World Palen! Injormatmn. Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 92-95. 1987. Printed in Great Britain.

0172-2190/87~3.00-.OO. Pergamon Orbit InfoLine Inc.

@ 1987 CEUWIPO

The Patent Documentation Group (PDG)

P. Ochsenbein, PDG Secretary, Base/, Switzerland

Summary

The PDG was founded in 1957 by thirteen European chemical and oil companies, with the main aim of abstracting patent documents and searching for patent families. During the 1960s the group became engaged in other activities, notably exchanging views on patent information management matters and testing new systems for polymer patents.

In 1969 the Group was reorganised with a permanent secretary in Basel, and objectives and activities fixed by statutes. In the early 197Os, due to the development of Derwent’s abstract services, the PDG discontinued its abstracting work, and efforts were concentrated on Working Groups studying matters such as networks and online retrieval, microfilm equipment, and developments in national and international patent laws. In 1984 the statutes were changed to allow ‘non- chemical’ companies to become members, and in 1985 membership increased to 23 companies covering five countries.

Over the years, the possibility of terminating the abstracting work gradually arose when the quality of the abstracts produced by Derwent - which in the meantime (1963-1966) had introduced considerably improved services covering special fields of chemistry - began more and more to meet the demands of industrial documentalists. On account of the con- frontation with new and more external tasks and the expected intensified contacts with Derwent, it was felt reasonable to restructure the PDG in order to improve both its organisation and representation.

Brief Summary of the History

In 1969 the pool, which in 1963 had been given the name ‘Patent Documentation Group’, was reorganised as an association according to Swiss law with a Secretariat and a permanent Secretary in Base1 and a Board consisting of five to nine members eligible for two terms of four years. The annual meetings of the delegates became institutionalised as ‘Members’ Conferences’ and the objectives and activities fixed by statutes. Whereas in the years before all costs were considered to be compensated by the abstracts delivered by each member, a member’s fee was introduced in order to refund to the host company the costs of running the Secretariat. The membership had meanwhile increased to eighteen.

In 1957 a group of thirteen European chemical and oil companies founded, based on a gentlemen’s agreement, a working pool with the task of abstracting patent documents from major countries and searching for equivalent patents, i.e. patent families. Since, at that time, commercially available patent abstracting services, e.g. Chemical Abstracts, Chemisches Zentralblatt and Derwent, either did not meet the documentalists’ requirements or did not cover enough countries, in-house abstracting work in industry was indispensable. The cooperation in this pool between firms in the same general working field proved very effective. By the end of 1966,5 1000 patents had been checked and 28 000 abstracted.

In the early seventies it became obvious that in view of the further development of Derwent’s abstracts services a duplication of efforts would no longer be necessary and the PDG could terminate its own abstracting work. This gradual discontinuation was effected in close cooperation with Derwent, whose abstracts continued to be checked for completeness and information content for several years to follow, the results being regularly forwarded to Derwent. Close cooperation also existed between the PDG and the IDC (founded in 1967), which for its database (introduced in 1972) and its computerised patent data file could refer to PDG abstracts going back to 1959.

During the sixties the group also became increasingly In 1976 the PDG Working Group ‘Networks and engaged in other activities, particularly in exchanging Online Retrieval’ was constituted for the purpose of views on patent information management matters and exchanging knowledge and experience in the fields of in testing new systems, some of them developed by software and hardware and of discussing general group members. Of these, a coding system for polymer problems brought about by the rapid spread of patents has been in practical use since 1963 and a electronic databases and the new online searching system of mechanised equivalent searches since 1969. possibilities. Other Working Groups dealing with This latter system is generally assumed to be the first various organisational and technical matters, e.g. computerised patent family database to have been microfilm equipment and use, had been formed before

developed. but, contrary to the still existing Online Group, were

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The Patent Documentation Group 93

dissolved after having fulfilled tasks of a temporary nature. In 1977 the first issue of ‘PDG News and Views’ appeared.

The Board is the executive authority responsible for the supervision of the Secretary and in general for the smooth operation of the PDG; the President represents the PDG to the outside world.

