Patent

Information
Keywords Search

Source:
Intellectual Property Office
(IPOPHL)
Lesson 4
Intended Learning Teaching and Assessment
Outcomes (ILOs) Learning Task
At the end of the class, the students Activities
should be able to
(TLAs)
Discuss the different patent
Discussion
search mechanisms
Construct different search Individual
Demonstration
strings Presentation /
Demonstrate knowledge on
the basic search strategy Quiz
Demonstration
applicable to any patent
search
 Patent Search
• Is an iterative process by
which prior inventions are
examined, with the goal of
finding information that bears
close similarity to a given
patent or proposed invention

• Is a search conducted in
patent databases as well as
in the literature available to
check whether any invention
similar to your invention
already exists
Basic Search Mechanisms
Three types of searching techniques used in
conducting prior-art search:

Classification Text
searching searching

Citation
searching
Keyword Based Search
One of the basic strategies

Synonyms, Industry Jargon, legalese or patentese truncations are

used.

Iterative kind of search

Keywords are taken from different parts of the document.

It can be helpful to generate a variety of keywords before beginning

the search.

Avoid broad and generic terms such as “device’’, “process”

“system”, etc. Such terms will tend to bloat your results.

Search strings are modified to converge towards the desired

domain
Keywords

• words which describe

essential technical
features of the invention
Keywords
• can be searched in the
title, abstract,
description or claims
Keywords: Language, Synonyms
and Equivalents

Not all patent documents are

written in English

color vs. colour;

plow vs. plough;
center vs. centre

truck vs. lorry;

backpack vs. rucksack;
diaper vs. nappy; elevator vs. lift
Keywords

• Include synonyms in the

keyword list.
• Search for synonyms
Synonyms e.g. using specialized
dictionaries
• synonyms are taken
from results of search
Keywords

• The keyword list should include

industry specific terminology.
• These terms are particularly
Industry useful because their use may
be limited specifically to a
Jargon particular industry.
• If so, the search results will be
more focused on the
invention.
Keywords

• AI - (Artificial Intelligence) A program designed to respond

"intelligently" to various situations, for example the computer
opponent(s) in a game.
• Android - A popular operating system
Industry or smartphones and tablets, owned by Google.
• Antivirus - Software which protects computers from viruses
Jargon and suchlike. Has to be updated frequently to keep up with the latest
threats, so is usually sold with a subscription which enables you to
download updates from the internet.
• App – (APPlication) Any software used to carry out a particular
task, such as office programs or games, particularly on smartphones and
tablets. Usually downloaded to the device from an online store.
Essentially another word for program.
• Tablet - A portable computer which consists only of a screen,
Examples: usually with no keyboard. It is controlled using a touchscreen. The most
popular is Apple's iPad, but all the major manufacturers are producing
them and they are replacing latops in a lot of situations because they
are so much lighter.
 Legalese / Patentese
• words or technical terms that are a generalization of the original elements

• are invented and defined ad hoc by the patent writers and will generally
not end up in any dictionary or lexicon

• Many of the documents are written by patent attorneys meaning that

the documents are full of legalese.

• To broaden applicability of the patent application, attorneys may use

generic terms instead of industry jargon to describe the invention.

• the formal and technical language of legal

Legalese documents that is often hard to understand.

Patentese • The legal jargon used in patents.

 Legalese / Patentese

• “mouse trap” can also be a

“rodent extermination device.”
Patent Jargon
Patent Jargon
Patent Jargon
Patent Jargon
Patent Jargon
Patent Jargon
 Legalese / Patentese
For "camera" returns these patents that use very different
phrases in place of "camera":
 Photographing optical apparatus (US5727239)
 Image pickup device with facial region detector and method
of synthesizing image including facial region (US7440013)
 Digital photographing device with separate optical distortion
correction for dynamic images and still images (US7265787)
 Image sensing apparatus (US7671896)
 Recording apparatus and method, reproducing apparatus
and method, and program (US8520086)
 Image capturing system, image capturing device, and
image capturing method (US8369701)
 Eye examining instrument with photo-detecting system
(US4257687)
Searching for : “smartphone” patents

Keywords used: cellular phone, mobile phone,

smartphone

RESULT: you won’t be able to retrieve patent

documents that describe a smartphone with a
keyword like
“handheld device”, “portable communication device”,
“portable communication terminal” or “wireless
communication device”
Keywords: Truncation

• Restricts the maximum

Truncation length of strings
or Word
Stemming • Ex: elect* -> electric,
electrical, electricity, etc.

