MODULE 3: INTRODUCTION TO PATENT INFORMATION

Public patent information is a key pillar of the patent system and a rich
source of technical, legal and business information. Most technical details
about inventions and technologies are only disclosed in patent documents.
This Module conveys:
 why patent information should be used at all stages of the innovation
process;
 the importance of an informed search strategy, based on a thorough
understanding of patent documents and classification systems;
 the power of searches based on patent classification symbols.
Patent information, as a record of invention to date, helped shape Steve
Lindsey’s approach to innovation in his field. His own patenting activity
helped the inventor license his energy-saving rotary air compressor
worldwide. There can be few better case studies to help illustrate the value
of patent information.
ENERGY-SAVING ROTARY AIR COMPRESSOR
The case of Steven Lindsey
Compressors are everywhere. They're used in electric appliances at home as
well as in devices in all major fields of industry.
Compressors consume a substantial proportion of all the electricity
used in industry, so increasing their efficiency can make a
significant contribution to reducing energy consumption in industry
and elsewhere.
Compressor technology is nothing new – the first compressor was invented
back in the 16th century. But with the last major change being the screw
compressor in the 1930s, was compressor technology lagging behind other
technical fields?
It took an outsider like Steve Lindsey to change the story. His unbiased
view helped him look at compressors from a different angle and think of
them in a new, unique way.
Can you think of any technologies that solved a technical problem
in a radically different way, transforming the market? There are
numerous examples of groundbreaking (disruptive) inventions by inventors
who looked at a technical problem from a different angle.
Take the transistor, for example. Invented in 1947, these semiconductor-
based devices can be used to amplify and switch electrical signals. By the
1950s they had increasingly replaced vacuum tubes as the dominant
technology for amplifying electrical currents. And today, vacuum tubes only
play a marginal role in microelectronics whereas transistors are a mainstay
in the field.
And what about word-processing software – how often do you see
typewriters being used nowadays?
What was the groundbreaking idea behind Steven Lindsey's
invention? His compressor concept offered a novel, mechanically elegant
replacement. Its design transformed the cylinder section into an annular
chamber. A piston blade travelled the length of this chamber, compressing
air in front while drawing in air behind. By compressing air continuously, the
compressor sidestepped what was previously a piston compressor's biggest
shortcoming.
For Steven Lindsey, patent information played an important role from the
outset as a rich source of technical information on compressor
concepts and other technologies. Patent information helped
Steven understand what had already been developed, allowing him to
avoid reinventing the wheel and to stimulate research and product
development in his company.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PATENT INFORMATION

Patent information is one of the very reasons why the patent system
exists.
By giving patent holders an exclusive right over their inventions, patents
provide a way of dealing with the problem of the free and public nature of
information.
However, these exclusive rights are not always seen as beneficial. A patent
is a monopoly right which, for the period it is valid, can exclude others from
using the patented invention in a commercial context. So, it can both
encourage and block innovation.
Role of patent information in the patent system
To optimise the contribution that the patent system makes to innovation,
patent holders have to pay a price for the patent: disclosure. They have to
make their invention available to the public by setting out the details of the
invention in the patent application.
The patent system thus provides for a balance between the interests of
patent applicants and holders on the one hand and the public on the other
hand.
Rich source of information
Patent information is at the core of any patent system, so it will come as no
surprise to learn that patent information and its use are as old as the
earliest patent legislation dating back hundreds of years.
With each patent application and each patent made available to the
public, information is disclosed in relation to the technical
inventions in question, the applicants and inventors and the course of the
application and grant procedures.
Today, the patent databases of the EPO alone include prior art and
procedural information on more than 100 million patent documents,
amounting to more than a billion records. And these databases grow by
tens of millions of records every year.
Patent documents are a very rich source of information. Estimates suggest
that 80% of all technical information is contained only in patent documents
– contrary to the widespread opinion that technical information is mainly
available in scientific or technical literature.
There are at least two reasons why patent documents are such an
outstanding source of technical information. First, having a patent is
crucial if you want to protect a technical invention. And second, the
technical invention for which legal protection is sought has to be disclosed
in a way that an average expert in the field can carry it out.
There's a whole host of patent documents available to the public, covering
published applications, granted patents, search reports and much more
besides. Let's have a look at the differences between them:
 PATENT APPLICATIONS:
In the field of patent information, the expression "patent application"
means both the application itself and the patent application
published as a document. The document starts with a cover page bearing
the title of the invention and specific bibliographic information. In most
cases, the cover page also includes an abstract characterising the
invention and a representative drawing of the invention. The rest of the
document accounts for the core technical and legal details supporting the
invention.
 PATENTS:
Patents are legal titles that give the patent owner(s) the right to exclude
others from using the protected invention in a commercial context. A
patent builds on what is called the "patent specification", which discloses
the relevant details defining the protected invention along with other
relevant information.
 SEARCH REPORTS:
Search reports give patent applicants and patent examiners information on
the prior art related to the invention for which protection is sought. And
once a search report is published, that information is available to the wider
public too. Search reports are drawn up on the basis of the claims in the
patent application, with due regard to the description and any drawings
in that document.
 UTILITY MODELS:
In various countries, utility models are available as a legal means to
protect technical inventions. While a utility model is generally similar to
a patent, it has less stringent protection requirements and is
usually quicker and cheaper to get and maintain. Moreover, it has a
shorter term than a patent and may only be available in specific technical
fields and only for products (not for processes).
 AMENDED DOCUMENTS:
Sometimes a patent application, patent or utility model has to
be amended, for instance to correct errors or deficiencies in an existing
patent document, to limit a patent after opposition proceedings or to limit
a patent at the patent holder's request. In these situations, a new document
is published with a "kind code" in the publication number that
characterises the nature of the amendment giving rise to the new
document.
It's plain to see that neglecting patent documents in your day-to-day work
can impact on your success and may undermine your company's
position. The technology we all know about is just the tip of the
iceberg – failing to look for patent documents related to your field could
seriously jeopardise your company.
Think about situations in which patent information can help the
development of new products and processes in the field of nanoparticles.
Product development generally involves a number of sub-activities,
from idea creation and pilot projects to the product development
itself. The development of nanoparticles is no exception.
Almost all of these sub-activities can benefit from technical, legal and
business-related information in patent data.
For example, the goal of the idea creation sub-activity at the
development/prototyping stage is to collect information about customer
needs and technologies that need to be addressed. This information is
often actively collected, e.g. by assessing the market, analysing
existing products and performing patent screening. Patent
information can be a valuable source of information for all three of these
activities – not just for patent screening.
Learn more
EPO e-learning course "The art of reading patent documentation",
section "The relevance of patent documentation(opens in a new tab)"*
To learn more about patent information and its uses, take
the Patent information tour(opens in a new tab).
To learn more about the rationale for the patent system and IP
rights in general, have a look at the "Introduction to IP" training
module.