In 1980 the PDG Working Group ‘Impact of International and Sew National Patent Laws on Documentation’ was established with the task of closely watching patent information and documenta- tion developments and problems created by the European Patent Convention and the Patent Co- operation Treaty (which became effective in 1977 and 1978 respectively) and, where necessary, of elaborating concrete proposals to overcome errors and deficiencies. To date the result of this detective work has been published in more than 450 ‘Impact Information’ sheets covering about 20 countries, the EPO, WIPO and other supranational bodies, as well as documenta- tion services. More than 65 ‘Actions’ have been started which, in many cases, have led to positive changes in inadequate regulations and practices. Meanwhile the scope of investigations has been broadened and, accordingly, the full name of the Impact Group changed to ‘Impact of Patent Laws on Documentation’.

The Secretary is responsible for carrying out all administrative work, preparing the budget and the annual account, writing the annual and the financial report, organising and taking the minutes of the Members’ Conferences and Board meetings and for editing the ‘PDG News and Views’. If entrusted by the Conference or the Board to do so, the Secretary participates in PDG WG meetings and in technical meetings organised by third parties, coordinates activities of the Working Groups, communicates with third parties, promotes membership and carries out special tasks.

The Working Groups are the task forces where the discussions on technical matters take place and the decisions are made, provided that the responsibility for such decisions does not lie with the Board or the Conference.

In 1984 the Statutes of the PDG were changed in order The statutory purpose of the PDG is ‘to provide for

to allow ‘non-chemical’ companies to become cooperation in information and documentation from

members too. In 1985 membership increased to 23 and for patents’ and ‘to exchange knowledge and

companies, four of which belong to the electronics and experience’ in various areas. The objectives within the

electrical branch (see Appendix 1). The members are framework of this purpose are to discuss new

located in five countries, namely in Belgium (l), developments in patent information and documenta-

France (3), Germany (9), The Netherlands (7) and tion media and systems, to deal with all kinds of

Switzerland (3); no British companies are PDG problems, to form opinions and to reveal common

members at the present time. Since 1975 the annual interests, to work out comments or proposals and to

member’s fee has increased by only 200 Swiss francs to voice them to the public and to third parties active in

3400 Swiss francs. the field of intellectual property, e.g. to

In 1985 two new organs were established: a group of experts on ‘Library Automation’ and a working group on ‘Computer Handling of Generic Chemical Formulae’. The first group aims at the exchange of knowledge and experience (similar to the Network Group), whereas the second group is entrusted with tracing out the fundamental problems and user requirements involved in the revolutionary new methods of automatic topological coding of generic chemical formulae and with offering expertise to those developing systems of this kind.

national and international associations and institutions representing users of patents and patent information

commercial or non-commercial services pro- cessing and/or disseminating patents and patent information

national and supranational patent offices as producers and suppliers ofpatents and patent information

Organisation, General Objectives and Role as a Contact and Pressure Group

WIPO as an intergovernmental organisation promoting cooperation in patent information, e.g. by fixing standards.

The PDG organs and their responsibilities are as follows:

The Members’ Conference is the highest authority and is responsible for final decisions concerning statutes, membership, member’s fee, finances, elections and activities of the Board, the Secretariat and the Working Groups.

To pursue these objectives, the PDG, with its appropriate organs, acts as a channel of com- munication and as a forum for discussion between the representatives of its members and, where expedient, with and in the presence of representatives of the above-mentioned third parties, which themselves in turn offer the PDG most valuable opportunities for cooperation and personal contacts at meetings, conferences, symposia and the like.

94 P. Ochsenbein

The degree of cooperation is remarkable. Thus for example, representatives of Derwent, INPADOC and WIPO are regularly invited to participate in the meetings of the Impact Group. Depending on the agenda, specialists of database hosts or producers such as Derwent, Telesystemes Questel or the EPO also attend meetings of the Online Group. Moreover, selected guests are invited to colloquia organised within the framework of the annual PDG Members’ Conferences.

