Trends disrupted--patent information in an era of change

Patent analysts predict trends in research and the business environment by studying the numbers and classifications of patents issued to companies around the world. Those attempts are often affected by the changes taking place in international treaties, governments, patent laws, patent classification systems, and corporate mergers and acquisitions. This paper describes some of the changes in the patent information environment that have disrupted the trends predicted by patent analyses in the past.Patent analysis Patent trends Disrupted trends India USA International treaties National laws Classification systems Corporate mergers Corporate demergers Patenting policies

Markush structure searching over the years

The indexing and retrieval of Markush structures has always been among the most problematic aspects of patent information and the most expensive. Indexing advanced from the simple classification systems of the 1950s to proprietary fragmentation systems, which were followed in the 1980s by topological systems. The cost of access to the latest indexing systems has varied widely over the years. In spite of improvements in indexing and less restrictive access conditions, comprehensive Markush structure searches remain the sole province of well financed organizations.

Patent databases: A survey

This article represents in tabular form the results of a comprehensive survey of patent-containing databases. Both exclusively and non-exclusively patent databases are described in terms of their subject and patent content, their availability, and the data elements that are searchable and printable online.

Of submarines and interference: legal status changes following citation of an earlier US patent or patent application under 35 USC §102 (e)

The changes in legal status of issued US patents which may result from the resolution of conflicts with patents of earlier date under 35 USC §102 (e) are reviewed. Some suggestions on how these changes may be tracked are provided. Resolution of these conflicts is often delayed by the existence of submarine patents, i.e., patent applications that have an earlier date but are published much later or are otherwise not known to the initial patentee. Resolution is also complicated by the "first to invent" concept in US patent law. The types of action resulting from the operation of 35 USC §102 (e) are described with reference to specific cases, and include interference, infringement and validity resolution, reexamination, reissue applications and disclaimers.