Ooooppps…
take extra care, coz this might include irrelevant words,
such as election, elect, etc.
Keywords: Spelling

vulcanization

Option 1-
vulcanization or
vulcanisation
Option II –
vulcani?ation
Option III – vulcani*

vulcanisation
Keywords: Spelling

color

Option 1-color
or colour
Option II – colo*

colour
Keywords: Phrase Searching

Use quotation marks “” when

searching for a phrase

Examples:
“solar panel”
“electronic cigarette”
Keywords: Boolean
Operators (AND, OR, NOT)

• tennis AND racket: all docs having both

the word tennis and racket

• tennis OR racket: all docs having either

the word tennis or the word racket

• tennis NOT racket: all docs having the

word tennis but not the word racket
Keywords: Boolean
Operators (AND, OR, NOT)
Nesting

A OR B AND C

(A OR B) AND C A OR (B AND C)
Nesting
Keywords: Parenthesis/Brackets

• Used when keywords are nested to clarify

the order of search query elements

• For example, you want to find patent

documents on either red seaweeds or brown
seaweed
 seaweed AND red OR brown  possible that a search
database may confuse the search as (seaweed AND red) OR
brown
 seaweed AND (red OR brown)
Keywords: Parenthesis/Brackets

• Wrong format
– Dog OR cat OR pet AND cage OR
kennel OR housing

• Using proper brackets

– (Dog OR cat OR pet )AND(cage
OR kennel OR housing)
SCOPING THE SEARCH

Properly Generating
Text Queries
EXAMPLE: RFID

A shipping company would like to

improve its logistics management.
You've been asked to perform a search
for inventions related to radio frequency
identification (RFID) tags used to track
the movement of containers.
Key Concepts

Copcept 1: radio frequency identification, RFID

Concept 2: containers
Phrases

Concept 1: “radio frequency identification”,

RFID
Concept 2: containers
Boolean Operators

“radio frequency identification” OR

RFID AND containers

Indicate relationships between concepts

(synonyms and additional concepts)
Nesting

(“radio frequency identification” OR RFID)

AND containers

• Resolve ambiguous logic

Wildcard Operators

(“radio frequency identification” OR RFID)

AND container*

• Include variants (here: plural form)

 mobile phone
• Bad search
– Title/Abstract: ‘mobile phone’

• Poor search
– Description: ‘mobile phone’
– Title/Abstract: electronic device
 mobile phone
• Good search (exhaustive)
– Field search is combination of title, abstract,
claims and specs
– ‘mobile phone’ OR ‘cell phone’ OR ‘cellular phone’
OR ‘hand phone’ OR ‘portable telecommunication
device’ OR ‘portable electronic device’ OR
‘handheld communication device’ OR ‘handheld
electronic device’
– Plurals
 Search string for corrective eyeglass

• What if you need to search for patent docs

about corrective eyeglass?
• Nesting:
– (eyeglass* OR “eye glass*” OR eyewear OR “eye
wear” OR spectacle* OR goggle*) AND (corrective
OR ophthalmic)
– (eyeglass* OR “eye glass*” OR eyewear OR “eye
wear” OR spectacle* OR goggle*) AND (correct*
OR ophthalmic)
SAMPLE INVENTION 1
ADVANCED BIKE SYSTEM

An advanced bicycle system wherein sensors attached to the bicycle

process data and send the output to an electronic device such as a
mobile phone. The electronic device generates and displays the
riding information of the bike in real time. This will enable bikers to
measure parameters such as speed, distance, time, altitude,
elevation, incline, decline, heart rate, power, derailleur settings etc.
A team of cyclists could communicate with each other and share
riding information as the electronic device can be paired with
devices of one or more other cyclists.
Problem-Solution Approach

Problem/Purpose Solution
Function Structure
(essential features)
To ride as a team Measure parameters, Bicycle
Share information Share, Process Sensor
cyclist/rider/riding Electronic device
information or data
KEYWORDS
1. Cyclist, rider, riding
2. Information, data
3. Process, measure, share, communicate

4. Bicycle, bike
5. Sensor, sensing device
6. Electronic device
KEYWORDS
1. Cyclist, rider, riding => cyclist OR rider OR riding
2. Information, data => information OR data OR
parameter?
3. Process data, measure parameter => process OR
measure or share or communicate

4. Bicycle, bike => bicycle OR bike

5. Sensor, sensing device => sensor OR sensing*
6. Electronic device => electronic* OR “mobile
phone”
Final Search String

(cyclist OR rider OR riding) AND (information OR

data OR parameter?) AND (process OR measure or
share or communicate) AND (bicycle OR bike) AND
(sensor OR sensing*) AND (electronic* OR “mobile
phone”)
SAMPLE INVENTION 2
A patch for administering vaccines that comprises
microscopic projections made of silicon produced using
deep reactive ion etching, with a length adapted to reach
Langerhans cells, for improving immune responses
through delivery and eliminating the cold chain.

Build out concepts and terms around the technology

area of interest
 CONCEPTS: Initial Text Queries
• A patch for administering vaccines that comprises microscopic projections
made of silicon produced using deep reactive ion etching, with a length
adapted to reach Langerhans cells, for improving immune responses
through delivery and eliminating the cold chain.
– immune response
– cold chain
– patch
– microscopic projection
– silicon
– deep reactive ion etching
– langerhans cell
– vaccine
 QUERY: QUICK AND DIRTY
• "immune response" AND "cold chain" AND patch* AND
"micro* projection*" AND silicon AND "deep reactive ion
etching" AND "langerhans cell*" AND vaccin*
 INVENTION: Scoping the Search
• A patch for administering vaccines that comprises
microscopic projections made of silicon produced
using deep reactive ion etching, with a length
adapted to reach Langerhans cells, for improving
immune responses through delivery and eliminating
the cold chain.
– What problem does the invention solve?
– What is the invention? (Describe what the invention physically is)
– What does the invention do?
 INVENTION DIAGRAM
PROBLEM SOLUTION

