• Patent knowledge

Patent search: Which search software is the right one?

February 13, 2023

Just as it is impossible to answer the question of what "the right car" is these days, there is no universal answer as to what "the right search software" for patent searches is. But there are search tools that are suitable for your purposes and goals and that suit you.

We will introduce you to the most important patent search tools and explain how they work and the differences between them.

In the field of patents and intellectual property (IP), there are many search tools, some of which work in very different ways and need to be learned to use.In the last 10 years in particular, the number of research programs has increased significantly; some of them are free, others charge a fee. If you ask an experienced patent searcher today which search software he can recommend to you, he will most likely recommend the system he is currently using. Why? Quite simply because he knows its strengths and weaknesses inside out and has usually learned how to use it over the years.
For someone who has hardly any experience with the use of patent software or is completely new to the subject of patent searches, it is almost impossible to find the "right" search software from scratch. That's why we shed some light on the subject and introduce you to the most important types of search tools, their advantages and features.We only refer to the functions of The tools In terms OfPatent search.
Other features with which patents are distributed in the company for evaluation (Patent monitoring) and with which acomprehensive Workflow And an "in-house archive" can be set up in the company are not included in our comparison.

What is important in a Patent search?

Irrespective of the basic search functions (search, filter, etc.), there are many requirements for a search program that not only make day-to-day patent work easier, but also form the basis for a successful search.

Search functions for a successful and efficient patent search:

  • family-based Research
  • extensive, international patent database
  • high-quality, searchable machine translations - especially for Asian patents (e.g. China, Japan, South Korea)
  • Search histories that save each individual search with the respective results
  • convenient and user-friendly search interface
  • extensive analysis and filtering options for results
  • automatic highlighting of search terms through the use of sophisticated highlighting schemes
  • Distinction between dependent and independent Claims
  • Ranking for results and results lists
  • simple forwarding of search results

Not all of the search tools that we present below have several or all of these important search functions.That's why we Show you Tool by tool Which functions are available and for Which type Of research each tool Is suitable.

What search tools are available for patent searches?

Let's start our comparison of the search tools. As mentioned above, we are only looking at the patent search functions - not thePatent monitoringTo set up your own patent archive or a comprehensive workflow.

Let's take a closer look at these research options:

  • Search using the programs of the patent offices (free of charge)
  • Research with the help of commercial providers (free of charge)
  • Search with patent crawler software (subject to a fee)
  • Search with patent software with its own patent database (subject to a fee)

Search using the programs of the patent offices

Every patent office is obliged to publish its own patent data. Whereas in the past, printed patent rights were published in paper form, the Internet has simplified the publication obligation and the patent offices make the patent data available on their websites.However, to ensure that older patents can also be accessed, each patent office provides a more or less convenient search program for its patent database.

Functionality

The patent offices' search programs are generally easy to use and contain few functions. Patent searches often also includePatent data from other offices Are included. Whether and to what extent this happens must be researched on the help pages of the respective patent office.

The search program DEPATISnet of the German Patent and Trademark Office for example, accesses the bibliographic data with a summary of approx. 100 countries. However, the full text (claims and descriptions) is only available for German and - in some cases - European patents. If you search for specific terms, American patents will also be found, but only on the basis of the title and the summary of the patent specifications. The essential Part, namely the Claims and Descriptions, are not searched. So if you also want to search for American patents, the search must be carried out again at the US Patent Office.

This means for You: For a search that is as complete as possible, you must search the various international patent offices in the respective language of the country. This is very time-consuming. Only the WIPO IP Portal offers Patentscope, a search interface on which several countries can be searched in full text. However, the disadvantage is that not all patents are available on the date of publication.

Data protection

Patent searches often involve sensitive data. Access to the pages of the patent offices is almost exclusively encrypted. The search is safe if the patent office itself is trustworthy.

Search functions

One family-based Research is not possible or necessary at all offices, as searches are often only carried out in the data of the respective patent office. A separate Highlighting with Consideration of Synonyms, a meaningful Ranking and also Analysis options are only available at very few patent offices. Search histories or saved result lists are not possible, as this would require a user account.

A search is possible at these international patent offices, among others:

Conclusion

The patent data from the various patent offices is very up-to-date and is usually available on the day of publication. Data that you enter during the search is transferred securely in most programs. It is easy to use and no training is required.

However, a search at the patent offices is only complete for the respective patent office. Claims and descriptive texts from other countries are missing. Functions that are necessary for an efficient search are not or hardly available. An extensive Freedom-to-operate search (FTO search) is hardly possible with the programs of the patent offices, or only with great effort.

