Patent Searching & AnalysisMT5912

Loh Mee Lan18 Feb 2020

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Introduction to IP & patents

How to read a patent document

How to conduct effective patent searches in Patsnap

Introduction to patent analysis Analyze Results Patsnap Insights Patsnap Landscape Maps

Learning Outcomes

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Introduction to Intellectual Property (IP) & Patents

Ms Loh Mee LanSenior LibrarianNUS Libraries

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Introduction to Intellectual Property

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What are the types of IP found in such products?

Trademarks – apple logo, “Iphone”Registered designs – aesthetic appearance (shape of the phone)Layout design of ICsCopyright (embedded operating system and other software)

Patents – Functional features and is one of several forms of intellectual property (IP)

For more information, go to Patent Libguide(FAQs and Articles section).

Source: 2019 iphone Renders (UPDATED) by Daniel Rivas is licenced under CC by NC-ND 4.0

http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/patents

How to Read a Patent Document

Ms Loh Mee LanNUS Libraries

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HOW to Read a Patent Document

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For more details about how to read a patent,

see Patent Libguide(http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/patents)

Fields Generally consist of

Bibliographic Data/ Information

Patent Number; Type of Patent [e.g. granted or application]Title; Inventor Name; Assignee Name; Publication/Issue Date; References; AbstractsClassification Numbers [can use to search for similar patents]

Drawings - May contain drawings

Descriptions (of the Invention)

- Background of the Invention [e.g. problem trying to solve, summary of what is known]- Detailed description of the invention - May contain examples

Claims [defines legal boundaries of the patent document]

- May consist of: Independent Claims, Dependent Claims- Usually starts with phrases like “I claim”, “We claim”, What is claimed is”, “The invention claimed is”

HOW to Read a Patent Document

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Patent Number

Kind Code

Publication Date

Title

References

Classification Codes

Patent Application Number

Bibliographic Data/Information

International Patent Classification

Classification Codes

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Source : https://worldwide.espacenet.com/help?locale=en_EP&method=handleHelpTopic&topic=ipc

HOW to Read a Patent Document

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• Independent Claims

“Generally an independent claim is one that does not refer to any other claim. Some independent claims may refer to other claims….”

• Dependent Claims

“A dependent claim can depend upon one or more independent claims or one or more dependent claims….”

Source:

Examination Guidelines for Patent Applications at IPOS. 2019 Apr. Intellectual Property of Singapore; [accessed 2019 Dec 30]. https://www.ipos.gov.sg/docs/default-source/resources-library/patents/guidelines-and-useful-information/examination-guidelines-for-patent-applications-at-ipos_2019-apr.pdf

See Page 22 on “Independent and dependent claims”

US20180346941A1

Patent Searching

Ms Loh Mee LanNUS Libraries

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A Very Simple Timeline - Patent Filing

Inventor File for Patent

Publication of Patent Application

Typically published 18 months after the filing date of application

Publication of Granted Patent

May take up to several years before a patent is granted

Generally, protected for 20 years from date of filing

Note: Patents may also be filed or granted in multiple countries. Patents may be abandoned or may expire earlier.

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Current Affairs(newspapers, websites, industry reports, etc.)

Patents(patent documents, patent analysis on company & industry, etc.)

Resources- Patents

Non patent literature(journal articles, books, conference papers, reports, standards, etc.)

- Findmore@NUSLResources- Engineering- Medical- Science- Standards

Legal Information(Statutes, Law Reports, Patent Legal Information, etc.)

ResourcesLaw

Business Information(country, industry, consumer, etc.)

Resources- Business

Social Media(Blogs, forums, etc.)

Factors To Consider #

TechnologyPast, Present, Future

Patent Activity

PESTLE AnalysisPoliticalEconomicSocialTechnologyLegalEnvironment

Drivers & Challenges

Key Players & Jurisdictions

Etc.

