27, 15.0 hours) - Patent damages, an essential remedy for patent holders, is a crucial area of the law for all patent practitioners to understand, whether representing patentees or alleged infringers. This course will equip patent practitioners with the tools necessary to knowledgeably and expertly advocate their clients’ damages demands by exploring the underlying basis for patent damages, how to calculate a reasonable royalty, establishment of lost profits in a patent damages case, evaluation of forum-shopping considerations, enhanced damages, and innovative damage arguments as well as a comparative analysis of U.S. patent damages to patent damages in other countries. This course will discuss and provide the latest case law from the Federal Circuit, and comprehensively cover the current state of the law regarding patent damages.

Patent Infringement Litigation (March 29-31, 15.0 hours) - This course is the most practical, immediately usable patent infringement litigation course ever presented by Patent Resources Group (and by any institution). The focus is on patent litigation (not litigation in general). The course starts at the first concept of the idea to litigate and the critical initial decision to file suit, continues through discovery and trial, and on to the end of post-trial motions, as well as initial defensive considerations and developing and implementing defensive strategies throughout the case. The course includes a live demonstration of a Markman hearing and a section on damages and injunctive relief. The course is designed for and directed to corporate counsel who have or expect to have patent litigation supervision responsibilities; experienced litigators who seek to acquire increased competence and abilities in this expanding practice specialty; and private practitioners with limited litigation experience seeking to expand their practice.

Pharma & Biotech Strategies for Patent Prosecution, Hatch-Waxman and Litigation (March 25-27, 16.5 hours) - In an industry where billions of dollars often hinge on the viability of a single patent claim, you can’t afford to make mistakes. Brush up on the skills needed to prosecute, evaluate, and enforce pharmaceutical and biotech claims in an ever-changing legal and economic climate. Learn cutting-edge techniques for putting the Hatch-Waxman laws to work for your company’s benefit. This highly regarded course is taught by an experienced team who puts it all together for you.

Post-Grant Patent Practice: Review, Reexamination, Reissue, and Supplemental Examination (March 29-31, 15.0 hours) - This two-and-a-half-day course provides comprehensive training on indispensable tools for patent prosecutors and litigators, including new tools created by the AIA:

• Ex parte reexamination
• Inter partes reexamination
• Post-grant review (new under the AIA)
• Inter partes review (new under the AIA)
• Transitional program to review business method patents (new under the AIA)
• Reissue
• Supplemental examination (new under the AIA)

Procuring & Enforcing Business Method & Other Software-Based Patents After Bilski & BMC (March 29-31, 15.0 hours) -  The America Invents Act impacts software patents in general and business method patents in particular.  Specifically, a new inter partes review proceeding is available during litigation for defendants to challenge certain business method patents at the USPTO on a wide variety of invalidity grounds.

Registration, Hotel Information, FAQs, and Special Offers:

• If you’re interested in registering online for any of these Spring 2012 Advanced Courses, visit this page on the PRG website!
• You can also view the Spring 2012 Advanced Courses Catalog, which included a print registration form.
• Visit this page for more information on the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Bonita Spring, FL.
• Want general information on PRG’s Advanced Courses? Visit this FAQ page.
• And finally, learn about all the ways you can save through PRG’s Special Offers!

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

Luckily, there is an alternative.  Minesoft TMQuest is a free searchable trademark database that covers US registered trademarks from 1881 to present, and the site was created by Minesoft, the company that also produces the subscription patent search system PatBase.  TMQuest is an excellent alternative to TESS for preliminary US trademark searches (although professional trademark searches should be utilized if a comprehensive search is needed).  Read on to learn about the useful features of TMQuest that make trademark searching more user-friendly, such as a detailed advanced search menu with help materials integrated into the search form.

Search Options on TMQuest

A quick search form is located on the TMQuest homepage, and users can search through this form by keyword. An advanced search form is also available through a link on the homepage, and the advanced form allows users to search simultaneously through a variety of fields, including:

• Mark (keyword search, with option for “exact match only”, “auto-stemming”, and “synonyms searching”. Boolean operators are also accepted.)
• Status (active/inactive/all)
• Serial/Registration number
• Date (filing, registration, or publication)
• International Class
• US Class
• Design codes
• Goods and services
• Owner
• Attorney/agent
• Mark type (drop-down menu)
• Design description
• Mark drawing code (drop-down menu)

The user can mouse over each field in the advanced form to view further information or instructions on entering the query. A design code lookup is also included by the “Design Code” field, and users can select from a menu of available International Classes and US Classes by clicking on their fields. As users type in the fields, suggested terms automatically appear below the form in a drop-down menu.

