European Patent Office The European Patent Office contributing

European Patent Office The European Patent Office contributing to a knowledge-based economy in Europe

European Patent Office esp@cenet the database of ideas Geert Boedt OPUS - Online Products User Support, EPO Vienna gboedt@epo. org Sibiu 15 March 2007 Annual meeting between OSIM and the Regional IP Centres esp@cenet helpdesk EPO Vienna espacenet@epo. org

about this esp@cenet workshop The European Patent Office • esp@cenet, what is it. . . not • access to esp@cenet • searching esp@cenet • new features • advanced example • FAQs • Exercises • Q&A 3

The European Patent Office What is esp@cenet?

The European Patent Office What is esp@cenet not ?

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not esp@cenet is not: • A single data base • A statistical data base • A data base with granted patents • Expensive • A stand alone application, you need the WWW • All knowing • Perfect • A professional search tool • For sale 6

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not esp@cenet is: First Publication Application Granted patent granted claims • A free-of-charge internet service> MANY data bases • Intended as an “entry level” service • A prior art search tool for -patent literatureand a little bit of non-patent literature • Access to 55 million documents, and. . . growing, • from > 70 issuing authorities, and. . . growing • From Romania: > 55000 documents, and. . . growing Search report XP Cited (and classified) non-patent literature Only for EP and PCT publications 7

esp@cenet, what is it. . . not Document flow into esp@cenet The European Patent Office Publication of EP application via Publication Server Filing Search Entry into Examination Procedure ≤ 6 18 0 Publication of international / regional application Publication of national application Communication examiner/ applicant (Non patent literature) Grant/ Refusal Time (months) esp@cenet 8

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not More data flows into esp@cenet Publication of EP application via Publication Server Publication of international / regional application Publication of national application Bibliographical data Translated abstract Description Legal status data (also post grant) Patent family data Cited documents Citing documents (new) Corrections and changes esp@cenet (Non patent literature) 9

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not esp@cenet partnerships Enabling partnerships between: National patent offices: • translation tool • vision steering through Administrative Council NPO and EPO: • training: European Academy, Learning centre • development & support: EPTOS & TECNO • promotion & user support: OPUS team 10

esp@cenet, what is it. . . not esp@cenet family access points > 35 The European Patent Office GB MC PT LV EA TR AT IS CH DK RU RO soon LI LV SK EC BG FR European Patent Office CZ SZ ES LT IT SI LP IE PL NL GR SE CN HU FI DK LU BE CY JP EE DE 11

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not exotic access points 12

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not exotic access points, country ? 13

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not exotic access points, country ? 14

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not exotic access points, country ? 15

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not exotic access points http: //ro. espacenet. com 16

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not a brief historic overview • 1996/7 USPTO • 1998 esp@cenet v. 1 • 2003 esp@cenet v. 3 17

The European Patent Office esp@cenet, what is it. . . not What is it for ? • Evaluation state of the art • Prior art search • Educational resource • Competitor watch, competitive intelligence • Technology watch • Headhunting ? Where and who are the inventors ? • Avoidance of infringement freedom to act • Support for business plans funding ? • Support for research projects funding ? • Technology transfer, licensing 18

The European Patent Office access to esp@cenet

The European Patent Office access to esp@cenet via www. epo. org or www. espacenet. com 20

access to esp@cenet The European Patent Office 21

The European Patent Office access to esp@cenet http: //ep. espacenet. com/ Available data sets Level 1: EP last 24 months Level 1: WO last 24 months Level 2: Worldwide ALL 22

The European Patent Office access to esp@cenet http: //ro. espacenet. com/ Available data sets Level 1: EP last 24 months Level 1: WO last 24 months Level 1: RO patents Level 1: DE, BE GB, . . Level 2: Worldwide ALL 23

The European Patent Office access to esp@cenet Why http: //ro. espacenet. com/ ? • National language for help files • National language for screenshots • National helpdesk esp_info@osim. ro • National data sets (level 1) • National language for search terms 24

The European Patent Office access to esp@cenet Why http: //ro. espacenet. com/ ? 25

The European Patent Office access to esp@cenet Why http: //ro. espacenet. com/ ? 26

The European Patent Office access to esp@cenet WELCOME 27

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Quick Search

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Quick Search EP Level 1: 24 months Level 2: Worldwide WO Level 1: 24 months 29

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Quick Search Results: 753 ? 753 Patents from Albert Einstein ? l 30

The European Patent Office Compact list to display 30 documents searching esp@cenet Quick Search Results: 360 ? Where is the rest ? 360 Patents from Albert Einstein ? 31

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Quick Search Still alive ? Publication 2006 32

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Quick Search Hands On Emilian Bratu: founder of the Romanian school of Chemical Engineering Ion St. Basgan, drilling wells with sonic vibrations Alain Pompidou : President EPO Anastase Dragomir : ejection seat Donald Duck: Cartoon hero "Hawkins Steven", "Steven Hawkins", Steven Hawkins Promat 33

