Patent Searching and Freedom to Operate (FTO)

Question 1

What are ‘boolean operators’?

Answer 1

Boolean operators are the words “AND”, “OR” and “NOT”

Question 2

What is a semantic search?

Answer 2

A method that uses AI to analyse the meaning and context of a search query, returning relevant patents based on conceptual similarity rather than just exact keyword matches

Question 3

With semantic searches, are the documents marked as either ‘revelant’ or ‘not relevant’?

Answer 3

NO - not binary

They are now on a scale from relevant <——> not relevant

Question 4

What is an image search?

Answer 4

• A method that is based on the visual similarity of the figures in the patent document rather than keyword commonality.
• Can use AI to analyse the content of an image and find related patents.

Question 5

What is the basic search strategy for novelty?

Answer 5

• References cited in the patent application
• Relevant applicants and inventors
• Main classes
• Select key features to do an initial keyword search to find further key words, synonyms, more relevant classes
• Select relevant databases

Question 6

What are the pros of using keyword searches for novelty?

Answer 6

• Easy and intuitive
• No knowledge of classes or applicants required
• Good starting point to find classes, synonyms, inventors & applicants.

Question 7

What are the cons of using keyword searches for novelty?

Answer 7

Not all synonyms easily found
Noise due to “common” words
Homographs & abbreviations
Machine translation quality
Multiple language search more complex

Question 8

What types of patent classification schemes are there?

Answer 8

• Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
• International Patent Classification (IPC)
• European Classification (ECLA) -> CPC
• Japanese Patent Classification System (FI / F-Term)