DAY-TO-DAY WORK SITUATIONS IN WHICH PATENT INFORMATION

MATTERS
Patent information is crucial when preparing a patent application to protect
your invention.
But there are also many other situations in your day-to-day work when
retrieving and analysing patent information is vital.
To better understand these situations, let's first have a look at
the innovation process. The illustration below shows how the different
phases of this process have to intermingle and interact in a structured way
before a product or service can be successfully brought to market:

These three main stages include different sub-activities such as

fundamental and applied research, the actual product development and
ramping-up of production. All these activities constantly need in-depth
information about the state of the art, the competitive environment
and the risk of infringing others' IP rights in the technical field in
question.
Patent information is a mass of technical, legal and business data, and there
are many good reasons to use this rich source of information at your
workplace or in the lab:
Technical information (i.e. the technical content of patent documents).
 Retrieving prior art
 Finding out which technologies already exist in order to build on
them to solve problems
 Identifying workarounds for existing (and protected) technologies
  Avoiding duplication of R&D expenditure
Legal information (i.e. procedural (or legal event) and legal status data for
applications and IP rights)
 Checking the countries in which an invention is (and is not)
protected
 Gauging freedom to operate/avoiding patent infringement
 Valuing your IP portfolio
Business-related information (i.e. technical, procedural and legal status
data)
 Keeping track of what others are doing
 Identifying new partners, e.g. for licensing
 Performing more robust market analyses
 Spotting market or technology trends
 Creating income from your patent portfolio valuation
 Fulfilling your company strategy
 Bolstering accounting, controlling and mergers & acquisition
Which of the following is correct? Legal information from patent
documents can help you to...
a) Establish the state of the art
b) Avoid patent infringement
c) Find solutions to technical problems
That's right. Legal information from patent documents can help you to avoid
patent infringement.
Typical questions during the innovation process that may be answered
or at least addressed using patent information include the following:
Before you invest time and money in developing an invention, what
do you need to know?
a) The state of the art
b) The location of the nearest patent office
c) What's happening on the sales market
That's right. It's crucial to understand which technologies already exist
before embarking on new R&D activities.
Have a look at the training module "Patent information: in practice"
where we use real examples to discuss how to retrieve and analyse
patent information in a meaningful way in your day-to-day work.
If you're interested in what IP managers do and how they use
patent information to make educated decisions, have a look at the
modules "Developing an IP strategy" and "IP commercialisation".
To learn more about patent information and its uses, take
the Patent information tour.