# Adapted from:How to analyse markets using innovation data : research document framework. Patsnap Academy; [accessed 2019 Oct 8]. https://www.patsnap.com/hubfs/Academy/Course%20Material/Research%20Document%20Template.pdf

Re

search

Top

ic

Types / Sources of

Information to Check

StatisticsResources- Singapore- Others

Approaches to Searching Patents

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Topic Search

- Start broadly…. using Synonyms, Truncations, wildcards variations, - Refine with additional keywords, classification numbers, etc.

Single Document Search

- Start with a known patent document- Find other patents with patents using

relevant classification numbers, citations analysis, references (including non patent literature), etc.

Semantic Search- Using text or patent

number

Classification Search

Further Analysis

On Search Results

NUS Libraries Patent Libguide(http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/patents)

Subscribed databases Patsnap Inspec, etc.

Free databases on Internet Google Patents The Lens

PATENTSCOPE, etc.

Patent Searching - Introduction

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Access Patsnap via NUS Portal (http://lib.nus.edu.sg)

How to Access Patsnap

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Access Patsnap via NUS Portal (http://lib.nus.edu.sg)

How to…

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Registration for 1st

Time Users

- Patsnap- Registration Guide

Search By Patent Document

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Search A Patent Document (US20050065436A1)

Identify suitable classification codes

Use “Similar Patents” function

Find Citations (Cites or Cited By)

Search Assignee(s) or Inventor(s)

References / Citations

HOW to Search Patents Effectively

(US20050065436A1)

Additional Help from Patsnap:

Citation Analysis

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Semantic Search- Using machine learning algorithm to find relevant patents- Note: Upto 1000 patents retrieved.

- Search Example- Patent Number (e.g. US20050065436A1)

- Journal article

- Website, etc.

HOW to Search Patents Effectively

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Semantic Search

How to Search Patents Effectively

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Keywords Searching – Search Operators

HOW to Search Patents Effectively

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Go to Search Helper for more tips: Search Syntax Tab

Operator Explanation Example

AND 2 keywords must be found in document apple AND orange

OR Either keywords found in document apple OR orange

NOT 1st keyword must be found but exclude 2nd

keywordapple NOT orange

“ “ Keywords within quotation marks must be next to each other in the order specified

“apple juice”

( ) Using parentheses to define search order (apple OR orange) NOT juice

* Replace a string of characters function*

$Wn Search words within “n” words of each other, in any order

vitamins $W5 nutrients

$WS Search words within SAME sentence vitamins $WS nutrients

HOW to Search Patents

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Exoskeleton Load Other Terms To Consider

exosuit Transfer work Nurses

suit-type wearable robot (STWR)

Load transfer Nursing care

Artificial muscle Wearable

Fabric

HOW to Search Patents

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Search Examples

Search 1(Exoskeleton OR exosuit OR STWR OR “suit-type wearable robot”) AND (load transfer)Result : 1,638 simple families (5,133 total)

Search 2(Exoskeleton OR exosuit OR STWR OR “suit-type wearable robot”) AND load AND transfer AND (fabric OR wearable)Result : 918 simple families (2,854 total)

Search 3(Exoskeleton OR exosuit OR STWR OR “suit-type wearable robot”) AND (load $W5 transfer) AND (fabric OR wearable)Result : 276 simple families (866 total)

Additional Help:- Patsnap : Quick Guide on

alert, save search query and workspace

Patsnap Website- Workspaces- How Do I manage my email

alerts?

HOW to Search Patents Effectively

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Patent Analysis

Ms Loh Mee LanNUS Libraries

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Patent Analysis

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- Broad overview of the technology- Identify trends- Who are the major companies/

institutions

Remember!!Patent analysis forms part of the overall analysis about the market/technology

Combine with business information, current affairs, non patent literature, etc. to get a more accurate view.

