How to Search for Patents LSM3256 TROPICAL HORTICULTURE Loh Mee Lan Science Resource Librarian, Patent Resource Team Leader (Powerpoint Presentation : http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/patents) 27 Feb 2017

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Purpose of Powerpoint Presentation Introduction to Patents How to Read a Patent Document How to Search for Patents This Powerpoint Presentation is a basic introduction on searching patents.

Introduction to Patents What is a Patent? The Inventor The Government Authority others from making, using or selling the invention for a term of years. The inventor gives the public a full and complete disclosure of the invention with a teaching of how it works. Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches You can say it’s like a contract between the inventor and the government authority. The authority in Singapore that issues patent is the Intellectual Property office of Singapore. When a patent is granted, you have the right to stop others from making, using or selling the invention for a term of years. To be given this rights, the inventor must give a complete disclosure of his/her invention. Patents is one type of intellectual property. The others examples of IP include copyright, trademarks, etc.

Patentability & Types of Patents Introduction to Patents Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Patentability Types of Patents Novelty Utility Non-Obvious Utility Plants Design (Registered Design) You may have invented something and you think it’s wonderful. You feel there is a market for your product and you want to stop others from copying or selling your invention. But what makes an invention patentable? Here are some general principles on patentability and types of patents. Please see Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) on “What’s a patent?” for more information (http://ipos.gov.sg/AboutIP/TypesofIPWhatisIntellectualProperty/Whatisapatent.aspx) (1) Patents are broadly divided into 3 types – utility, plant and design (registered designs). (See IPOS website for more details : http://www.ipos.gov.sg/AboutIP/TypesofIPWhatisIntellectualProperty/Whatisapatent.aspx)

Introduction to Patents Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Same invention can be filed in one or more countries Patent protection Has limited lifespan Typically 20 years from application Long process May take several years for patents to be granted. Invention may first published as patent application before granted as patent. The same invention can be filed in one or more countries. Filing for patents is very expensive and it is often a business decision to decide which countries or jurisdiction you want to file for patents protection. Patent may first be published as a patent application. This is not the same as granted patent. Patent application does not has the same legal protection as granted patents. If the patent is granted, the granted patent document is published. Thus, there are two documents published for the same patent, a patent application as well as a granted patent document. Although patent protection is typically 20 years from application, renewal fees must be paid. Failure to pay fees may result in lapse of patent protection. Once the patent lapsed or expired, it may be freely available for anyone to use. FAQ : Patents (WIPO - http://www.wipo.int/patents/en/faq_patents.html)

Patent : a Simple Illustration Introduction to Patents Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Invention of a knife with sharp blade Person B: Inventor of folding knife and has obtained a patent in USA Patent Expires : 31 Dec 2022 Not able to make folding knife because of A’s patent (unless pay royalties or buy over patent) Able to make folding knife after 30 June 2017 freely Person A : Inventor of knife and has obtained a patent in USA Makes and sells knife Patent Expires : 30 June 2017 Let look a simple hypothetical example. Person A invented knife with the sharp blade and had obtained a patent which expires on 30 June 2017. Person B had invented an improvement to the knife by making it foldable. However, he is unable to manufacture his folding knife as it infringes on Person A’s patent. He can either apply for license or pay royalties fees to Person A for the use of his technology to manufacture the sharp blade. Or he can wait till the expiry of person A’s patent before he can manufacture his knife freely. Everyone else: Able to make knife with sharp blade after 30 June 2017 freely Able to make folding knife after 31 Dec 2022 freely

Usefulness of Searching Patents Introduction to Patents Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Generate Ideas for Projects/Research Reduce Wastage on Duplicating Research Gain Access to Technical Information Not Published Anywhere Else As a students, you can use patents to generate ideas for your projects or research. Or search patents to see what have been done before and not duplicate the research work that been done. Patent information is often freely available on the Internet.

Introduction to Patents Did you know that there was a patent granted for NUS Libraries Book Bin? Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Just to show something of interest to you. Do you know that a patent was granted in Singapore to one of the NUS librarians for the Book Drop back in 2008. In this patent document, the patent application was in July 2006. The patent application was published in February 2008 but the patent was only granted with effect from 14/05/2010. The patent lapsed on 20 July 2011. You can search in IPOS website (2) for details of the actual patent document. As you can see here, the patent process takes many years.

