Digest XVI - March 2018
- by Jane List
- •
- 20 Apr, 2018
Section I: Patent data: content and search
Patent content and search
The Japan Patent Office (JPO) published an authority file of document publication numbers available digitally from 1993 to December 2017. The JPO has also released enhancements to its J-PlatPat database. The new search functions added are 1): the possibility to join patent classifications and key words in the same search, 2) Proximity search operators 3) Text search in English of international patent gazettes, 4) more content e.g., domestic publications of patent applications, and 5) a greater number of search results can be handled. Minesoft’s ‘Citation Explorer’ module now allows the tracking of citations at the family level as well as for an individual document. Citations can be tracked backwards and forwards. The Citation Tree viewer has also been enhanced to show backwards and forwards citations. Citation Explorer is a global patent citation database with coverage of EPO, US, CN, JP and KR citations and which now includes NPL citation data. Data can also now be exported for further analysis. Software for Intellectual Property GmbH announced the results view for Invention Navigator has been improved allowing display of the results in an image view for rapid evaluation.
Patent Information Analysis
CAS published an interesting study on the IP focus of several countries, based on analysis of their own content. It’s a nice infographic but some more background to the data used to create the images and draw the conclusions would be appreciated. LexisNexis introduced PatentAdvisor ETA its software which takes a look at US patent examiner performance to enable applicants to work more efficiently with the USPTO.
Section II: Life Sciences content
Conferences database
ProQuest Dialog has loaded the Northern Light Life Sciences Conferences Abstract collection, which contains over 2 million abstracts and posters from 3,800 life sciences conferences. Coverage dates from 2010. The database is updated daily and content is available within three weeks of appearing on conference websites. Patent searchers will know that conference papers can often be the first time a new compound or invention is mentioned in public – - often once the patent is filed, but before it is publish, so these publications are a great source of competitive intelligence.
Section III: IPO Office News
Inter office meetings and agreements
An EPO validation agreement with Cambodia entered into force in March. This stretches the boundaries of Europe into Asia, permitting applicants whose patents have been granted at the EPO to gain protection in Cambodia! KIPO has been working with UAE (United Arab Emirates) to bring a fully automated industrial property system into operation at the UAE IP office. The JPO and WIPO hosted a meeting to celebrate 30 years of the ‘Japan Funds-in Trust’. 54 countries participated.
Individual office news
The DPMA (German Patent Office) held a user forum this month. 150 people attended the day to learn about DPMA developments such as the digital service DPMAdirektPro, and to review trends in patent filings in Germany where unsurprisingly inventions related to autonomous vehicles were on the increase in 2017. The EPO published its annual statistics reporting on numbers of filings, applications, grants, and its ‘production’ in the form of searches, examinations, and oppositions delivered. In 2017 3.7 % of all EP patents granted were opposed, and of these 73% were upheld or amended. Paving the way for new uses of patent information, potentially for integration with other data, the EPO published its data as Linked Open Data. The data set uses Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) to identify patent applications, publications and other data points, the data can be accessed via API or downloaded in bulk. The EPO published a call for proposals under its academic research programme. Closing date is 30th April. The JPO announced new examination guidelines for computer software related inventions will come into effect from April 1st. The JPO also published the 2017 trial decisions (appeals against the examiner’s decision of refusal), translated into English. The USPTO has revealed a new design for the cover for issued patents, to begin with patent 10 million, which it is expected to issue during 2018.
Section III: Company news, Conferences and Events
Caroline Birkle has been appointed as the General Manager of Clarivate Analytics research information management division, Converis. Converis software is used by librarians to understand usage of collections including Web of Science, Derwent Innovation Index, and InCites. In 2016 IBM Watson built in the option for its customers to customize their own classification schemes for their own image libraries. And this has improved image retrieval for the customers in the auto industry. Example case studies given were Belron – who use Watson to improve in house communication of automotive glass repair requirements and Volkswagen who are creating a new generation of car manuals for its own customers. Linguamatics are hosting their Spring Text Mining Conference from April 23rd to 25th in Cambridge, UK. There will be talks from AbbVie, Bayer, Merck KgaA, Mundipharma, and Novo Nordisk as well as training and updates on I2E. Ethan Eisner became President of Reed Tech in March, taking over from Sam Hardman who has retired.
News tracking provided by Deep SEARCH 9.
To find out more contact: jane@extractinfo.info