Patents

Business Information

Statistical Data

Current Affairs

Non patent literature

Patent Analysis

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Patsnap Landscape Maps

Ms Loh Mee LanNUS Libraries

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How the patents are organized:- “patent analysis algorithms to create what is essentially a self-

organising map”- “Similar patents are positioned closer together, and different patents

are spaced further apart”- “the mountains, where patents will be clustered, represent areas of

high activity and the low lying areas represent lower levels of patent activity”

- Clusters based classification codes and semantic analysis of keywords (title/abstracts)

Patsnap Landscape Maps

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Sources: Patsnap Help : Using The Landscape Tool & How are patents assigned to each category in Landscape

Patsnap Landscape Maps

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See the “forests” (big picture/overview)

Landscape maps based on the set of documents retrieved

Is accurate as of today (legal status will change, new patents are published, etc.)

Lastly…. Store your relevant patents in workspace Set up alerts to keep updated……

Patsnap Landscape

Additional Help (from Patsnap Website):- Help on Landscaping

How to Access- From Search Results

Sets- Workspace

Patsnap Landscape Maps

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Patsnap Insights

Ms Loh Mee LanNUS Libraries

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Patsnap InsightsPatsnap Insights provides business intelligence information. You can assess opportunities andthreats, find valuable information, about the company or technology, etc. The data is based on information extracted from Patsnap database.

2 Types of Dashboards- Technology- Company

How to Access- From Search Results Sets (Patsnap)- Workspace (Patsnap)- Direct from NUS Libraries Portal

Patsnap Insights

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Patsnap Insights

Patsnap Insights

Additional Help- Quick guide on finding

company information- Quick guide on finding

technology information

Patsnap Website- Additional Help on Patsnap Insights

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Exercise (5 minutes)

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Search on your topic Quick analysis of your topic

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Thank you for attending today!

Please fill in the feedback form:

http://bit.ly/ECST2020

Please contact me if you have further queries:Loh Mee LanEmail: lohmeelan@nus.edu.sg

Additional Resources

Ms Loh Mee LanNUS Libraries

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Quick Comparison – 3 Patent Databases

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Patsnap The Lens Google Patents

Coverage (information from their websites)

Over 141 million patent publications + DocDB(covers nearly 100 jurisdictions)

Over 117 million documents BibliographicDocDB (covers nearly 100 jurisdictions)Full Text and ImagesUS, EP, WIPO PCT, Australia, etc.

Over 120 million patent publications from 100+ patent offices

Semantic Search or similar functions

Yes (by publication number or text with at least 2000 characters). Retrieved up to 999 relevantdocuments.Document level – “Similar Patents” Function

No No separate search option

Document level – have “Find Prior Art” or “Similar” Functions

Scholarly Works (found in patents document) /Non Patent Literature (NPL)

Listed but not hyperlinked in patent documents (citations)

Start search either by patents or scholarly works. Scholarly data from PubMed, CrossRef, Microsoft AcademicScholarly works that found in Lens.org are hyperlinked.

- Can includes NPL from Google Scholar at searching screen- Includes a copy of the technical documents and books indexed in Google Scholar and Google Books- Listed but not hyperlinked in patent documents (citations)

Landscape Maps Yes No No

Patent Analysis YesPatsnap - Overview : 7 options e.g. Application Trends, Top Assignee(s) with further subtopics, etc.Patsnap Insights – Company and Technology Dashboards, each with breakdown by subtopics

Yes

Display “Graphical Analysis”: up to 10 options e.g. Top 10 inventors

Yes

Display 3 options: (assignee, inventors, CPCs) e.g. top assignees

Lens.Org

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What is Lens.Org? (https://www.lens.org/lens/) “The Lens serves global patent and scholarly knowledge as a

public resource to make science- and technology-enabled problem solving more effective, efficient and inclusive”

Free patent database Includes over 117 million documents (bibliographic / full text) Full text documents from US Patents, European Patents, WIPO

Applications, Australian Patents, etc.) and non patent literature (over 195 million scholarly records from PubMed, CrossRef, Microsoft Academic Scholarly)

Lens.Org

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https://www.lens.org/

Strengths: Able to find number of cites from patents to scholarly works and vice versa

Lens Video Tutorials (Help Support)

Optional : Sign up for a free Lens.org account (e.g. save records, set alerts)