Besides the quick and advanced search forms, users can also browse marks by Top 500 Companies, Categories/Classes, Design, Filing Date, and Serial Number.

The advanced search form on TMQuest.

Viewing Results on TMQuest

Search results are organized in a hit list that the user can sort by relavence, mark name, filing date, or owner name. Users also have the option to return to the advanced search form to refine their current search, or they can start a new search in a cleared form.  Each result listing includes basic bibliographic information (mark names, owner, serial number, filing date, and International Class), as well as a thumbnail image of the mark.  10 results are displayed on a single page, and navigation arrows at the top and bottom of the page allow the user to navigate to “Previous 10″ or “Next 10.”

The user can mouse over the linked text in the results to view additional help information and definitions of International Class codes.

Search results in TMQuest.

Users can select the mark name or select the “more info” option under each listing to expand the record and view all available bibliographic information. Within the full record, a user can print the record, view the legal status (within the TARR web server), or view the original documents for the record (on the USPTO website).  The user may also select International Class, US Class, and Design Search codes to conduct a new search using that selected code as the search criteria.

A full record in TMQuest.

Conclusion

Minesoft is known for integrating links to free resources into the PatBase search system to provide additional information on patent documents, such as legal status information from external national legal status register sites.  TMQuest uses a similar technique of linking to free resources on the USPTO site, such as a file of documents related to the trademark and the current legal status of the mark.  Instead of navigating through the maze of search systems on the USPTO website, the user can find links directly to the needed information on a particular mark simply by viewing the full-text record on TMQuest.  TMQuest makes the search process easier for users by integrating help information directly into the advanced search form and search results.  The TMQuest advanced search form also allows the user to search within more than just two fields simultaneously.  Overall, Minesoft has created a user-friendly alternative to the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS), while still integrating many useful links to relavent data on the USPTO website.

TMQuest may make a preliminary search for US trademarks easier for a novice user, but a professional trademark search should be conducted for all legal or business purposes.  Landon IP trademark search services include a federal trademark search, a federal and state search, a global trademark search, and a comprehensive common law trademark search.

Next time, we’ll look at another free database produced by Minesoft, which provides a user-friendly interface for searching FDA drug data!

Have you used any search systems produced by Minesoft, such as PatBase or TMQuest? How user-friendly was the system?  Let us know in the comments!

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

A Christmas tree decorated with traditional holiday patents.

This Christmas tree is decorated with patents for classic holiday ornaments from 1888-1941 (found on Google Patents). Select the image above to view a larger version of the tree, or continue reading to see the traditional ornament patents!

1. Musical Ornament for Christmas Trees (Issue Date Jun 29, 1926, Patent Number 1590524)

2. Design for a Christmas-Tree Ornament (Issue date Apr 3, 1888, Patent Number D18238)

3. Christmas-Tree Ornament (Issue date Apr 1, 1890, Patent Number 424916)

4. Design for a Christmas-Tree Ornament (Issue date Nov 26, 1895, Patent Number D24923)

5.  Christmas-Tree Ornament (Issue date Jun 7, 1898, Patent Number 605158)

6. Ornament for Christmas Trees (Issue date Feb 27, 1917, Patent Number 1217675)

7. Christmas Tree Decoration (Issue date May 6, 1919, Patent Number 1302754)

8. Christmas Tree Ornament (Issue date May 22, 1928, Patent Number D75206)

9. Design for an Illuminated Ornament for Decorating  Christmas Trees (Issue date Feb 18, 1930, Patent Number D80542)

10. Christmas Tree Ornament or the Like (Issue Date Feb 26, 1941, Patent Number D128039)

Happy holidays and thank you for reading the Intellogist Blog!

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

After the jump, read about the best patent database updates, new free patent search and analysis sites, the best new non-patent literature search platform, and the best new tool for patent attorneys!

Best Patent Database Updates:

• Espacenet v.5 (March 2011) – In March, the EPO’s free patent search platform Espacenet got an entirely new look (and name change).  The system went from being called “esp@cenet” to “Espacenet,” and new features for the version 5 update include:
• Export-to-Excel function
• RSS feeds
• Breadcrumb navigation
• Query history

* The entire Espacenet system report on Intellogist has been updated to reflect these changes.