How to Read a Patent Document In the next section, I will highlight to some features that are unique to patents

What is on a Patent Document? How to Read a Patent Document Patent Cover Page (e.g. of US Patent) Bibliographic Data Contains key patent data, such as patent number, title, list of prior art, patent class, name of inventor, assignee, filing and issue dates, etc. References cited Abstracts A general description of the technical disclosure provided in the specification Representative Drawing/Diagram Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Usually patents has a cover page which consists of bibliographic information, abstracts or representative drawings

Granted Patent Country Code Title of Patent Kind Code Other patents & publications Claim This is an example of a granted patent. Country Code You will see the patent number with the country indicated in front of the number. Kind Code The Alphabet indicated after the number is the Kind Code. It gives an indication of the kind of patent. For example, if you come across a journal article with “US7,249,913 B2”, you know that this is a granted US patent (http://wwwcan .uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/electronic-business-center/kind-codes-included-uspto-patent). For patent application which are published, often it is indicated with “A” kind code. However, it is best to check with the individual country’s patent office to see the kind codes used for that country. For more information on country code, kind code, please visit the NUS Libraries’ Patent Libguide (http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/c.php?g=145610&p=954737) Find related patents using the information found in the References Cited Field Abstract References cited

What is on a Patent Document? How to Read a Patent Document Description/Specification Includes background, detailed summary and description of the invention Teaches what the invention is, what problems it solves and how it works Claims Define the legal boundaries of the invention, exclusively owned by the patentee for the term of the patent, e.g. US7,657,849 (https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US7657849. pdf) Registered design or design patent has only 1 claim (e.g. http://www.google.com/patents/USD677664?dq=patent:D677664&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VCLRU bHMGMWJrQfT2IGwAQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA) Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Next, it will give descriptions or details like how it works. Lastly, there is a section on claims. This defines the legal boundaries of the invention.

Patent Application - US This is an example of published patent application. Please note that not all published application will always lead to being granted. Sometimes, the process just stops at the application stage.

Example of Granted Patent How to Read a Patent Document US4,244145 (https://www.google.com/patents/US4244145?dq=%28indoor+or+house%29+and+plants&hl=en&sa=X&ei=V9D2VIbMApGhugSy9IHYCQ&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAg) Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches This is an example of a granted patent. This is a relatively old patent. You will notice that there is no kind code indicated in this patent document.

How to Search Patents Using Internet Sources and Patsnap In this final section, we learn how to search for patents. Using Internet Sources and Patsnap

Searching Patents To Generate Ideas Brainstorm ideas Think out of the box Find concepts or keywords to describe the ideas that you have Use these concepts/keywords to search in patent databases Explore what has already been done before Are there any possible enhancements/improvements to existing products? Are there inventors or companies that you know who are in this field? Do some research on them and see what they have done before or currently doing Other Factors to Consider Who will likely to use your product? How big is the market? Know what is the technology trend, etc. Here are some questions to consider when you want to use patents to generate ideas Searching patents are just only one aspect, there are other factors to consider if you want to develop your ideas further, e.g. commercializing your products

Search Process How to Search Patents Artificial Grass Change keywords? What are you looking for? Identify keywords/concepts Identify search engine/database Search in Database Look at Results Satisfied? End Artificial Grass Artificial Grass and landscap* Databases e.g. Patsnap, The Lens, Google Patents, etc. Apply search techniques Relevant results? Change keywords? Change database? Change search techniques? No Yes Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search for Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches In summary, in order to retrieve a comprehensive results in your search, you need to look at several factors like identify the right keywords/concepts, identify the best database or search engine to use, etc. Whether you are searching in Patsnap or any databases e.g. Scopus, Web of Science, try to identify appropriate keywords and databases and apply the correct search techniques. You may need to search more than one databases to get the best results.

Keywords in the articles Keywords not in the articles Boolean Operators How to Search Patents Keywords in the articles Keywords not in the articles - Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search for Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Bed Frame Frame Bed Bed Frame AND OR NOT Bed Bed frame Bed Frame Bed frame In most databases, you can combine different concepts together in your search using NOT, AND, OR search operators. NOT You want information containing BED, but not those with FRAME or BED FRAME. Sometimes, it is called AND NOT operator. Using this search operator would retrieve fewer records/results. AND You want information containing BED FRAME, not those with just BED, FRAME. Using this search operator would retrieve fewer records/results. OR You want information containing BED, FRAME, BED FRAME. Using this search operator would retrieve more records/results. However, it may include irrelevant results as the search terms may occur in the same record but not necessarily what you want! Bed Frame Frame Bed frame

Patent Databases on Internet How to Search Patents Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search for Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Free Patent databases available on Internet. Visit the NUS Libraries’ Patent Libguide (Internet Sources Tab) for more details. Below are some suggested databases: Espacenet Google Patents The Lens