Research with the help of commercial providers

Some commercial providers offer free search programs. The best-known search platform isGoogle Patents. Their great advantage over the patent offices lies in thesignificantly larger full-text database Of the patents (claims and description text; some with machine translations). Among other things, Chinese patents are also searched in full text.

Functionality

The exact data that is searched must be checked with the respective provider. The data is only ever available with a delay from commercial providers. This is because commercial providers only receive the data on the day of publication and can only import it into their database. Depending on how the data is prepared, this can take several days.

Data protection

When searching with providers such as Google Patents, you should bear in mind that critical information is sent to a commercial provider under its terms and conditions. Creating a user account with a commercial provider is only recommended if the provider also undertakes to treat your data confidentially. This is rarely the case with free user accounts.

Search functions

Without your own user account, searching with the help of commercial providers is just as limited as searching with the programs of the patent offices: there are no custom highlighting schemes or search histories.

Conclusion

For reasons of data protection and data security, you should only carry out research with commercial providers for non-critical project work. You should refrain from carrying out an FTO search with commercial providers.

Depending on the provider, the completeness of the search can be significantly better than with the patent offices. The efficiency of the search is also better with some providers than with the patent offices. However, this is mainly due to the ranking functions and less to the search functions offered. These are also inadequate for this type of patent search.

Search with patent crawler software

Patent crawlers are programs that use websites (in this case the search pages of the patent offices) to collect data. The search queries are automatically adapted, sent to the platforms of the patent offices and the results are retrieved. Which patent offices are addressed must be taken from the documentation of the respective providers.

Functionality

The advantage of patent crawlers is obvious: A search is carried out in a current patent database that is significantly more extensive than that of a single patent office. The results are clearly summarized so that patents do not have to be read several times. Using patent crawler software is generally cheaper than using patent software with its own patent database.

Data protection

Sensitive data is transmitted to the offices in encrypted form.

Search functions

Highlighting schemes, search histories, evaluations and comments can be saved and reused.

However, patent crawler systems also have disadvantages. For example, the search options and search scopes are defined by the patent office, which allows the fewest search options. As the result has to be summarized at the end, there is also no relevance ranking.

The number of hits is limited, so it is only possible to re-sort the results to a limited extent. A lot of time can pass before a result appears on the screen, as all documents have to be loaded in addition to the result lists. Some patent offices now prevent automatic access to their websites and/or limit the number of hits, which can lead to repeated errors during the search. For this reason, there are only a few providers who still offer a search based on a patent crawler.

Conclusion

Patent Crawlers offer You Advantages over searching At the patent Offices. The searchable Database is much more extensive and there are Several functions Available that simplify The search.

The disadvantages are the limited possibility to research, the lack of relevance ranking and the poor performance. An FTO search with a patent crawler is time-consuming and the search options are significantly limited. For this reason, the FTO search with a patent crawler is not recommended. An overview search can be carried out.

Search with patent software with its own patent database

For a professional, secure and efficient search (including FTO searches), patent software with its own patent database such as IP7 Compass is the first choice. The providers of such patent software differ in their full-text databases (claims, descriptions, machine translations) and their search functions.

Functionality

Using patent software with its own patent database, complex search strategies can be pursued and many of the above-mentioned functions can be used for an efficient patent search. The result lists are displayed quickly.

While free search programs have a very simple (and therefore limited) user interface, paid search tools focus on professional research by experts. Providers such as IP7 offer training to get you started with the software.

Data protection

Access via a European patent software provider is secure, as there is a contract between the customer and the software provider and any disclosure of data is normally prevented in the terms and conditions. Look out for such a clause when concluding a contract.

Search functions

Access to patent software with a patent database is personalized. Depending on user rights, extensive search functions - such as highlighting, search history, relevance ranking, analysis, filter options and much more - are available. The results can be commented on and evaluated, and result lists can be displayed with software such as IP7 Compass can be stored in a hierarchical folder.

Patent software such as IP7 Compass also offers extensions for intelligent patent monitoring or workflow functions, such as the option to export data (e.g. to Excel or Word) in order to pass on relevant results, including evaluations and comments, to other departments.

Conclusion

Patent software with its own patent database is the best tool for a professional patent search in terms of security, completeness and efficiency. The cost of training and fees (usually license models and annual costs) is very quickly amortized by the more efficient search. Data protection is regulated in the general terms and conditions between the software provider and the software user.

Professional software providers normally offer trial access and therefore provide a good opportunity to try out and compare the functions of the software.

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