On the other hand, representatives of PDG member companies and/or the Secretary participate in meetings held by third parties, e.g. by UNICE, FID/PD, the Dutch group WON, the AF committees of the German DGD/APD or by the French CNIC. More officially, the PDG is represented at the annual meetings of the EPO’s ‘SACEPO Sub-Committee on Patent Documentation and Information’ (SACEPO/PDI), which was set up at the PDG’s suggestion. Finally, the PDG is one of the international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) enjoying observer status within WIPO and therefore authorised to voice user interests, in particular at the sessions of the ‘Permanent Committee on Patent Information’ (PCPI) and its ‘Working Group on General Information’ (PCPI/GI), which are regularly attended by the Secretary.

The improvements which the PDG endeavours to achieve with detailed statements and proposals are aimed at benefiting all parties and are recognised accordingly. In view of the sometimes complicated nature of the issues in question, the goals have to be approached in small steps and with great patience, a procedure which, to some degree, is not unlike the discreet and unspectacular work of the documentalist. However, those familiar with the problems and needs of research are fully aware of how basic and indispensable this work is to their colleagues active at the forefront of scientific development.

Present Main Activities and Future Perspectives

In line with the objectives of the Working Groups, the main areas of the PDG’s activities can be grouped as follows:

. hard- and software characteristics of existing or new electronic databases, search profiles, search tools of all kinds, networks

. physical characteristics, layout, presentation, data elements, coding etc. of and in printed patents, official gazettes and the like, and in microfilmed or computerised files thereof

. technical and organisational developments in the application of library automation

. trends and user requirements in connection with sophisticated systems of computerising chemical formulae.

At least for the next few years, these tasks are likely to retain their importance since:

. Owing to the continuing rapid developments in the technique and application of machine- readable information carriers, the need for users to communicate with one another and with the producers and disseminators of patent information remains undiminished. These developments are taking place not only in the more ‘traditional’ fieIds of information retrieval, but also in future-oriented areas such as the processing of character-coded or facsimile information, machine translation and the handling of full text databases. Furthermore, particular attention has to be paid to the aforementioned new computer handling methods in the field of chemistry in order to be able to voice user interests at an early stage.

. The additional complexity of bibliographic data brought about by the introduction of regional and international patent documents continues to result in an increase in the number of incomplete or erroneous citations in patent publications (i.e. patents and gazettes) and microfilmed or computerised records thereof. Since these data contain a great deal of legally relevant information, the necessity of persistent monitoring and of eliminating errors and shortcomings in close cooperation with patent information pro- ducers and disseminators is as great as ever. Within the framework of WIPO, this task includes contributing to the elaboration or modification of international standards and promoting their worldwide application.

It goes without saying that the prestige and influence of the PDG depends not only on how it acts, but also on whom it represents. The PDG is therefore open to accepting further members, the decentralised or multi- national structure of a company being in no way an impediment to membership of one (or several) of the company’s divisions or subsidiaries. Although participation in task forces ceased to be a precondition of membership when a permanent Secretariat was established and an annual member’s fee introduced, each new member company may, according to its specific problems, contribute to the input of information.

The PDG will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in 1987. To mark this occasion, a colloquium devoted to the theme ‘Cooperation and Competition in Patent Information - The Next 30 Years’ will take place in Munich on 11 June, following the Annual Members’

The Patent Documentation Group 95

Conference held on 10 June. A number of very distinguished guests have been asked to present their views and have spontaneously accepted the invitation. The PDG member company, SIEMENS AC, will act as host at all these events. The President, Dr C. Suhr (BASF), the Board, the Secretary and all members’ Delegates would be very pleased to provide any further information if so requested by companies interested in membership.

Bibliography

H. Danilof, Dokumentation chemischer Patentliteratur. Angers’. Chemie 68, 176-178; 1956.

C. Suhr, Die ‘Patentdokumentationsgruppe’. Chem.-Ing.-Techn. 39, 1299- 1301; 1967.

U. Sage, The Patent Documentation Group-past, present, future. Proceedings of the Derwent International Patents Conference 1978, 12-14 April, 1978, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, Annex 10, pp. 92- 96.

M. A. Lobeck, The role of the Patent Documentation Group PDG. Compre Rendu du ler Collogue sur I’lnformafion en Chimie, CNIC Centre National de PInformation Chimique, 13 et 14 Novembre 1984, Paris, Annexe III-S, pp. 1-3.

