(c) magister ltd, may 1998 overview of commercial electronic information sources stephen adams,...

(c) Magister Ltd, May 1998

Overview of commercial electronic information sources

Stephen Adams,

Magister Ltd., GB


Topics

• Types of information source

• Examples of each type

• Comparison between sources

• Choosing an information source for a specific job


Types of information source

• Commercial online suppliers– examples ; STN International, Questel-Orbit,

Dialog.• each supplier (HOST) provides one or more

FILES

• CD-ROM and other disk-based sources– examples ; ESPACE, CASSIS

• Internet sources– examples ; QPAT-US, Patent Explorer, IBM


Online file categories

Multi-country,multi-technology

Single country,multi-technology

Multi-country,single technology

Single country,single technology


Online file categories

Derwent WPIINPADOCEDOC

CLAIMS (US)PATDPA, PATOS-DE (DE)FPAT (FR)EPAT, PATOS-EP (EP)PCTPAT , PATOS-WO (WO)JAPIO, PATOLIS (JP)CHINAPATS (CN), etc.

Chemical Abstracts - chemistryAPIPAT - petroleum industryFSTA - food scienceCAB - agricultureINSPEC - engineeringPharm - pharmaceuticals

BioBusiness (US)


Multi-country, multi-technology

• World Patent Index (Derwent Information)– weekly update– 36 current countries + “Research Disclosure”

and “International Technology Abstracts”– earliest coverage from 1963

• Main strengths :– Subject searching (deep-indexed with quality

English abstracts for most records)



• INPADOC (European Patent Office)– weekly update– 65 countries + legal status data for 22– coverage from c. 1973 for most countries– no abstracts

• Main strengths : – family searching– speed of updating



• EDOC (European Patent Office)– monthly update– approximately 17 current countries– earliest coverage from 1877 (Germany)– numeric data + ECLA classes only

• Main strengths :– unique old family data– some unique current countries / document

kinds


Multi-country, single technology

• Currently abstracting– APIPAT

– Chemical Abstracts

– MPHARM + Pharm

– FSTA

– Foods Adlibra

– CABI

• Subject matterPetroleum &

petrochemicalsChemistryPharmaceuticalsFood scienceFoodAgriculture



• Currently abstracting– Aluminium Industry

Abstracts

– APTIC

– Energy Science & Technology

– FLUIDEX

– DGENE

– Metadex

• Subject matterAluminium industry

news and researchAnti-pollution (EPA)Energy technology

(US DoE)Hydraulic

engineeringGenetic engineeringMetallurgy



• Currently abstracting– Paperchem

– Pira

– Rapra

– Telegen

– Water Resources

– Weldasearch

– World Surface Coatings Abstracts

– etc.

• Subject matterPaper and pulpPaper, print,

packagingRubber and plasticsBiotechnologyWater WeldingPaints and coating

technology



• No longer abstracting– INSPEC

– Beilstein

– BIOSIS

• Subject matter Physics / engineering Chemistry Biology


Single country, multi-technology

• CN : Chinapats• DE : PATDPA, PATOS-DE, PATDD• EP : EPAT, EPATFULL, PATOS-EP, EPO Register• FR : FPAT• IT : ITALPAT• JP : JAPIO, PATOLIS• US : CLAIMS, USPAT, USPATFULL• WO : PCTPAT, PATOS-WO


Single country, single technology

• Biobusiness : – US patents only in the biological sciences– File is principally geared towards the

commercial development of biology– The main BIOSIS file contains some patents

from the mid-1980’s but is not updated.


CD-ROM and other disk based sources

• Initially used as a means of saving space (“espace”) when storing documents

• Early search capability was crude, and limited to one disk at a time

• Current capability allows better searching, sometimes across more than one disk

• Fewer specialised computing components required in order to work properly


CD-ROM and other disk based sources

• Characteristics :– Well-defined technical standards for CD-

ROM file formats– Products based upon higher storage capacity

disks (DVD) starting to come on stream– Wide range of compatible products as a result

of patent office collaboration (EP, JP, US)


CD-ROM and other disk-based sources

Facsimile documentse.g. ESPACE

Bibliographic datae.g. ACCESS, CASSIS,GlobalPat

Hybrid productse.g. MicroPatent “TOPS”

Linked productse.g. Derwent “Derpict”


Facsimile products

• Provide a good means for accumulating a document archive– high quality paper copies– correction and supplementary documents