PRODUCING GOLD NANOPARTICLES USING ALGAE EXTRACT

The second case in this module is the story of the imaginary start-
up Pantagru Nanoparticles SA (Grenoble, France).
Pantagru produces silver micro and nanoparticles especially for the
manufacture of antibacterial products. The start-up builds on technologies
which were developed some years ago during a PhD project at the François
Rabelais University of Tours (France).
According to Chief Technology Officer Jean-Luc Gargan, the field of
nanomaterials is very dynamic, with numerous big players worldwide. In
most cases, developing new nanomaterials is complex, expensive and
comes with a significant risk of failure.
Customer retention and the company's image are key factors for
commercial success, like in many other technical areas. Formal
intellectual property (IP) rights such as patents and trademarks play a key
role in securing Pantagru's intellectual assets. Where feasible, the start-up
safeguards other assets such as the expertise for producing the
nanomaterials as trade secrets.
Pantagru uses patent information at all stages of the innovation process,
from research and product development to marketing, with the goal of
optimising the development of new products and processes and minimising
the risk of failed projects and misallocated resources.
These problems can be very expensive and a threat in particular to start-
ups and small and medium-sized enterprises.
To this end, Pantagru systematically evaluates patent information to keep up
to date with the latest technical advances, e.g. to get a clear view of what
others are already doing in a particular area before embarking on any new
research and development (R&D) activities.
What does Pantagru use patent information for?
According to Mr Gargan, Pantagru also uses patent information and works
closely with patent information specialists and patent attorneys to assess
the risk of infringing others' IP rights early on. This helps the company flag
any candidate materials and processes with an increased risk of
infringement from the very start of the product development stage, which
can then be realigned accordingly.
In addition, the start-up has increasingly been using patent information to
get an informed view of potential markets for the company's products
and to keep an eye on what current and potential competitors are
doing.
After several successful years, the company plans to expand its production
to products containing gold nanoparticles. These products will be used
mainly in medicine, cosmetics and electrical engineering.
The company's management has decided to establish a partnership with
the Claude Bernard University of Lyon (France), which is undertaking
research in the field of metal nanoparticles. The partnership is aimed at
developing a production process with the following characteristics:
  production of gold nanoparticles measuring 10-30 nm;
 eco-friendly production, without the use of aggressive chemicals;
 cheap production process, meaning low raw material
costs (besides gold) and low energy consumption levels;
 production process involving algae extract.
Before starting research on this topic, the partners need to get an informed
view of which methods of producing gold nanoparticles using algae extract
are already known, in particular in patent literature. To do so, the partners
need to look at what is known as the "state of the art" in that technical field.
Choosing the right interface for retrieving patents
The state of the art is everything that was accessible to the public by written
or oral description or in any other way before the application was filed. This
includes not only granted patents and published patent applications, but
also any kind of publication made available – even by the inventor
themselves. Relevant information may have been made available in, for
example, scientific reports, journals, theses, dissertations, online
publications and lectures at congresses or conferences.
As occasional users of patent information, the partners prefer a user-friendly
search interface with good coverage of patent documents from all major
patent authorities. An example of this kind of search interface is Espacenet,
which offers free-of-charge access to more than 130 million
patent documents from more than 90 patent authorities on all
continents. Espacenet offers many search criteria such as keywords, patent
classification systems, applicant and inventor names, publication numbers
and citations.
More information about the Espacenet search interface and its
features, along with some training material, can be found here.

PATENT DOCUMENTS UNDER THE HOOD

In everyday life, we often fear the unknown until we face it head on. The
same applies to patent documents. Once you understand their structure,
reading and using them is actually a piece of cake.
At first glance, patent documents appear to be written and structured very
differently from scientific and technical papers. Their structure is based on
the fact that a patent is a legal title founded on the technical details
defining the subject-matter for which legal protection is sought.
The structure of a patent
Overall, the logic behind the structure of patent documents is easy to follow.
Patent documents start with a cover page. This page reveals not only the
title of the invention but also what is known as bibliographic data, such as
the names of the inventor(s) and applicant(s), the document's publication
date and classification information. Additionally, most documents include
an abstract with general technical information and a
representative drawing of the invention.
The rest of the patent document accounts for the core technical and legal
details supporting the invention:

The description outlines the invention clearly and completely enough for it
to be carried out by an average person in the technical field (the "person
skilled in the art"). The description constitutes a basis for the claims.
The claims are the most important part of the document and define the
subject-matter for which legal protection is sought, in terms of its technical
features. Clear, concise wording is key as this is what legally determines the
scope of protection covered by the patent. The description and additional
drawings are there to help you interpret the claims.
The application may also contain drawings. These are a useful addition to
the description in that they visually illustrate the features of the invention.
 DOCUMENT LENGTH
Patent and utility model documents can vary greatly in length. Some
documents have just two pages, others several hundred. The length often
depends on the area of technology described – documents from the
mechanical field tend to have relatively few pages whereas documents in
organic chemistry, pharmaceuticals and data processing can be very long.
 COVER PAGE
The information on a document's cover page is of key importance. It
provides an overview of the subject-matter of the invention, which allows
you to make an initial assessment of the document's relevance. Essentially,
the information on this page is what you will also find in most patent
databases.
The cover page contains:
 the title of the invention;
 the bibliographic data;
 an abstract containing important technical information explaining the
claimed invention;
 a drawing illustrating the invention (where applicable).
Various pieces of patent information are marked by two-digit numbers,
the Internationally agreed Numbers for the Identification of
(bibliographic) Data or "INID codes".