• PatBase Updates (March, July, and October 2011) - PatBase was the gift that just kept on giving this year.  This subscription patent search system had three major updates in 2011, and some highlights of the new features and coverage added to the system include:
  • Ability to archive saved private folders, searches, and search histories.
  • Assign ranking to folder results.
  • Custom user fields and option to bulk-classify records.
  • Citation timeline and citation line graph.
  • Upload Family and Application number function.
  • A new color-coded and searchable table of all legal events related to family member documents with integrated Register links that displays when the user selects the “Status” link from the family record.
  • Full-text for Scandinavia and other European countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain).
  • Full-text for Indian applications, Full-Text and Biblio for Indian grants.
  • Chinese Full Text and Machine Translations of Full- Text.
  • Japanese Machine Translations of Full-Text.
  • New “same document” field qualifiers.
  • Visual Explorer – a new “clustering and visualization tool.”
  • Folder shortcuts.
  • Search machine-translated non-Latin full text from the non-Latin search form.
  • A new “Hits” view for family records.

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.

]]> http://intellogist.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/the-best-patent-search-gifts-of-2011/feed/ 0 jmornini Patent Searches from Landon IP http://intellogist.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/free-webinar-learn-how-patent-workbench-can-boost-your-productivity/ http://intellogist.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/free-webinar-learn-how-patent-workbench-can-boost-your-productivity/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:45:19 +0000 cjagalla http://intellogist.wordpress.com/?p=4665 ]]>

Whatever your focus — litigation, opinion drafting, “designing around,” licensing, or valuations — Patent Workbench® will revolutionize your practice.

On January 18, 2012 from 2:00 to 3:00pm EST, Landon IP will be hosting a FREE WEBINAR providing a demo of the features and functionality of Patent Workbench®. You’ll learn how Patent Workbench® can help you begin Unleashing the Potential Within File Histories.

Spaces are limited, so act now! Learn more about this FREE WEBINAR and register today.

Read on for more info about Patent Workbench®!

We know you’re busy. We know your clients are pressuring you to complete more work more quickly. But current methods for working with file histories require spending many hours on tedious and time-consuming tasks before you can even begin your legal analysis. And you don’t have any tools that facilitate your analysis once you get started.

Landon IP has the solution.

Patent Workbench® is a productivity tool that helps you work faster, smarter, and more efficiently whenever you need to review and analyze patent file histories and understand the scope of a patent’s claims. It provides easy file navigation and powerful search, export, annotation, and claims analysis tools that free you to focus on what you do best — practicing law.

Patent Workbench® gives you the power to:

• Eliminate nearly 100% of your up-front organizational tasks
• Review a file at least 30% to 50% faster than you can today
• Expedite claim construction by navigating the intrinsic evidence more thoroughly and more quickly than ever before
• Increase the efficiency and accuracy of your legal analysis
• Be more confident in the quality of your work products

Read more about Patent Workbench® at PatentWorkbench.com and our Patent Workbench® Blog. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn!

The holiday season is upon us, and we are fast approaching that magical time of year when our favorite Star Wars® characters sing poor-man versions of Randy Newman songs to us. That day, of course, is Life Day. Life Day is the day where Wookies gather around a large, Styrofoam prop tree and growl songs with Luke, Han, Lei, C3PO, and R2D2, to pre-emptively punish George Lucas for Jar Jar Binks and the aliens in Indiana Jones 4. In honor of Life Day, here are the best Star Wars®-related patents!

1) Hand-holdable toy light tube – US 6,641,280 A

You'll cut your hand off, kid.

Who doesn’t love lightsabers? Any kids could play in the backyard for hours with this toy…until they poke someone’s eye out.

2) Robot – US D458318

Beep beep boop boop.

This almost-R2D2 gives you immediate street-cred as you can say it is a prototype for the new Star Wars movie that will never get made, Star Wars 7 – The Final Chapter 3D (contains 100% CGI, no actors were paid in the making of this film).

3) Action figure and accessories – US 7,588,478 A

This kind of looks like C3PO, right?

Your fake R2D2 wouldn’t be complete without a fake CP3O.

4) Action figure stands – US 2007/0087651 A1

Let the Wookie win.

You can’t have a proper Life Day without at least one Wookie, and this stand keeps your Chewbacca upright and ready for display. Just make sure you keep everything in the original packaging.