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Quick Search Hands On Default Boolean AND function between keywords 34

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Quick Search More searching • daimler NOT chrysler • einstein NOT albert • journal* Truncation: journals, journalistic, . . • wom? ? ? 0 or 3 characters women, woman, womb, . . . • solar power "solar power" • (daimler and chrysler)not ag 35

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Quick Search Conclusion • Quick and dirty search • Beware of the results, mostly all or nothing • Limited functionality and use • Confusing mixtures of documents • Maximum 4 words, default AND 36

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Number Search

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Number Search 38

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Number Search 39

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Number Search - Application number • Number assigned when application is published • Format: mostly country code (2 letters) + year of filing (4 digits) + number (maximum 7 digits) • Leading zeroes will be added, fixed length 13 • Exceptions: see help files: FR, HU, MX, WO • Examples: GB 19950008026 WO 1997 GB 20509 (exception) RO 20050000834 = RO 2005834 GR 19830073274 JP 19970517408 T (exception) EP 19970940263 40

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Number Search - Publication number • Number assigned when application is published • Format: mostly country code (2 letters) + serial number (1 to 12 digits) • Leading zeroes will be added • Exceptions: see help files: US , WO • Examples: US 2004046892 (10 digits) WOYYnnnnn (exception, until 2002) WOYYnnnnnn (exception, until 2004) WOYYYYnnnnnn (exception, now) RO 120386 EP 1 = EP 000001 41

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Number Search - Priority number • Number assigned when priority is claimed • Format: mostly country code (2 letters) + year of filing (4 digits) + number (maximum 7 digits), same format as application number • Leading zeroes will be added • Exceptions: see help files: US , WO 42

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Number Search -NPL reference number • NPL: Non Patent Literature • What is it ? Printed or non-printed (URL) reference technically relevant for granting procedure • Conditions: should be cited in EPO search report, AND will probably be classified according ECLA • Mostly only bibliographical data available (copyright) • Format: XP + 9 digits • Leading zeroes will be added • Examples: XP 1 = XP 00001 XP 000123456 43

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Number Search Hands On EP 1000000 US 1 RO 1 XP 000722905 XP 002385615 WO 1999 US 07427 Why 4 results ? ep 1 ep 2 44

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Number Search Conclusion • Quick and dirty search • Sometimes complicated number formats • Check help files ! • Beware of the results, understand what you are searching • Very forgiving search mask, fuzzy search • Limited functionality and use • Confusing mixtures of documents • Maximum 4 terms, default OR 45

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Number Search Example of XP Only bibliographic data, reference to document relevant for the examination. 46

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Classification Search

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Classification search 48

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Classification search Enter keyword (s) Maximum 4 49

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Classification search Enter ECLA classification symbol 50

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Classification search 51

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Classification search Copy retrieved ECLA code into "Advanced" search mask 52

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Classification search Conclusions • ECLA: extension of IPC classification • Classification is done by EPO examiners • Continuous revisions • 134. 000 subdivisions • Efficient search on technical subject • The first classified document steers the whole family • IPC: International Patent Classification • Classification is done by publishing office • Revisions: planned every 3 months • 70. 000 subdivisions • Efficient search on technical subject worldwide 53

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Advanced Search

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Advanced search Keep in mind what data base you are searching in ! It will affect your results. "Same" as Quick Search Same as Number Search YYYY or YYYYMMDD John Smith, British Aerospace, Same as Applicant See Classfication search 55

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Advanced search 56

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Advanced search 57

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Advanced search TOO many results? Refine search 58

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Advanced search Add search terms Limit publication year Default OR function 59

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Advanced search Workable list 60

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Advanced search Conclusions • Strong and flexible search tool • Possibility to narrow down results to technical field • Work around for "date range" • Use of Boolean operators • And functions between separate fields 61

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet Rules and limitations • Maximum 4 terms per field • Maximum 21 search terms and 20 operators per mask • Search terms must be in English (level 2) • AND is default operator between search fields • Truncation limitations : *, ? (see help files) • No "date range" search • Not all documents have English abstracts and titles • Not all documents have ECLA codes • Not all documents have full set of bibliographical data • Documents > pages can not be printed/saved in 1 go • No statistical analysis possible • No search history is provided 62

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results 1 document per family, no double inventions De-doubling on the fly, maximum 500 accessible Save document in "My patents list", maximum 20 Open record by clicking on the title 63

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results Identical invention, same priority Same family, one common priority What documents cite this invention ? Only EP and Euro-PCT, Link to Register and online file inspection. Complete dossier of application, most communications, most documents, English abstract of representative document 64

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results Inpadoc patent family 3 applications having at least 1 priority in common 65

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results Citing documents Famous "ONCO Mouse" application Many "Citing documents" 66

