PATENT

SEARCH
Wellisa M. Cammayo, RND, MSc
ITSO Coordinator, CFND
Patent Agent, IPTBM-LSPU
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 Outline of the Lecture
01 | Learning Objective

02 | Patent Search and Types

03 | Sources of Relevant Information

04 | Categories of Relevant Information

05 | Basic Principles and Methodology

06 | Sample Searches
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07 | Workshop
 Objective of the Lecture

At the end of this module, the participants should be

able to:

1. Describe patent search and its importance

2. Apply the basic principles of searching

3. Perform the different kinds of patent search

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4. Learn to use the espacenet and google patent sites Image source: dreamstime.com

independently
 Patent Search

● a search for a specific

information/ design relevant to a
given invention, patent
application, technology or idea for
research
● A prior art search refers to an
organized review of prior art
materials available from public
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sources
Image source: Salvacion, JWL (2022)
 Types of Searches
01 | Pre-Application Search (PAS)

02 | State of the Art Search (SAS)

03 | Novelty Search (NAS)

04 | Patentability/ validity research (PS)

05 | Name search (NS)

06 | Technology Activity Search (TAS)

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07 | Infringement search (IS)

08 | Legal status search (IS)
 Pre- application search

● Looks for: available ● Effect: prepare inventor for

publication and public SAS and NS
knowledge ● Who does it: inventor,
● Stage in life cycle of patent researcher
a. Idea for an invention
b. Long before application of
patent
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 State- of-the art
● Looks for: existing patent
publications related to
solutions to a given problem
● Stage in life cycle of patent
- Development of an invention
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● Effect:
a. Alternative solutions
b. Give direction to R&D or
tech transfer
c. Determine state of the art
● Who does it: inventor,
entrepreneur, policy
contributor
 Novelty Search (NAS)

● Looks for: specific relevant ● Effect: tells whether invention

prior art or patent is new
● Stage in life cycle of patent ● Who does it: patent examiner
a. After filing of application for
patent
b. Classification of invention
already known
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 Patentability/ validity search (PS)

● Looks for: documents useful ● Effect: tells whether invention

in establishing inventiveness is patentable
or industrial applicability ● Who does it: patent examiner
● Stage in life cycle of patent
a. Patent examination
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 Name Search (NS)

● Looks for: information about ● Effect:

published patents a. Retrieves information using
● Stage in life cycle of patent name of the inventor,
- All stages assignees, patentees,
applicants, companies or
individuals
b. Gives information on the
activities of an inventor
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● Who does it: entrepreneur,

patent examiner, inventor
 Technology Activity Search (TAS)

● Looks for: ● Effect:

a. Companies or inventors
active in a technology field
b. Countries where technology
is patented
● Stage in life cycle of patent
- Before start of
commercialization
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a. Indicates activities of
competitors
b. Gives spread of protection
● Who does it: entrepreneur,
companies
 Legal Status Search (LSS)

● Looks for: status of a granted ● Effect:

patent or an application at a
given date
● Stage in life cycle of patent:
commercialization
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a. Determines whether a
technology is unprotected
(“free”)
b. Show validity of patents
● Who does it: entrepreneur,
companies
 Three Sources of References

Database Maintaining Office and Address

European Patent Office (EPO)
Espacenet https://worldwide.espacenet.com
World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO)
Patentscope https://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/
US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
https://www.uspto.gov/patents-
USPTO
application-process/search-patents
Japan’s National Center for Industrial Prop-
IPDL erty Information and Training (INPIT)
https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp
Korean Institute of Patent Information
KIPRIS http://eng.kipris.or.kr/enghome/main.jsp
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 How to Get to Espacenet
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 If you click “Espacenet – patent search”
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 About Espacenet : Look and Feel
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 About Espacenet : Look and Feel

► Maintained by the
European Patent
Office (EPO)
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 About Espacenet : Look and Feel

► Maintained by the
EPO
► Over 130 M patent
documents (March
2022)
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 About Espacenet : Look and Feel

► Maintained by
the EPO
► Over 130 M
patent documents
► User-friendly
searching
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 Information Obtainable by Searching

X, Y, A - Common
O, T, E, D, L – Other information
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 Common Categories

X Y A
contains all the contains at least one Technological
general but not all the
background or state of
elements of the elements
application the art
of the application;
novelty-destroying combined with one or
None
more Y document
Lack of inventive step
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 Common Categories

0 P T
Non-written (e.g. oral) intermediate Theory or principle
disclosure document
underlying the
published between
invention
priority date and filing
None in PH date of the application
None
used in combination
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with X, Y, A
 Common Categories

E D L
Earlier patent cited in the application cited for other reasons
document,
but published on or
after
filing date
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 Basic Principles of Searching

1. Text search
2. Classification search
3. Citation search
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 Legal Status Search (LSS)

● The basic idea is to formulate

Strn; n = 1; 2; 3, such that:
● Capture of relevant
information R is maximized,
and
● Noise is minimized.

One or more databases may be

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used in the search.

Image source: Salvacion, JWL (2022)

 Developing a methodology

KEYWORDS
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 KEYWORDS

Keywords : What they Are Any example?

Words or phrases that describe core

technology.

● Expanded through synonyms (e.g.,

alarm = warning)
● generalized terms (e.g., bottle 
receptacle)
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● equivalent linguistic forms (e.g.,

wafer, wafers)
 KEYWORDS

Formulation of String Using Any example?

Keywords:
Because the keywords are equivalent, a ○ alarm OR warning
string may be:
○ bottle OR receptacle
Strn = keyw1 OR keyw2 OR … where
OR is another Boolean operator.
○ wafer OR wafers
It tells the search engine that one or
more of the keywN should be in the
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returned documents. It thus broadens the

scope of the search.
 Keywords : Truncation Operators

Symbol Description Examples

comes after a string and gives a car* gives car, cars,
* string of characters of any length card,
cart, care, carbon, etc.