 INID CODES
INID codes are used to mark specific pieces of information on the cover
page of a patent or utility model document.
Key INID codes are the:
(11) publication number (A)
(19) patent office that published the document (B)
(21) application number
(22) filing date of the application
(30) priority information (C)
(31) number of the priority application(s)
(32) filing date of the priority application(s)
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC) (D)
(52) domestic or national classification, e.g. Cooperative Patent
Classification (CPC)
(71) applicant(s)
(72) inventor(s) (E)

 PUBLICATION NUMBER
Every patent and utility model document has its own document number,
allowing it to be uniquely identified around the world (generally speaking).
This unique number, assigned when the document is published, consists of
a country code followed by a series of numbers (and sometimes letters)
and the code for the publication status. This code, the "kind code", is
defined in a specific standard.
Kind codes are used to identify the various kinds of patent and utility
model documents, e.g. applications, patent specifications and utility models.
The codes generally consist of a letter and, often, a number. Each patent
office decides how the codes, in particular the numbers, are defined for its
publications.
Often "A" is used for a patent application, "B" for a patent that has
been granted, "U" for a utility model and "T" for the publication of a
translation.
  PATENT CLASSIFICATION SYMBOLS
Patent offices assign patent classification symbols to categorise the
technical subject-matter of a patent or utility model.
Patent classification symbols are defined as part of what are known as
"patent classification systems". There are various patent classification
systems used today by national, regional and international patent offices.
Two patent classification systems – mentioned above in the INID code
section – are of particular importance:
The IPC system is a hierarchical patent classification system which is used
by more than 100 patent offices on all continents. It breaks down
technologies into eight sections with several hierarchical sub-levels. The IPC
scheme has approximately 75 000 subdivisions and is updated on an annual
basis.
The CPC system builds on the IPC system and provides a more granular and
detailed classification structure. The CPC system has more than 250 000
subdivisions and is updated four times a year. It is used by more than 30
patent offices worldwide.
For more information on patent classification symbols, please see the
section "How to find and use patent information".
 PRIORITY INFORMATION
Inventions can be protected by patents and utility models in more than one
country. Once an applicant has filed the original application, they have 12
months to file applications for the same invention in other
states party to the Paris Convention. During this period, the original filing
date can be claimed as the effective filing date, or "priority date", for
subsequent applications.
In this case, the cover page of each later application contains specific
information on the application establishing priority (i.e. the original
application):
 the priority number (the application number of the original
application);
 the country of priority (the country in which the original application
was filed);
 the date of priority (the date on which the original application was
filed).
DESCRIPTION
The description discloses all aspects of the subject-matter of the invention.
As a general principle, patent law demands that the invention must
be described in sufficient detail for it to be carried out by a person
skilled in the art.
Due to this legal requirement, the content of the description is largely
uniform and can be quite detailed. Descriptions contain:
 a review of the state of the art on which the invention is based;
 criticism of this state of the art (disadvantages, shortcomings, risks);
 a definition of the problem to be solved by the invention;
 an explanation of the solution;
 embodiment examples.
The description gives the public information about the new
technology and can be used by patent and utility model holders to support
their legal claims in the event of a dispute.
Example: the first two pages of the description in EP1818010A2 provide
information on the technical field of the invention, the state of the art and
its shortcomings, the problem to be solved by the invention, a brief
overview of the invention, a brief description of the drawings, and
embodiment examples.
  CLAIMS
The claims are the most crucial part of the document – its "legal core", as it
were. They define the features of the invention to be protected by the
patent or utility model.
How the claims are formulated is of utmost importance as they determine
the extent of the protection obtained. The description and drawings help
with the interpretation of the claims.
As applicants generally want to obtain the most extensive scope of
protection possible, they often define the technical subject-matter in the
claims in a rather general and abstract way.
Each claim consists of a single sentence, divided into a classifying part
(designation) and a characterising portion, which is usually preceded
by the words "characterised in that" or "characterised by".
Normally, several claims are included, and claims may refer back to earlier
claims preceding them.
Example: the claims section in EP1818010A2 lists various claims for a
"device for determining the concentration of a substance in body liquid"
(claims 1-12) and a "method for determining the concentration of a
substance in an in-vitro or in-vivo specimen containing body liquid" (claims
13-39).
Two claims (1 and 13) define the claimed inventions in their broadest form –
they are what are referred to as "independent" claims. All the other claims
(2-12; 14-39) ultimately refer back to one of these independent claims, so
they are the "dependent" claims and define specific embodiments of the
invention.
 DRAWINGS
Most patent and utility model documents contain one or more drawings.
These are usually black and white line drawings and are often very helpful
for understanding the idea behind the invention. Together with an
embodiment example in the description, they may serve to illustrate how
the features of the invention interact. Drawings can also be sections,
circuits, flowcharts or chemical structures.
Reference signs are usually included in technical drawings and are then also
referred to in the description, claims and abstract. Normally, there is no
additional explanatory text in the drawings other than short, indispensable
words or phrases such as "water", "steam", "open", "closed" or "section on
AB".
Example: the technical drawing below is an exploded perspective view of a
pedalling device according to patent document EP1930235A1. The
reference signs are explained in the description of the patent application,
e.g. reference sign 31 refers to a ratchet socket.