5) Methods for Managing Content for Consumer Electronic Devices – US 2010/0186053 A1

Hmm, what's on TV tonight?

Watch Star Wars on-demand at any time. Sorry, the original versions are not allowed, nor can you get the censored version of The Phantom Menace, where Jar Jar is always muted and covered by a black box.

Next time: Danny gets the greatest gift for Christmas, Bohemian Rhapsody, Space Oddity, and more from William Shatner.

Find previous writings and musings from the off-kilter Danny Rooney here: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16.

This post was contributed by Registered Patent Agent Dan Wolka and edited by Chris Jagalla. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company, Landon IP, a major provider of patent search, technical translation, and information services.

Users now have the option to search biomedical data and services of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) through NLMPlus, a “semantic search engine and biomedical knowledge base application” created by WebLib LLC.  The application was a winner of the NLM Show Off Your Apps Challenge in November 2011, and the president of WebLib confirmed that the company “plans to maintain and enrich the product indefinitely,” according to a recent article from Information Today.

Continue reading to learn about the semantic search features of NLMPlus!

The Databases and Technology Behind NLMPlus

The About Us section of NLMPlus states that over 60 databases are searched by the application:

• NCBI All Databases (38 databases)
• TOXNET (15 databases)
• Medlineplus (1 databases, 5 DB subsets)
• Drug Information Portal (1 database)
• ClinicalTrials.gov (1 database)
• Images from the History of Medicine (1 database)
• DailyMed (1 database)
• AIDSInfo (1 database)
• Dirline (1 database)

Searching on NLMPlus

Despite the complex technology behind the semantic application, the search interface for the site is incredibly simple to use.  From the NLMPlus homepage, the user can enter any term or concept into the search form (e.g. “stent”) and select “Search.”

NLMPlus has a simple keyword search form that includes an auto-suggest function.

The result page will generate lists of Related Concepts, Health Concerns, Tests and Treatments, Drugs and Substances, and Alternative Medicine, which are displayed in expandable lists at the top of the results page.  Mouse over the related concepts in the list to view a definition, related terms, and the option to add the concept to the current query.  Below the expandable lists of related concepts, the results are displayed, with search terms bolded in the excerpts. A magnifying glass icon beside each search results allows the user to view a preview of that result directly in the hit list window.

Lists of related concepts are displayed above the search results.

Above the expandable lists and search form, the user can select to view results according to specific topics, sources, and document types:

• Health topics – Default search results page, shown in the screenshot above.
• NLM Databases – This results page displays a chart that breaks down the number of results in each specific NLM database. Selecting a database name will open a link to the search results listed on the database website.

View a breakdown of how many results were found for each database.

• PubMed Semantic Search - Normal search results display.
• PubMed Reviews Semantic Search – Normal search results display.
• Drugs - Normal search results display.
• PubMed -Normal search results display.
• News – Normal search results display.
• Images – Image thumbnails are displayed instead of text excerpts.
• Videos - Normal search results display.

On the right hand of every results page (except the NLM Databases page), a series of boxes display sample results for all other search types. The user can select the “More” option at the bottom of each box to go directly to that search type’s page of results.

Selecting any result from the result page from will open the link in a new tab of the browser at the original NLM or NCBI database website.

Conclusion

NLMPlus is an excellent alternative to the NCBI Entrez portal for cross-searching multiple NCBI databases at one time.  Users can utilize natural language in their query to retrieve both relevant results and lists of additional concepts to add to their query.  The organization of results into document types (news, images, videos) and by source through the NLM Databases chart can aid the user in quickly identifying which results are relevant.  The preview option also provides a quicker way to judge relevance, since the user doesn’t need to open a separate tab to check each search result.

A feature that would improve the functionality of the application would be the addition of a saved results and concepts list.  Currently, there is no way to select or save results or relevant concepts, so the user must manually copy and past relevant links and concepts into a separate Word document.  The ability to re-rank search results would also add to the functionality of application, since users may want to view the most recent results in the list.  Finally, some type of help-form or guide would add to the utility of the application, since no help features seem to be available for the site.

Despite these issues, I definitely recommend that prior art searchers, especially those in the biomedical field who commonly search on NCBI databases for prior art, try the semantic search features of NLMPlus.  At the very least, a user may find new terms to add to their query.

Are there other semantic search tools that may be useful to biomedical prior art searchers?  Let us know in the comments!

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This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.