IPC reform - how will commercial products be

affected?

Rob WillowsVP Patent Office Relationships,

Thomson Scientific and

Chairman, PatCom Technical Working Group

Agenda

• Introduction to PatCom

• Major issues generated by the introduction of IPC8

• Key actions being taken by commercial data providers to make IPC8 data available to users

Introduction to PatCom

PATCOM, the European Commercial Patent Services Group, is an association of commercial patent information providers in Europe who work to ensure a fair balance between the free information services of patent offices, commercial value-added patent information services, and users’ interests.Affiliated to – Coalition for Patent and Trademark Information

Dissemination (USA)– Patent Information Online Service Council

(Japan)

PatCom Members

• Thomson Scientific

• Univentio-Lexis• Fiz Karlsruhe• Questel-Orbit• INCOM• IFI Claims• RWS• Minesoft

• Patolis• Dialog• WPS• NERAC• CAS• Technische

Universität Ilmenau

The general scope of the IPC Reform project

• To make the IPC a better search tool for retrieving patent information by combining elements and criteria of classification of the 3 different classification schemes of the “Trilateral Treaty Offices” and WIPO (i.e. ECLA, USPC, F-terms + WIPO IPC 7)

• Harmonize the classification work and enhance the use of the IPC for IPOs and public

• Steady and permanent reclassification of the backlog file in the databases

• Introduce a two-tier approach for the use of the IPC• Core Level (CL) IPC as min. requirement for all offices,

mostly “small” and “medium” IPOs• Advanced Level (AL) for larger IPOs• To provide information on invention related and non-

invention related aspects

Major issues for Commercial Providers

1) Updating data take on programs in line with the format and content of IPC-R

2) Loading the Master Classification Database into our systems to ensure classification consistency in our databases and services.

3) Updating our products and services to be IPC-R compliant, including changes to saved searches, SDIs and customized searches

4) Availability of the Master Classification File5) Concordance IPC 7 to IPC 86) Role of national patent offices7) Communication

Availability of the Master Classification Database in ST 36/XML - 1

• Reclassification data from EPO was not made available until December 23, 2005.– Challenge for commercial sector to

include this information in products and services from the beginning of 2006

– has a number of errors, e.g. missing Inventive attributes.

Availability of the Master Classification Database in ST 36/XML - 2

• MCD backfile status– Advanced level from IPC-R/ECLA

concordance table– Core level from WIPO validity file– Supplementary data from German

PTO

• Content of first MCD update represents around 90% of the potential coverage of the MCD

Availability of the MCD updates

• Updates from other national offices will be delivered:– As separate updates for large Reclassification sets,

e.g. JPO – commercial providers need advance warning and accurate schedules

– Incorporated in regular DOCDB updates for smaller reclassification sets – commercial providers need more details of process, e.g. update or replacement of DOCDB records.

– Error correction is the responsibility of National Offices – IPCs that fail validation will not appear in DOCDB – how will this work in practice?

– Need IPC-R changes in DOCDB updates to be clearly differentiated from all other changes/updates

Availability of the Master Classification File (validity file)

• WIPO has made MCF available to commercial providers in XML format

• IPC-R Scheme updated on December 14, 2005

• MCF is a vital information tool– Notification of new classes/reclassification

logic– For creation of concordances,

dictionaries/thesauri and other user aids

Concordance IPC 7 to IPC 8

• WIPO has produced IPC7 to IPC8 concordance

• Most Commercial providers have carried out their own work on producing concordance files

Role of National Patent Offices

• Commercial providers and information users need detailed information on which offices will apply Core + Advance vs Core only.

• Use of concordance files by major offices– Will USPTO use USPC-IPC8 concordance?– Will JPO use “F-Term”-IPC8 concordance

Implementation of IPC-R by patent offices from Jan 01, 2006

• Incoming patent data from Jan 2006 has contained a range of inconsistencies– Docs containing obsolete IPC7 symbols – Data in IPC-R format but with no attributes– Data presented as IPC7, but with IPC-R

content– Some printed gazettes went through a 2-3

week transition from IPC7 to IPC-R– Some ahead of schedule – IPC-R data in

PT Gazettes from August 2005!