C. Suhr, Patent Information as Cooperation: An Account of the Work of the Patent Documentation Group. Proceedings of the Symposium on ‘Patent Information in the Electronic Age’, European Patent Office, 6-7 May, 1986, Munich, pp. 213-224.

Appendix 1. List of PDG Members (in alphabetical order)*

AKZO NV, Arnhem ANT Nachrichtentechnik GmbH, Backnang ATOCHEM, Pierre-B&rite BASF Aktiengesellschaft, Ludwigshafen/Rhein BAYER AC, Leverkusen CIBA-GEIGY AC, Base1 DSM, Geleen DYNAMIT NOBEL AC, Troisdorf F. HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE & Co. AC, Base1 GIST-BROCADES NV, Delft HENKEL KGaA, Dusseldorf HOECHST Aktiengesellschaft, Frankfurt/Main HUELS AC, Marl INSTITUT FRANCAIS DU PETROLE, Rueil-Malmaison PHILIPS INTERNATIONAL BV, Eindhoven RHONE-POULENC RECHERCHES, Saint-Fons

ROBERT BOSCH GmbH, Stuttgart SANDOZ AC, Base1 SHELL INTERNATIONALE RESEARCH Mij BV, Den Haag SIEMENS Aktiengesellschaft, Miinchen SOLVAY & Cie AG, Bruxelles TNO, Delft UNILEVER NV, Vlaardingen

Secretariat: PATENT DOCUMENTATION GROUP (PDG) att. Dr P. Ochsenbein, Secretary c/o CIBA-GEIGY AC/R-1046.4.02 PO Box 2543 CH-4002 Basel/Switzerland Tel.061 265008 Telex 62355 Telefax 061 37 74 44

Appendix 2. Chairmen (1957- 1969), Members of the Board (1969-), Secretaries Chairmen 1957-1959: Ing. J. A. van Poelgeest (SHELL) 1959 . Dr J. K. Kramer (SHELL) 1959-19611 Dr M. Hann (BASF) 1961-1963: Dr E. Knopf (BAYER) 1963-1965: Mr E. H. Brittain fDCL) 1965-1966: Prof Dr 0. Horn (H~ECHST) 1966-1969: Ing. F. S. Muller (DSM) 1969 : Dr P. Rhyner (CIBA-GEIGY)

Members of the Board 1969 : Ing. F. S. Muller (DSM)P: 1969 1969-1973: Dr E. Keller (CIBA-GEIGY), VP: 1969, P: 1969-1973 1969-1973: Dr G. Cramer (BASF), VP: 1969-1973 1969-1972: Dr G. Hackenberg (HUELS) 1969-1973: Mrs L. M. Hauser (BP) 1969-1973: Mr P. Moutin (RHONE-POULENC) 1969-1974: Mr A. T. Puister (SHELL). VP, 1973-1974 1970-1972: Mr R. H. Darling.(DU PONT) 1972-1976: Dr H. Mohring (BAYER) 1973-1977: Dr B. Hofer (CIBA-GEIGY), P: 1973-1977 1973-1981: Mr M. Planchon (SOLVAY), VP: 1977-1981 1973-1981: Dr U. Sage (HUELS), VP: 1974-1977, P: 1977-1981 1974-1975: Mr J. M. Brinkman (UNILEVER) 1976-1984: Dr G. Ahrenholz (BAYER), VP: 1983-1984 1976-1984: Dr K. E. H. Gohring (SHELL), P: 1981-1984 1977-1983: Dr K. Kagi (SANDOZ), VP: 1981-1983 1981- : Dr M. Lobeck (HENKEL) 1981- : Mr M. Pencz (RHONE-POULENC) 1983- : Dr R. Gebhard (CIBA-GEIGY) 1984- : Dr C. Suhr (BASF), P: 1984-1986: 1984- : Drs W. C. R. Hoogstraten (DSM), VP: 1984-1986 l985- : PAW. DipI.-Ing. E. Mehl (SIEMENS), VP: 1986-

Secretaries 1969-1982: Mr D. Ligtenberg 1982- : Dr P. Ochsenbein

*Just recently, an additional French companyjoined the PDG as its 24th member, namely: SYNTHELABO LERS, Bagneux.