A Patent Search and Classification System

Abstract

We present a system for searching and classifying U.S. patent documents, based on Inquery. Patents are distributed through hundreds of collections, divided up by general area. The system selects the best collections for the query. Users can search for patents or classify patent text. The user interface helps users search in fields without requiring the knowledge of Inquery query operators. The system includes a unique "phrase help" facility, which helps users find and add phrases and terms related to those in their query. Introduction At the Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval (CIIR) at the University of Massachusetts we are working with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on a project involving the retrieval and classification of U.S. Patent texts, patent images, and trademark images. This paper describes a web-based system for the retrieval and classification of patent text that we have implemented for the USPTO. Notable features of the system include: . A collect..