• Limited use for retrospective searching

• Very useful tool for current awareness


Bibliographic products

• Large volumes of data on one disk– e.g. ACCESS-EP search across many years

of data– cross-references to facsimile products

• Mostly “front page”-type data +/- drawing ; a few full text (ASCII) products

• Relatively slow updating compared to corresponding online files


Hybrid products

• MicroPatent’s “TOPS” system– CD-ROM based search across WO, EP, US

documents– electronic transfer of “hit” documents to

MicroPatent Internet site for delivery of complete documents


Linked products

• Derwent Information “DAJ on CD-ROM”– only available to Derwent subscribers– can be used for current awareness

• limited search capability, delivers facsimiles of Derwent Documentation Abstracts each week

– can be used as archive of abstracts• online search of Derwent WPI file

• download accession numbers

• locate and print out corresponding abstracts


Internet sources

• Initially, mostly a new form of document delivery

• Now, developing increasingly sophisticated search capability– BUT requires more complex software and

reliable telecommunications in order to work properly


Internet sources

• Characteristics :– Many new companies have entered the patent

information market– National patent offices have started to market

their information directly to the public– Much of the information is “raw data”– A small (but increasing) proportion of the

data is unique to the Internet


Internet sources

• No current Web server allows simultaneous searching across more than one country– Multiple individual files mounted on

Derwent’s Patent Explorer and MicroPatent’s PatentWeb

– IBM’s Patent Server experimenting with additional countries ; currently US only.

– EPO’s DIPS project may permit this type of searching


Comparison factors

A) Technology & cost – Computer hardware & software requirements– Networking / telecommunications needs– Capital investment– Running costs– Difficulty of budgeting (predictability of

costs)

• Low = good, high = bad


Technology and cost factors

0

1

2

3

4

5

Hardw are / softw arerequirements

IT infrastructure / netw ork needs

Initial investmentRunning costs

Diff iculty of budgeting

Web

CD-ROM

Online


Comparison factors

B) Search features– Range of sources available– Command language power– User acceptability (amount of training

required)– Level of support available to users

• High = good, low = bad


Search features

0

1

2

3

4

5Command language pow er

User support available

User acceptability

Range of sources available

Web

CD-ROM

Online


Choosing an information source

• Search classification– Novelty (patentability)– Infringement (“freedom of action”)– Validity & opposition– State-of-the-art– Alerting (current awareness)– Family & equivalent– Citation


Novelty

• Subject matter search focused upon the specific details of the invention

• Requires :– multi-country source (essential)– multi-technology source (preferable)– detailed subject indexing and search features– patent and non-patent literature– rapid updating (up-to-date content)


Infringement

• Limited to specific geographic area(s) and to claims of valid, in-force patents only

• Requires :– one or more single-country sources

• including appropriate regional patent systems

– multi-technology sources (preferable)– detailed subject search facilities + ready

access to exact text of claims– links to legal status of retrieved records


Validity & opposition

• Similar to novelty, but limited to matter published before the priority date

• Requires :– multi-country, multi-technology sources– extensive subject indexing (full-text is

helpful)– patent and non-patent literature– search features allowing date limitation

(useful)


State-of-the-art

• Review of a defined subject area, perhaps before commencing research

• Requires :– good indexing for broad subject matter– multi-country coverage– good access to complete texts

• the preamble of patents can serve as mini-reviews

– (sometimes) statistical analysis capability


Alerting searches

• Ongoing awareness of new patents in specific industries or by specific companies

• Requires :– reliable high speed updating– adequate broad-based subject capability

(typically classifications)– standardised formats for quick scanning


Family & equivalent

• Identifies the geographic extent of patent protection and/or texts in preferred languages

• Requires :– accurate and timely collation of family data– intellectual added-value (for legal variations)– extensive time coverage (publication of

family members may spread over many years)


Citations

• In support of other types of search (particularly validity) or as an exercise in statistical evaluation of competitors

• Requires :– complete data sets (not yet routinely

available)– highly standardised data fields (e.g. assignee)– easy access to related files (for examination

of subject) or statistical software (for analysis)

(c) magister ltd, may 1998 overview of commercial electronic information sources stephen adams,...

Documents

single country

recordsc magister

gbc magister

ibmc magister

updatingc magister

patoswoc magister

coating technologyc

specific jobc magister