Find Patents

This completely revised and expanded edition recognises the growing importance of patent systems and documentation from Asia, South America and Africa. The most prominent patent systems from these regions are treated individually, together with revisions to existing country coverage and an overview of IP developments in general. This is an essential reference tool for librarians, information specialists, data analysts and others seeking to use patent information either at the document level or in bulk.

This second edition provides a systematic introduction to the work and views of the emerging patent-search research and innovation communities as well as an overview of what has been achieved and, perhaps even more importantly, of what remains to be achieved. It revises many of the contributions of the first edition and adds a significant number of new ones. The first part "Introduction to Patent Searching" includes two overview chapters on the peculiarities of patent searching and on contemporary search technology respectively, and thus sets the scene for the subsequent parts. The second part on "Evaluating Patent Retrieval" then begins with two chapters dedicated to patent evaluation campaigns, followed by two chapters discussing complementary issues from the perspective of patent searchers and from the perspective of related domains, notably legal search. "High Recall Search" includes four completely new chapters dealing with the issue of finding only the relevant documents in a reasonable time span. The last (and with six papers the largest) part on "Special Topics in Patent Information Retrieval" covers a large spectrum of research in the patent field, from classification and image processing to translation. Lastly, the book is completed by an outlook on open issues and future research. Several of the chapters have been jointly written by intellectual property and information retrieval experts. However, members of both communities with a background different to that of the primary author have reviewed the chapters, making the book accessible to both the patent search community and to the information retrieval research community. It also not only offers the latest findings for academic researchers, but is also a valuable resource for IP professionals wanting to learn about current IR approaches in the patent domain.

Inventor? Find out if you're the first to file a patent, online and in the library In the past, if you wanted to assess the novelty of an idea, you had to wade through the patent database at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in Virginia -- or hire a lawyer to do a patent search for $500 and up. The cost and inconvenience of these searches often meant that good ideas were left to rot on the vine. In Patent Searching Made Easy, find the plain-English information you need to: verify the patent status of an idea search Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries use online patent search services A physicist, engineer, and patent searching expert, author David Hitchcock gives you the vocabulary, instructions and strategies you need to search for a patent quickly and easily. He explains how the PTO classifies different types of inventions, so that you can assign your idea to the right class, compare it to related ideas, and then determine if it's novel enough to qualify for a patent. Patent Searching Made Easy shows you how do patent searches yourself, on the Internet, at little or no cost. Plus, you'll learn how to: prepare for online searches with the right hardware, software and computer skills access online patent searching resources narrow online searches with keywords and Boolean logic perform database searches at Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs) do microfiche searches at PTDLs search fee-based patent databases on the Internet search international patent offices, and do advanced searches at the PTO and PTDL. Written for both inventors and business owners interested in expanding their product line through the license, distribution or manufacture of other people's ideas, Patent Searching Made Easy is the easiest way for you to determine the answer to that all-important question, "Am I the first?"