The standardised structure of patent and utility model documents makes it

easier for readers to browse them and identify relevant information.
In terms of their structure, these documents actually turn out to be quite
similar to scientific and technical papers:
Understanding the difference between prior-art and legal event
information
The expression "patent data" is often used synonymously with prior-art
patent data.
There is no doubt that the technical content and bibliographic information of
patent documents are of utmost importance for researchers, engineers and
entrepreneurs in their day-to-day work as they help them get an idea of the
state of the art and key players in a specific technical field. However, dig a
little deeper and you can discover so much more to enhance your searches
and analyses.
Procedural patent data – or legal event patent data – is essentially all
the information collected for an application during the application and grant
procedure as well as during the post-grant stage.
Procedural patent data includes a wealth of different information, from
information about what happened at the filing or examination stage to
changes of ownership or the date the patent expires.
In this context, it is important to distinguish between legal
events and legal status information.
Legal events are essentially any procedural steps that may occur during
the application procedure and at the post-grant stage, including an
application being filed or a maintenance fee being paid.
Legal status information is different from legal events in that it is a
statement about the status of an application or granted IP right. Different
statuses are possible, such as "the application is active" or "the patent
has been terminated".
Legal event data and legal status data are complementary and each
have their own field of use.
More information about the Espacenet search interface and its
features, along with some training material, can be found here.
More about Standard ST.16

HOW TO FIND AND USE PATENT INFORMATION

With more than 100 million patent documents and over 1 billion patent data
records in various patent databases, patent literature is a very rich
source of information. But with such vast amounts of information
available, how can you find the information you need?
Fortunately, patent offices and commercial data providers try to make it
as convenient as possible for you to retrieve and analyse patent
information. They collect prior-art and procedural patent data from
numerous patent authorities worldwide, and
then standardise, harmonise and maybe even enrich the data and
make it available via their platforms, which are often very powerful and, in
many cases, free of charge.
An extensive overview of patent databases and related services is
available on a dedicated webpage of the Patent Information Users
Group.
Two things to think about before retrieving and analysing patent
information:
1. Are the patent databases you intend to use fit for purpose, i.e.
do the completeness, accurateness and timeliness of the data match
your needs?
For example, if you're interested in patent documents published in a
specific country, make sure that the patent database you're
considering has comprehensive coverage for that country. Coverage
information is generally available for the biggest patent databases
and services (as an example, see the coverage page for bibliographic
data(opens in a new tab) available via the EPO's Espacenet service).
2. Does the search interface have enough functionalities for you
to carry out the search – or searches – that you need in an efficient
manner?
For example, if you need to create and combine different search
concepts on a regular basis, make sure that the interface lets you
save (or at least temporarily save), recall and combine individual
search concepts.
There are also lots of things you can do to make sure you retrieve the right
patent information in an efficient way.
Internet search engines are a convenient way of getting a general idea of
whether there are any patent documents out there covering technical
details you're interested in, e.g. by using keywords which are specific
enough to characterise these technical details. While this approach
is simple and convenient, the downside is that your results may include a
lot of irrelevant hits, or that you miss relevant ones, e.g. because these
documents use different keywords for the same technical details.
To increase your chances of finding most – if not all – of the patent
documents that cover the technical details you're interested in and to
reduce the number of irrelevant results, it is important to understand and
use search concepts in an informed way.
There are a number of different search concepts you may use to
retrieve patent documents. Here's an overview of the main ones:
 Keywords
These are words or phrases that can be associated with a specific technical
detail or concept.
Searches based on keywords can be helpful to get the patent retrieval
process started, especially when there is no patent classification symbol
specific to the technical subject-matter in question. However, searching with
keywords alone will often produce inaccurate and incomplete results
because of how patent documents are written and the terms they use.
Keywords such as 'LED', 'light-emitting diode' and 'photo-emitting
semiconductor device' to retrieve patent documents related to light-emitting
diodes
 Patent classification symbols
These symbols help to characterise specific technical features disclosed in
patent documents. They form part of patent classification systems
such as the IPC system, which is used by all major patent offices worldwide
to characterise technical features in the patent documents they publish, or
the CPC system.
Classification symbols are generally a good choice for efficiently
retrieving comprehensive technical content.
IPC code B82Y5/00 characterising technical subject-matter related to
'Nanobiotechnology or nanomedicine, e.g. protein engineering or drug
delivery'
 Applicant or inventor names
This search concept can be helpful if, for example, a particular applicant or
inventor plays a big role in a specific area of technology (e.g. 'Siemens',
'Henrik Lindström').
 Cited and citing documents
Documents cited during the patent grant procedure for a relevant patent
application, e.g. by the applicant or in the search report, may potentially
disclose information relevant for a specific technical feature. The same may
be true for documents citing a relevant patent document.
Document US5353802A was mentioned in the search report for the patent
application published as EP1818010A2. The document was found to be
particularly relevant for the assessment of the novelty of some of the
technical content disclosed in the EP application and for which patent
protection had been claimed.
 Patent family members
A patent family is a collection of patent documents related to the same or
similar inventions. They may be published by the same or different patent
offices.
The patent documents of a patent family are generally related to each other
by priority claims.
Extending the search to patent family members provides a more
comprehensive picture of the invention and of where the applicant intends
to get patent protection.
Document EP1818010A2 belongs to a patent family with patent documents
published by more than a dozen patent offices (see the Patent family tab for
this document).
See here for more information on patent families.
Patent classification systems in a nutshell
Introduction
Patent classification systems are systems for assigning the technical content
of patent documents to technical fields, covering all areas of technology.
Patent and utility model documents – regardless of whether it is an
application, a granted patent or registered utility model – are assigned one
or more classification symbols by the examiner at the competent
patent office. These symbols characterise the document's technical content.
The most important classification systems are:
 the IPC – this system, used by the majority of patent offices
worldwide, has a hierarchical structure with more than 70
000 classification symbols and is administered by the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO);
 the CPC – jointly developed and managed by the EPO and the United
States Patent and Trademark Office, the CPC system is an extension
of the IPC system and has approximately 250 000 classification
symbols.
Some patent offices also use their own national classification systems,
and some commercial service providers for patent data have developed
their own proprietary systems for data in their databases.
Advantages of patent classification systems
Using classification symbols to assign the technical content of patent
documents to technical fields makes it easier to find and retrieve
relevant technical content.
When retrieving patent information, patent examiners, searchers, inventors
and businesses generally need their results to be as accurate as possible.
Searching with keywords alone will often produce inaccurate and incomplete
results because of how patent documents are written.
Classification systems are an effective means of retrieving patent
documents, regardless of the language and terminology the documents
use. The systems support searchers in:
 getting an overview of the state of the art;
 assessing the novelty of a specific invention;
 gauging whether or not that invention may be inventive;
 assessing the industrial applicability of the invention;
 getting an idea of technical advances in a specific technical field.
The IPC under the hood
The IPC system was developed by an international body of
experts between 1954 and 1967 and was introduced worldwide in the
1970s.
It is used by patent offices in more than 120 countries worldwide and by
several regional offices (including the EPO) and WIPO. Since 1975, patent
documents have been classified according to the areas of
technology defined in the IPC system. National and regional patent offices
index the technical content of all their patent and utility model documents
using the appropriate classification symbols.
The IPC system has a hierarchical structure with eight sections and more
than 70 000 classification symbols.
Each of these sections consists of a letter and a title:
 A Human Necessities
 B Performing Operations; Transporting
 C Chemistry; Metallurgy
 D Textiles; Paper
 E Fixed Constructions
 F Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating; Weapons; Blasting
 G Physics
 H Electricity
These eight sections are subdivided into classes. Example class in
section A: A63: "Sports; Games; Amusements".
The next level of hierarchy is the subclass level. Example subclass in
the A63 class: A63C: "Skates; skis; roller skates; design or layout of courts,
rinks or the like".
Below this level is the group level. Example: A63C17: "Roller skates;
Skateboards".
Finally, the narrowest division is the subgroup level. Example:
A63C17/04: "[...] with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs".
With each sublevel, the detail in the technical content covered by a specific
classification symbol increases.
Which of the following is a patent classification system?
a) CPC
b) Nice Classification
c) NUTS
The CPC system is one of the major patent classification systems and is
used by many patent offices worldwide.
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is a standard for
referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes, not a
patent classification system.
The International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Classification) is
a classification system for classifying goods and services used for the
purpose of trade mark registration.
Boolean operators
In many situations, using just one search concept is not enough, e.g.
when looking for patent documents which disclose different technical
features or which were filed by a specific applicant and address a specific
technical feature.
In these cases, you need to devise and combine different search
concepts, and the most frequently used means for doing so are what are
known as "Boolean operators":