What it is: What it does:

(structure) (function)

immune response patch vaccine

cold chain microscopic
projection
silicon
deep reactive ion
etching
langerhans cell
INVENTION: SOLUTION (STRUCTURE, FUNCTION)

Key Concepts:

[1] vaccine
[2] patch
[3] microscopic projection
[4] silicon
[5] deep reactive ion etching
[7] langerhans cell
 Invention: Brainstorm synonyms
and equivalents
• vaccine: inoculation, antigen, antibody generator
• patch
• microscopic projections: microprojections,
nanoprojections, microscopic needles, microneedles,
nanoneedles
• silicon
• deep reactive ion etching: DRIE
• langerhans cell: dendritic cell, antigen-presenting
immune cell
 Query: Keywords
• Vaccine, inoculation, antigen, antibody generator
• patch
• microscopic projections, microprojections,
nanoprojections, microscopic needles, microneedles
nanoneedles
• silicon
• deep reactive ion etching, DRIE
• langerhans cell, dendritic cell, antigen-presenting
immune cell
 Query: Place Boolean operator
• vaccine OR inoculation OR antigen OR antibody
generator
• patch
• microscopic projections OR microprojections OR
nanoprojections OR microscopic needles OR
microneedles OR nanoneedles
• silicon
• deep reactive ion etching OR DRIE
• langerhans cell OR dendritic cell OR antigen-presenting
immune cell
 Query: Phrase
• vaccine OR inoculation OR antigen OR "antibody
generator"
• patch
• "microscopic projections" OR microprojections OR
nanoprojections OR "microscopic needles" OR
microneedles OR nanoneedles
• silicon
• "deep reactive ion etching" OR DRIE
• "langerhans cell" OR "dendritic cell" OR "antigen-
presenting immune cell"
 Query: Apply stemming
• vaccin* OR inoculat* OR antigen* OR "antibody
generat*"
• patch*
• "micro* projection*" OR microprojection* OR
nanoprojection* OR "micro* needle*" OR microneedle*
OR nanoneedle*
• silicon
• "deep reactive ion etching" OR DRIE
• "langerhans cell*" OR "dendritic cell*" OR "antigen-
presenting immune cell*"
 Query: Put parentheses
• (vaccin* OR inoculat* OR antigen* OR "antibody
generat*")
• patch*
• ("micro* projection*" OR microprojection* OR
nanoprojection* OR "micro* needle*" OR microneedle*
OR nanoneedle*)
• silicon
• ("deep reactive ion etching" OR DRIE)
• ("langerhans cell*" OR "dendritic cell*" OR "antigen-
presenting immune cell*")
 Query: Nesting
• (vaccin* OR inoculat* OR antigen* OR "antibody
generat*") AND patch* AND ("micro* projection*" OR
microprojection* OR nanoprojection* OR "micro*
needle*" OR microneedle* OR nanoneedle*) AND silicon
AND ("deep reactive ion etching" OR DRIE) AND
("langerhans cell*" OR "dendritic cell*" OR "antigen-
presenting immune cell*")
Final Text Query

(vaccin* OR inoculat* OR antigen* OR "antibody generat*")

AND patch* AND ("micro* projection*" OR
microprojection* OR nanoprojection* OR "micro* needle*"
OR microneedle* OR nanoneedle*) AND silicon AND ("deep
reactive ion etching" OR DRIE) AND ("langerhans cell*" OR
"dendritic cell*" OR "antigen-presenting immune cell*")
Basic Search Strategy (I)
(applicable to any patent search)
1. Find keywords expressing the essential concept of
invention (alternatively, start with IPC, i.e. in step
(4) and then use keywords)
2. Find synonyms of these keywords from:
• technical dictionaries
• documents already found in this technical field
• patents classifications
• Tools such as CLIR
3. Carry search to see first broad results indicating
also more synonyms and classifications
Basic Search Strategy (II)

4. Find useful patent classification symbols

5. Use keyword search to find the most
relevant classification (compare different
classifications if necessary as regards their
relevance to your search)
6. Carry out search to find relevant classified
documents
Basic Search Strategy (III)
7. Combine the results of the classification
search with additional features of the
searched technology using keywords
8. Iterate this procedure
9. In general, start broadly (recall) and narrow
down (precision) to relevant documents as
search progresses
10. Read carefully a manageable number of
documents
 In summary…
Build out concepts and terms of technology

Address invention in methodical way (Problem-Solution Approach)

Brainstorm synonyms, word variations or equivalents

Apply “ ” when searching for specific phrases

Apply word-stemming

Regroup terms related to a concept using Boolean operator

Avoid broad and generic terms such as “device’’, “process”
“system”, etc. Such terms will tend to bloat your results.
Use parentheses to organize search
Assignment: Complete the search string
below using your own topic:
Spellings

Synonyms or word variations

Phrase

Truncation/word-stemming

Boolean operator