AcclaimIP Adds Patent Agent Normalization

AcclaimIP recently announced that it is normalizing patent agent names across its international patent data collections, making it easier for researchers to answer questions like “what law firms are working for specific companies?” or “which technology area does this law firm focus on?”.

In a blog post, AcclaimIP noted that patent agent names have always been inconsistent in raw patent data, with law firms filling patents on behalf of their clients using many different variants of their names. For example, law firm Oblon McClelland Maier & Neustadt has more than 327 variants of its name used in patent fillings while law firm Sughrue Mion PLLC has more than 323 variants, many of which are appended by lawyers’ names.

AcclaimIP seems to have dealt with this issue by updating its AGT (Agent) field code so that it now searches the normalized name of the patent filling entities, while the new AGT_ORIG field code searches the original versions of the agent names. By using the AGT_ORIG field code, users will be able to find patents with a specific firm/attorney combination that may have been lost in the normalization process. All the AGT filters in the tool are based on the normalized variant of the law firm’s name.

According to the blog post from AcclaimIP, Agent data is not usually a required field in a patent application, but in 2015, about 92.4% of all granted US patents still contain AGT data. However, there are some organizations that don’t publish agent data at all including Philips, Verizon, Marvell, Covidien, Siemens, and Western Digital. Also, agent data is no longer published is US patent applications, with the last US patent application containing agent data appearing back in 2011.

The normalization of agent names can help law firms or attorneys get an idea of their clients’ filling activities and allow them to tap in potential revenues. Agent data analysis is a popular topic in patent analytics, so the normalization of agent data is a useful feature for any law firms performing analysis projects related to attorney/agent names.

AcclaimIP has made the feature available to Silver and Gold subscribers only while only Gold subscribers will have access to the charting options that come with the feature.

 

What do you think of AcclaimIP’s agent name normalization feature? Tell us in the comments below!

This post was contributed by Abhishek Tiwari. The Intellogist blog and Intellogist are provided for free by Landon IP, which is a CPA Global company. Landon IP is a major provider of professional services meeting the needs of the IP community, including patent searches; analytics and technology consulting; patent, legal, and technical translations; and information research and retrieval.

USPTO Launches New Patent Data Visualization Platform

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has launched a new patent data analytics and visualization platform called PatentsView that is designed to allow patent researchers and the general public to search and view data on nearly 40 years of patenting activity in the United States.

PatentsView comes equipped with search filters and multiple viewing options that allow users to explore patent filing trends on technological, regional and individual levels. The platform sources its data from public USPTO bulk data files from 1976-2014, linking inventors, their organization, locations and patenting activities.

The PatentsView platform was developed by the USPTO in partnership with USDA, the Center for the Science of Science and Innovation Policy (CSSIP), the University of California at Berkly, Twin Arch Technologies, American Institutes of Research (AIR) and Periscopic. The development of the platform started back in 2012.

 

PatentsView – Functionality

PatentsView Homepage

The PatentsView homepage is designed to present users with all of the platform’s features on a single page. The platform allows users to view search results according to Patent, Inventor, Assignee and Class. The current review was done while viewing search results according to Patent.

Below the viewing options are a set of search fields that enable users to perform searches. The search fields are Patent; Assignee – At Issue; Location – At Issue; Inventor; USPC Patent Class and Grant Date.

Once users are finished filling in the search fields, they have the option of viewing the search results in a list view or map view. As shown in the screenshot above, the buttons for list view and map view are located directly beneath the search fields.

PatentsView Highlighted Searches

At the bottom of the homepage, PatentsView offers highlighted searches that can help new users start their exploration of the data.

PatentsView Search Results List View

The List View option in PatentsView presents the search results in a simple list. This option lists the search results along with patent title, the number of citations, filed date and grant date. The left-hand side column offers users various search filters to sort the results, like patent, patent type, inventor, assignee at issue, location at issue and date. The top of the list view pages gives a brief summary about the search results, informing users about the total number of patents found matching their search criteria, the number of inventors the patents were granted to, the number of assignees for the patents and the number of USPC classes.

As the screenshot below shows, users also have the option of expanding the patent summary, by clicking on the patent title, which gives additional information on the patents like publication number, patent type, name of the inventor(s), inventor(s) location, assignee name and assignee location. Also, when viewing results in List View, users can choose to view the search results according to Inventor, Assignee and Class, by clicking on the tabs located above the search results.

Expand Patent Summary in List View

 

When users click on a patent title, a new window opens which provides detailed information about the patent including the patent abstract, the number of citations for that patents and most recent citations. Clicking on the patent title opens a Google Patents page detailing the patent in its entirety, enabling the users to study the patent in more detail and download it in PDF format.

Patent Detail View

The map view presents users with an interactive map of the world, pinpointing locations where the inventors or assignees for the patents are located. Hovering the mouse over a location gives users the name of the location and the number of patents for the inventors or assignees in that location

PatentsView Map View

 

The List and Map buttons at the top of the search results page allow users to toggle between the two modes of viewing search results.

 

Have you tried the PatentsView tool? Tell us about your experience in the comments section below!

 

 

This post was contributed by Abhishek Tiwari. The Intellogist blog and Intellogist are provided for free by Landon IP, which is a CPA Global company. Landon IP is a major provider of professional services meeting the needs of the IP community, including patent searches; analytics and technology consulting; patent, legal, and technical translations; and information research and retrieval.