Let’s look at the following two search concepts:

A: rough surface
B: metallic behaviour
Here we can create two search statements using the Boolean operator OR:
1) A OR B
2) B OR A
The order of the search concepts connected by an OR operator does
not change the result.
Let's use the same two search concepts again.
Based on these search concepts, we can create the following two search
statements:
1) A NOT B
2) B NOT A
The order of the search concepts connected by a NOT operator does change
the result.
The hits for a search for patent documents which disclose the "rough
surface" concept but not the "metallic behaviour" concept will be different
from those for a search for patent documents which disclose the "metallic
behaviour" concept but not the "rough surface" concept.
Now that you've seen what these concepts are about, let's go back to our
Pantagru Nanoparticles SA case and see how we can develop a suitable
search strategy.
The patent search is aimed at patent documents which disclose relevant
information for producing gold nanoparticles using algae extract.
The search process includes the following steps:
 building search concepts based on suitable keywords, patent
classification symbols and other features;
 entering search concepts into the Espacenet search interface and
creating sets of results;
 refining search concepts;
 evaluating results.
Let's have a look at an example approach step by step.
Step 1: building search concepts
Our focus in this example will be on devising keyword-based search
concepts. Other search concepts, in particular those based on relevant
patent classification symbols, should also be taken into account in practice.
To identify suitable keywords, we could use textbooks, technical
documentation and dictionaries, known relevant patent documents,
Wikipedia, databases of scientific and technical papers,
requirements specified by the partners, and much more besides. We
could also use search engines, social media and other online sources to get
an idea of relevant terms and expressions used in the technical field in
question.