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results European Register Complete file inspection via European Register, on-line file inspection; EPOLINE Many documents Many opposition Many appeal procedures 67

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results on-line file inspection 68

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results My patents list: patents I want to keep track of without the need of searching them again. Cookie based, saved on your PC 69

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results Description, what the patent is about in written in. . . . "human language". 70

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results Claims, "soul" of a patent, written by lawyers for lawyers ? Translation of description into French, Spanish, German. More languages in the pipeline. . . 71

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results The drawings 72

The European Patent Office Print current page searching esp@cenet The results Save or print full document ONLY if less then 50 pages Save current page 73

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results 74

The European Patent Office searching esp@cenet The results Open and print or save. PDF reader is needed. Free download from: www. adobe. com 75

The European Patent Office search esp@cenet The results Full document view 76

The European Patent Office search esp@cenet The results Legal status information. Pre and post grant. Post grant comes from designated countries. 77

The European Patent Office new features

new features The European Patent Office • Advanced IPC searching • Translation of description and claims • Link to register and on-line file inspection • List of citing documents Future new features • Give us your ideas. . . espacenetmarketing@epo. org opus@epo. org espacenet@epo. org 79

The European Patent Office Commercial Break esp@cenet forum

esp@cenet forum The European Patent Office 81

esp@cenet forum The European Patent Office • What it is • How to join (for free and with no obligation!) • > 3500 registered users • > 1 million visits 82

The European Patent Office advanced example

advanced example The European Patent Office • Keywords first you have to find them! • Example: the case of air conditioning systems for passenger transport vehicles, bus, coach 84

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses www. howstuffworks. com Keywords: (from www. howstuffworks. com) 85

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses Keywords: (from www. howstuffworks. com) Air Conditioning Coils Refrigerant Compressor Expansion Valve 86

The European Patent Office Much too many result to work with Double your search power by using a classification search. 87

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses Enter search term in classification keyword field Relevant ? Copy into advance search mask. Or NOT ? ? ? 88

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses Click on ECLA code to open subdivisions 89

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses 90

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses 91

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses 92

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses refrigerant not (CFC or clorofluorocarbon) (kills the ozon. . . ) 93

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses Workable volume of patent documents 94

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses Further restriction by adding publication number country code. Show only EP and US patents 95

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses Reduced to 12 Open document 96

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses 97

The European Patent Office advanced example Air conditioning systems for buses • Find ECLA code using up to 4 keywords • You still have 4 Keywords left! 4+4 8 • Combine several ECLA codes to work with cross disciplinary technical areas. 98

The European Patent Office esp@cenet Commercial Break esp@cenet assistant

The European Patent Office 100

The European Patent Office FAQ Can I do a proximity search? • proximity no, but string yes • "George Smith" • "polymerase chain reaction" • "time of flight" • "Albert Einstein" 101

The European Patent Office FAQ Can I search date ranges? • No, you can not enter 2002 2004 • 4 consecutive date inputs concatenated by OR 102

FAQ The European Patent Office What's the difference between the databases ? What is difference between the searchable data bases? • Worldwide complete set of all documents • RO national collection • EP published the last 24 months • WO WP published the last 24 months 103

The European Patent Office FAQ What's the coverage? • What is the coverage? • How can I find out more? Follow link in helpfiles http: //patentinfo. european-patentoffice. org/_resources/data/pdf/global_patent_ data_coverage. pdf 104

FAQ The European Patent Office Which records are included and why? Rules for inclusion • Representative family member - English language • English language abstract • English language title • Otherwise original language document • Last in first out! 105

FAQ The European Patent Office How Frequently are the databases updated? How frequently are the data updated? • Daily • New EP DE GB and WO are uploaded on publication day • Large upload 14. 01 CET on Wednesdays • (Good to avoid) 106

The European Patent Office Exercises

The European Patent Office Exercises What is that thing? Is it patented. . . ? • The B-guard. . . • The B-cup. . . • The B-careful. . . Banana Guard, Baby Cup, anyway up cup Be careful, anti-mouse device 108

The European Patent Office Exercises What is that thing? Is it patented. . . ? Search for relevant ECLA code and relevant patents 109

The European Patent Office Exercises Find the patent. • Patent filed by Aresa Biodetection. Patent 111 pages Article in Nature 3 pages 110

The European Patent Office Exercises A mouse that lived for 60 years ? US 1941341 111

The European Patent Office Exercises Another mouse? Search the patent 112

The European Patent Office Exercises Find the patent. • In the early 1930’s Charles Darrow was • unemployed and broke. • In 1935 he invented something that would eventually make him and you a millionaire. • Or maybe not ; -) • Find the corresponding patent! 113

The European Patent Office www. espacenet. com espacenet@epo. org espacenetmarketing@epo. org http: //forum. espacenet. com 114

The European Patent Office esp@cenet is a registered trade mark of the European Patent Organisation © European Patent Office 2007 All rights reserved 115