Symbol Description Examples

comes after a string and gives a car? gives car, cars,
string with a length of zero or one card,
?
character cart, care, etc. but not
carbon
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 Keywords : Truncation Operators

Symbol Description Examples

comes after a string and gives a
car* gives cars, card,
string with a length of one
# cart, care, etc. but not
character
car, cards, carbon
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 KEYWORDS

Proximity Operators Any example?

To search for documents that contain

phrases composed of two or more words,
such as \face mask" the phrase should be
enclosed in quotation marks as in this
present example:

“face mask” OR mask

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 Concept Map of Invention

To be able to obtain the proper keywords, it helps to create a conceptual map of

the invention.
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Image source: Salvacion, JWL (2022)

 Concept Map of Invention: Papaya soap

Invention Field of use or Technical

(product) function (use) Features
(composition)
Soap Skin whitening Papaya extract
Cosmetic product Skin lightening Papaine

Sample Search String: (soap OR “cosmetic preparation") AND (skin

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AND (whitening OR lightening)) AND (papaya OR “papaya extract"

OR papaine)
 Concept Map of Invention: Pencil

Invention Field of use or Technical

(device) function (use) Features (parts)

Erasable pen Writing Erasable ink

Erasable writing tool Correcting heat

Sample Search String: (“erasable pen" OR “erasable writing tool") AND

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(writing OR correct*) AND (“erasable ink" OR erasable OR heat)

 Concept Map of Invention: Method/ Process

Invention Field of use or Technical

(process) function (obj of Features (steps/
process) procedure)
method of curing administering a drug X
treatment headache

Sample Search String: (treat* OR cure) AND (headache) AND

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(administer* OR “drug X")

 Concept Map of Invention
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Image source: Salvacion, JWL (2022)

 Practice exercise:
Identifying Keywords
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 Identify keywords

An alarm system to wake sleeping occupants in

the event of an emergency has a receiver for
detecting a warning signal emitted from an POSSIBLE
external device, such as a smoke or carbon KEYWORDS
monoxide detector. A processor compares the
received warning signal to a predetermined
 (alarm OR warning)
signal and, if they correspond, then a transmitter
transmits the alarm. The alarm is at least one of  Detector
an audible, visual, vibratory, and/or olfactory  (smoke OR fire)
communication. A customized audible  voice
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communication in a voice familiar to the

occupants can be recorded and stored in the
alarm system. In addition, the system may
 Formulation of strings

Keywords Possible strings are

 (alarm OR warning) ● (alarm OR warning) AND

 Detector (smoke OR fire) AND voice
 ● detector AND (alarm OR
(smoke OR fire)
warning) AND (smoke OR fire)
 voice
● voice AND (alarm OR warning
OR detector) AND (smoke OR
fire)
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 Other important notes to remember

Different spelling Use of Phrases

 Try different spellings: (tire

OR tyre), (plow OR plough).

Use of synonyms Expand abbreviations or

acronyms
 Be mindful of variants: (“radio
frequency identification“ OR “radio-
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frequency identification"), (“truck" OR

“lorry").
 DISADVANTAGES of Keyword Searching

• Language-dependent
• Affected by jargon,
• Patentese, etc.
• difficult when there are little or no searchable texts
• hard if technology is not described as a concept
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 DISADVANTAGES of Keyword Searching

 Language-dependent  If we search only in English, we may

miss a lot, e.g., Japanese, Korean,
Chines, Russian.

 Affected by jargon,
patentese, etc.
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 DISADVANTAGES of Keyword Searching

 difficult when there are

little or no searchable
texts
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 DISADVANTAGES of Keyword Searching

 hard if technology is
not described as a
concept
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 Classification Search

Now let’s look for fire alarm

systems related to the example
we discussed earlier using first a
keyword search and then a
combined classification and
keyword search.
In the “Title or abstract field" we
enter:
voice AND (alarm OR warning
OR detector) AND (smoke OR
fire).
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We get 128 hits.

To limit the search we go to
 Classification Search

The number of hits

drops to only 18!
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 Classification Searching

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

 more complete ● I not all documents classified

 little noise ● I may not be specific enough
 retrieves old documents not ● I no classification for some technologies
accessible by keywords
 retrieves matters disclosed in
drawings
 no need for knowledge of
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jargon
 GUIDED
EXERCISE
Wellisa M. Cammayo, RND, MSc
ITSO Coordinator, CFND
Patent Agent, IPTBM-LSPU
SLIDESMANIA
 Pulvoron from Ube

● A small business wants to sell polvoron

which includes ube as an ingrediant. It is
therefore interested in protecting its
polvoron composition and its method of
preparing this particular polvoron by
filing applications for patents or utility
models. You wonder whether there are
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patented ube polvoron compositions and

processes for their manufacture.
 Pulvoron from Ube

Keywords After Some Research and

Thought
● polvoron OR shortbread
● ube OR “purple yam”
● composition OR ingredients
● method OR process
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 Pulvoron from Ube

Keywords After Some Research and Search strings:

Thought
● polvoron OR shortbread
● ube OR “purple yam”
● composition OR ingredients
● method OR process
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● (polvoron OR shortbread) AND (ube OR
“purple yam”) AND (composition OR
ingredients)
● (polvoron OR shortbread) AND (ube OR
“purple yam”) AND (method OR
process)

Search on espacenet or google patents: HOW MANY

 Thank you for not
sleeping! 
Do you have any questions?
wellisa.cammayo@lspu.edu.ph
wbmejia@up.edu.ph
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