On the basis of our assessment, we find that the most frequently used terms
and expressions for our technical field are:
 nanoparticle concept: nanoparticle, nano-particle, gold
nanoparticle, gold nano-particle, nano gold particle;
 algae extract concept: algae, marine algae, sea algae, seaweed;
  gold concept: gold, Au, aurum;
 production concept: produce, production, manufacture, preparing,
method, process.
Alternative spellings, plural forms, etc. will have to be taken into account,
too.
Step 2: starting the search
We can now start to enter keyword-based search concepts in the
Espacenet search interface. Espacenet gives us two different options: the
"Smart search" field on the Espacenet entry page, or the "Advanced
search" interface, which can be activated using the relevant toggle in the
menu bar.
Let's use the command line to enter keyword-based search concepts. We
can either type in the keywords like in a search engine or use what are
known as "field identifiers" to specify the fields corresponding to
specific pieces of patent information in which the search is to be
performed. (The second option obviously makes the search more specific.)

You can access the list of available field identifiers in the Espacenet
pocket guide, available via the Espacenet help menu. The same guide
also provides an overview of other important search features such
as truncations, operators and limitations.
Espacenet has a number of text fields which we can use to perform
keyword searches:
 title;
 abstract;
 description;
 claims;
 title and abstract;
 title, abstract and claims;
 all text fields (i.e. the title, abstract, description and claims together).
It's tempting to start a keyword-based search using the option "All text
fields" to make the search as comprehensive as possible. But this can return
large hit lists containing lots of patent documents which are unrelated to the
search objective, e.g. because the descriptions may mention the keywords
in a general context only.
Instead, it's best to start with patent documents in which the keywords are
closely related to the inventions disclosed in those documents – which is
likely to be true for those which mention the keywords in the title and/or
abstract.
For our search, let's start with the nanoparticle concept and gold
concept to retrieve patent documents which mention both in the title or
abstract. Example search statement:
(ta all "nano particle*" OR ta="nanoparticle*") AND ta any "gold AU
aurum"
This search statement returns a large number of hits:

Looking at the list, our first search attempt appears to have been a
promising start, but we need to make it more specific and take all other
search concepts into account. So let's go one step further.
Step 3: refining and expanding the search
There are two different paths to take when refining and expanding our
search.
First, we can enhance the accuracy of the two search concepts
we've used so far, for example using "proximity operators". The closer
words are in a text, the more likely there is to be a general semantic link
between them, so with proximity operators we can increase the likelihood
that a patent document is relevant.

Example: rather than using the search statement ta all "nano particle*", be
more specific by opting for ta=("nano" prox/distance<=2 "particle*"), which
will retrieve patent documents in which the two terms occur in that order
and are at most two words apart in the title or the abstract.
Second, we can try integrating the other search concepts by
creating an intersection set, which will make our search more specific
and further reduce the number of hits.
Sometimes – and as is the case here – using the title and abstract only for
keyword-based searching proves to be too limiting, potentially producing no
results at all. In this situation we'll need to release the field constraints,
expanding the range of fields in which the search is to be performed.
Refining and expanding the search statement may lead to the
following interim statement:
(ta=("nano" prox/distance<=2 "particle*") OR ta =
"nanoparticle*") AND ta any "gold AU aurum" AND ta any "algae
seaweed" AND ctxt any "produc* manufactur* method* process*"
This interim statement may return several potentially relevant
patent documents, e.g. the first one in the hits below:
If you're only interested in whether or not there are relevant patent
documents regarding the search objective, you could stop here – the answer
is probably yes.
However, the situation is less conclusive if you couldn't spot any relevant
patent documents in the hits returned. The lack of relevant documents may
mean that there aren't any at all, but it might also be because the search is
too narrow.
If you need greater certainty regarding relevant documents, you may extend
your search by releasing the field constraints further, using more alternative
keywords or bringing in other search concepts, e.g. based on patent
classification symbols.
There are so many options to choose from to tailor your searches and search
concepts to your needs, e.g. truncations, proximity operators and added-
value data. Want to know more? Then be sure to check out the "Patent
information in practice" training module.
Think about the differences between the IPC and CPC systems. When would
it be better to use CPC codes over IPC codes to retrieve technical
information in patent documents?
Given the very detailed structure of the CPC system, CPC codes can help
tailor patent searches down to minute technical details. They can
make patent searches very specific and help reduce the number of
unrelated patent documents in the hits.
However, you may miss relevant patent documents if the competent
patent authority does not (or at least does not yet) support the CPC
system, meaning that the documents aren't assigned any CPC codes.
On the other hand, while IPC codes are generally less specific, they are
used by more patent authorities, so the risk of missing patent
documents may be lower – albeit at the expense of search accuracy in
some cases.
EPO e-learning course "Using CPC in classification"*
EPO e-learning course "Practical and strategical aspects of the
CPC"*
EPO e-learning course "EPO patent information tools”
EPO e-learning course "The art of reading patent documentation"
section "Where and how to find patent documents"*
EPO e-learning course "Search strategies"
EPO e-learning course "Searching prior art based on patent
applications"*
Learn more
IPC
CPC
Patent families
Search field identifiers

QUIZ
Patent information is frequently used to find solutions to technical
problems during the product development process.
a) Because it provides practical solutions.
b) Because of the comprehensive and up-to-date nature of the
information.
c) Because it provides detailed documentation of even very small steps
related to the development of a technology.
Using patent information during the product development process provides
practical solutions, comprehensive and up-to-date information and detailed
documentation on technology development.
Search reports are drawn up on the basis of …
a) the description of the patent application
b) the description of the patent application with due regard to the
drawings
c) the claims with due regard to the description and drawings
d) the abstract
Search reports are drawn up on the basis of the claims with due regard to
the description and drawings.
The cover page of a patent document contains...
a) the title of invention

b) the publication number

c) the claims

d) the abstract
The cover page contains the title of the invention, the publication number
and the abstract.
This patent document is ...
a) a published European patent application
b) a published European patent
c) both

This patent document was published by the EPO and characterised as a

"European patent specification" on the cover page, i.e. a European patent.
This information can also be derived from the kind code in the publication
number (see INID code (11) on the cover page). The kind code is B1,
corresponding to a European patent.