Singapore Patent Office Begins Operations As International Patent Search and Examination Authority

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) began operations as an International Patent Search and Examination Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty from September 1, 2015, becoming the first ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member to do so.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), allows inventors and companies to apply for patent protection in 148 countries the world over through a single international patent application.

Singapore’s patent authority becomes the fifth Asian patent office, after those of India, China, Japan and Korea, to join the select group of 19 patent authorities across the world that are allowed to operate as an International Patent Search and Examination Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

The IPOS stated in a press release that patent applicants to Vietnam, Mexico, Brunei, Laos and Japan will be the first to receive access to IPOS’s services as an International Patent Search and Examiner Authority. This decision was a part of the bilateral agreements signed during the IP Week @ SG 2015.

Local and global businesses and inventors will benefit from this as they will be presented with a fast and cost-effective method for entering the PCT system. The IPOS claims a first office action turnaround time of 60 days for most cases as compared to 2-3 years of waiting time for similar responses from other IP offices. Patent applicants will also be able to obtain rebates of up to 75% when applying for a PCT application through the IPOS. Apart from a fast turnaround time, businesses and inventors can get access to expert patent examiners, 95% of whom are PhD holders and 25% are qualified to conduct searches in Chinese.

The patent authority said that its new status under to the Patent Cooperation Treaty will immediately benefit around 1,000 PCT applications that originate yearly in Singapore, but that have been filed through other patent authorities as the applications may now be filed through IPOS.

Mr Ng Kok Wan, Executive Director of IPOS-International, said in a statement:

Singapore has made steady progress since our appointment as an International Authority in patent search and examination last year. Working with IP offices across the world and WIPO, we are able to offer businesses and inventors quicker and more affordable access to the global patent system. This is yet another step towards building a creative and innovative Singapore with IP.

 

You can view the IPOS press release here.

 

Will this move revolutionize Singapore’s patent industry? Tell us in the comments below!

 

 

This post was contributed by Abhishek Tiwari. The Intellogist blog and Intellogist are provided for free by Landon IP, which is a CPA Global company. Landon IP is a major provider of professional services meeting the needs of the IP community, including patent searches; analytics and technology consulting; patent, legal, and technical translations; and information research and retrieval.

Gridlogics Releases New PatSeer Updates

Gridlogics has launched a new release of PatSeer, its patent search and analysis software, offering functionality and user interface enhancements. The new features include a new syntax operator, additional search field codes and custom tables. Read on for a more detailed report.

Landon IP Offers Patent Searching Course in Germany for First Time

Landon IP, the developer of Intellogist, will be offering the popular “Art and Science of Patent Searching” course in Germany for the first time ever this Fall, in partnership with Patent Resources Group.  The course will be taught on 27 October to 29 October at the Munich office of Landon IP’s parent company, CPA Global, by two of Landon IP’s patent searching experts – Jonathan Skovholt, Director of Training and Special Projects, and Casey Fowler, Senior Director of IP Search Services, North America and Europe.

This course comprehensively teaches how to conduct a professional patent search.  Designed for patent attorneys and agents, inventors, paralegals, and research managers, the course and its materials will be understood by anyone from the inexperienced to advanced practitioners.  It teaches when, how, where, and why to conduct a search and is appropriate both for those who will conduct the search or those who commission it.  The curriculum reflects the combined expertise of Landon IP, the only company that has been performing searching and preliminary examination of PCT applications for the USPTO since 2005.

This global course is not tied to a particular search engine, database product, or patent information service.  Instead, the instructors teach skills that are applicable across resources, both proprietary and public, and without bias toward the features of a particular search engine.  All attendees will have an opportunity to practice hands-on patent searching alongside the instructors on the final afternoon of class.  Attendees must bring their own wireless-enabled laptops, as well as have their own patent search engine user accounts.

The cost of this three-day course is only €2099 + 19% VAT.  For additional details on the location, hours, and course content and to register, please visit our event page for this course.  Spaces are limited – register soon!

TotalPatent Releases New Enhancements

Patent research and retrieval system TotalPatent has updated its platform with new functionality that gives users greater control over their data. Read on for a more detailed report.

Thomson Innovation Releases New Update

Patent research services provider Thomson Innovation released a new update for its platform on June 28 2015, that includes enhancements to its database and new functionality. More on the update after the break.

Google Launches Patent Starter Program

Search engine giant Google has launched the new Patent Starter Program, as a part of its ongoing patent licensing initiative, inviting 50 tech startups to license patents from its vast portfolio in order to protect their businesses from lawsuits. More on the program after the break!

WIPO’s PatentScope Releases Video Tutorials

World Intellectual Property Organization‘s (WIPO) PatentScope patent searching system has released a collection of video tutorials to help searchers learn how to conduct searches and make the most of the system. Read on for a detailed report.

GQ-Pat Crosses 300 Million Sequences Milestone

GenomeQuest‘s database GQ-Pat has crossed the 300 million sequences milestone, the company announced in a blog post, making it the largest private or public biological sequence database on Earth.

The database now houses 256 million nucleotide sequences and more than 45 million protein sequences. The sequences are not simply automated translations of nucleotides like TrEMBL but are garnered from patents and patent applications published by patent authorities across the globe.

As of 2015, the number of nucleotide sequences in GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ consortium is 185 million, GenomeQuest pointed out.

For a more detailed report, click here.

This post was contributed by Abhishek Tiwari. The Intellogist blog and Intellogist are provided for free by Landon IP, which is a CPA Global company. Landon IP is a major provider of professional services meeting the needs of the IP community, including patent searches; analytics and technology consulting; patent, legal, and technical translations; and information research and retrieval.