The Lens (https://www.lens.org/lens/) How to Search Patents Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Coverage of The Lens Let’s try searching using different concepts Simple Search Enter the following terms Indoor plants House plants Combine the 2 concepts (indoor OR house) AND plants Let’s use “The Lens” database to do some searches. Searches done as at 25 February 2017 The Lens Indoor plants – 30,186 records House plants – 326,290 records (Indoor OR House) AND plants – 343,136 records

The Lens (https://www.lens.org/lens/) How to Search Patents Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Coverage of The Lens Let’s try searching using different concepts Phrase Search Using Quotation Marks “Indoor plants” Limit Results/Refine Search Refine Search (left of screen) Let’s use “The Lens” database to do some searches. Searches done as at 25 February 2017 The Lens Indoor plants – 30,186 records House plants – 326,290 records (Indoor OR House) AND plants – 343,136 records “Indoor plant” – 1258 records (indoor plant as a phrase) For a set of search results, you can limit your search results using one of the “Refine Function” on left of the Search Results screen. E.g. By Document Type – Granted Patents By Cited Articles For help on how to search, go to https://www.lens.org/support/

grass landscap* turf fake mat carpet Searching Tip : Performing Keyword Searches (http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/ilp/pat/gui/Patsnap_topicguide_Aug2014.pdf) Identify Key Concepts and Keywords List down keywords and synonyms for each concept for “use of artificial grass for landscape purposes” How to Search Patents Truncation Symbols (Database specific) ? - can be used to replace one individual character * - can be used to replace a string of characters at the end of a word Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 artificial grass landscap* synthetic turf fake mat carpet Besides combining the words using AND, OR, NOT Boolean Operators, you also have to think about synonyms. First break down the topic you want to search into different concepts. For the above topic on “use of artificial grass for landscape purposes”, you may come up with 3 concepts, “artificial”, “grass”, “landscape”. For each concept, try to identify alternative terms/words. Combine similar terms using “OR” operator. We will use this search statement in one of the databases that NUS Libraries subscribed. Search Topic : ((artificial OR synthetic OR fake OR carpet) AND (grass OR turf OR mat) AND landscap*)

Patents Libguide (http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/patents) The NUS Libraries has a library guide or libguide on patents (http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/patents). If you cannot remember where to look for relevant information, go to this guide. If you have not registered for a Patsnap account, you can login as Guest. Otherwise, login your account. There are guide on how to search by keywords and by patent classification using Patsnap.

Patsnap How to Search for Patents Search Statement Sections Introduction to patents >> Patentability & Types of Patents How to Read a Patent Document >> What is on a Patent Document? How to Search Patents >> Search Process >> Boolean Operators >> Keyword Searches Search Statement ((artificial OR synthetic OR fake OR carpet) AND (grass OR turf OR mat) AND landscap*) ((artificial OR synthetic OR fake OR carpet) AND (grass OR turf OR mat) AND landscap*) Results retrieved as at 25 Feb 2017 ((((artificial OR synthetic OR fake OR carpet) AND (grass OR turf OR mat) AND landscap*))) -6,574  documents Refine search by adding stadium (no truncation) = 304 results Looking For Other Relevant Patents 1st Search Click on #1 US6219965 Plant growth sheet structure…. View full record, click on cites and cited by Click on citation or citation map tab Marking and Adding Records to List 2nd search Go back to results set (click on “<“ arrow next to US6219965) Mark a few records and click “Add to Workspace” (Click “Create New List” if you want to create a new workspace to store your favourite list of records) 3rd search View record #19 to show IPC codes US20150033626A1Relocatable Turf Another way to search patents is to use patent classification. Mouse over the codes, if you think it is appropriate, you can search further using this codes. Please also refer to the guide on searching by patent classification codes (Patsnap : Expand Your Search Using Patent Classification Codes ) found in the Patents Libguide.

Patsnap – Search by Patent Classification Click on #19 US 20150033626A1 Relocatable turf Highlight IPC code E01C13/08 Another way to search patents is to use patent classification. What you can do is to mouse over the codes, if you think it is appropriate, you can search further using this codes. US20150033626A1Relocatable Turf

Patent Resource Team NUS Libraries Ms Loh Mee Lan (Patent Team Leader, Science Resource Librarian, slblohml@nus.edu.sg) Mr Iftikhar Hayat (Patent Team Member, Engineering Resource Librarian, clbih@nus.edu.sg) Ms Stephanie Vericca Budiman (Patent Team Member, Design & Environment Resource Librarian, clbsvb@nus.edu.sg)

Thank You!