The description is an important part of a patent application and

constitutes a basis for the claims. Which of the following
statements is/are correct? In the description, you can expect to find
...
a) information on the technical field of the invention

b) a list of countries in which the applicant intends to obtain protection

for the invention
c) one or more alternatives for carrying out the invention

d) a statement about the commercial prospects of the invention for

which protection is sought
The description contains information about the technical field of the
invention and one or more ways to carry out the invention.
Patent claims are the most crucial part of patent applications and
patent. Which of the following statements is correct?
 a) In patent claims, features have to be characterised in individual
sentences.
b) Patent claims generally consist of a single sentence.
c) To ensure clear readability, patent claims must contain no more than
100 words.
d) None of these.

Patent claims generally consist of a single sentence.

Patent document EP1818010A2 discloses information on a device
for determining the concentration of a substance in body liquid.
Please use the Espacenet search interface to retrieve this patent
document. The document gives details on how the invention may be
industrially applicable. Which of the following statements is/are
correct? The invention may be used in ...
Select one or more.
a) a device for qualitatively or quantitatively displaying the
concentration of a substance in body liquid
b) a device that automatically administers medication to a body where
the amount and/or time for administering the medication depends on
the measured concentration
c) a device that automatically administers Barium-based radiocontrast
agents to the body
d) none of these

The invention may be used in a device for displaying the concentration of a

substance in body liquid and in a device that automatically administers
medication to a body.
Patent classification symbols are a key way of making patent
searches more effective. Which of the following statements is/are
correct?
Select one or more.
a) Patent classification symbols are generally assigned by patent offices
to categorise the technical subject-matter of a patent or utility model.
b) One of the most important patent classification systems is the IPC
system.
c) The CPC system does not cover the field of chemistry.

d) The CPC system has more classification symbols than the IPC system.

Shuji Nakamura is a Japanese-born engineer who is regarded as the inventor

of the production of blue light-emitting diodes using a gallium nitride growth
process. He was a European Inventor Award finalist in 2007 and was
awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics with other researchers in 2014.
Use the search command line in Espacenet(opens in a new tab) to find
patent documents related to inventions on gallium nitride growth processes
for which Mr Nakamura was indicated as the inventor. We recommend
using search field identifiers(opens in a new tab) in the search command
line to retrieve these patent documents.
In which year was the earliest application related to these
processes filed with Mr Nakamura as the inventor?
a) 1993
b) 1997
c) 2004

The earliest application was filed in 1993. The search statement 'in="Shuji
Nakamura"' may be used to retrieve relevant patent documents. The hits for
this search statement show a record having the title "Gallium nitride-based
III-V group compound semiconductor device and its mfg.method" (or similar)
with an earliest priority date of 28 April 1993. This record may be identified
by sorting the list of results by ascending order of priority date (i.e. the filing
date of earlier related applications) and looking for inventions related to
gallium nitride semiconductor light-emitting devices.
You can find the above-mentioned priority date via the "Bibliographic data"
tab for the representative patent document for this record, the priority
section of which (i.e. the list of earlier related applications) indicates patent
application JP12489093A as the earliest application for the same invention,
with the application date 28 April 1993.
Are there any patent documents published in the period 2020 to
2021 on technologies related to the 3D printing of implants to
replace human bone material?
Please use the Espacenet(opens in a new tab) search interface to retrieve
relevant information.
Hint: think about using CPC codes to retrieve patent documents covering
specific technical subject-matter, e.g.
3D printing: CPC subclass B33 ("Additive manufacturing technology")
Bone implants: CPC subgroup A61F2/28 ("Prostheses implantable into the
body: Bones") and subordinate subgroups
a) Yes
b) No

The correct answer is 'Yes'. The three different search concepts (3D printing
concept, bone implant concept, time range) may be combined using the
AND Boolean operator to create an intersection set.
The hits for the Espacenet search statement 'cpc = "B33/low" AND cpc =
"A61F2/28/low" AND pd within "2020 2021"' brings up dozens of related
results.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
The key facts to take away from this module on patent information
are the following:
1. Public patent information is a key pillar of the patent system and a
rich source of technical, legal and business information.
2. Most technical details about inventions and technologies are only
disclosed in patent documents.
3. Patent information should be used at all stages of the innovation
process.
4. There are numerous commercial and free-of-charge patent
databases and search interfaces for retrieving and assessing
patent information.
5. It's crucial to create an informed search strategy.
6. Search concepts based on patent classification symbols are a
powerful tool.