Communication

• Communication between EPO/WIPO and the commercial providers has been good– Regular technical meetings during 2004 and

2005– These need to be continued in 2006 and

beyond• Information for applicants and patent

information users– Will EPO, WIPO and National Offices provide

seminars, training, supporting material etc?– Role of commercial providers in providing

IPC-R information

Strategic Response of Commercial Providers to IPC-R

• Make all products and services IPC-R compliant by the start of 2006

• Enable search and retrieval of all Core and Advanced IPC8 data elements, including attributes

• Include all reclassification data from the EPO’s MCD

• Inclusion of Core and Advanced level updates• Inclusion of additional Reclassification updates

from National Offices• Access to earlier versions of IPC

IPC reformIPC reformDifferent needs for different usersDifferent needs for different users

• Prior art– Consistency across whole collection– Backlog update with up-to-date

classification

• Alerts – SDIs– Stability of coding

• Legal actions– Historical data

QuestelQuestel•Orbit choice•Orbit choiceData fields (1 of 3)Data fields (1 of 3)

• New fields– ICAI – Advanced Inventive– ICAN – Advanced Non-inventive– ICAA – both ICAI & ICAN– ICCA – Core Inventive– ICCN – Core Non-inventive– ICCA – both ICCA & ICCN

• Single IC index including all IC fields• Attributes are searchable and displayable• Former fields (ICM, ICS, IC1, IC2, ICA):

– Are kept– Are no longer updated with IPC-R

QuestelQuestel•Orbit choice•Orbit choiceData fields (2 of 3)Data fields (2 of 3)

• Core level will be added systematically if not provided (QO listed as generating office)

• Mainly for SDI purposes as it is more “stable” than Advanced level

• Derived from Advanced level using the WIPO table

QuestelQuestel•Orbit choice•Orbit choice Data fields (3 of 3) Data fields (3 of 3)

• Each IPC code for each publication will be kept with its attributes– Version date: YYYY-MM or YYYY (Core)– Class level: Advanced (A) or Core (C)– Value: Inventive (I), Non inventive (N)– Original (B), Reclassified (R), Various

changes (V)– Source: Human (H), Machine equiv (M),

Generated by software (G)– Generating office: ST3 Country code

QuestelQuestel•Orbit choice•Orbit choiceDatabase ImplementationDatabase Implementation

National & Full text Files• IPC-R will be added

– Reflects IPC at time of publication• Will not be revised• “Older” IPC will remain unchanged

PlusPat/FamPat/DWPI• IPC-R added and revised• Approx. 40m backfile updates in DocDb

Implications for STN-databases (1)Implications for STN-databases (1)

• all patent files include IPC-R codes for all new patent publications from 2006 onwards

• INPADOC , CA/CAPLUS , USPATFULL…– IPC-backfile and frontfile will be loaded on the basis of

MCD/DOC.db

• Reload of Derwent World Patents Index (02/2006)– IPC8 compatible– reclassification data will be covered

• Advance-to-Core Level "rolled-up" during file loading for selected files if not provided

Implications for STN-databases (2)Implications for STN-databases (2)

• The old IPC classifications will remain in all files

• STN has compiled WIPO's Master Classification and Validity File in a STN IPC thesaurus

• One single BASIC INDEX for the old and new IPC: IPC

• All IPC attributes are in a separate keyword index: IPC.KW (keywords: invention, advanced, core, non-invention, human, machine, original, EP, DE, main, secondary etc.) and can be linked by sentence proximity to the IPC index

• "Search/expand edits" allow searches in old or new IPC formats

Implications for STN-databases (3)Implications for STN-databases (3)

• New DISPLAY fields/formats

IPC displays the IPC with selected attributes in a short form IPC.TAB displays IPC with all attributes in a detailed tabular form

• Detailed ANALYZE possibilitiesIPC.F Select field for statistical analysis

(contains the ICM codes (pre-IPC-R) and all the first IPC-R codes from publication 2006

onwards)

IPC.A Selects all advanced levels IPC.C Selects all core levelsIPC.AI Selects all advanced levels for inventionIPC.CI Selects all core levels for invention

DWPI Online & IPC Reform -1

• Retain existing IPC field for DWPI family – No change to current search & display options

– Existing content is updated with reclassification data when available

– Field is redefined as “Current (Latest) IPCs”

• Introduce new IPC fields for individual members of DWPI family – “Original IPCs” as published on specification for

individual patent document

– “Current (Latest) IPCs” as reclassified by EPO

DWPI Online & IPC Reform -2

• Introduce new fields to utilise new IPC “attribute” information– IPC 7: Main / Secondary / Additional /

Index– IPC-R: Advanced / Core / Invention /

Non-Invention• Create super-index for single search of

all IPC fields

WPI patent family and IPC-R - 1

• All the IPCs with their attributes will be captured in the data take-on systems

• The IPCs will be represented (after WPI reload) at two levels: family (invention) and member patent

• There will be host specific features • TS Dialog commitment - to have

consistent handling of IPC across all patent files

WPI patent family and IPC-R - 2

• Family (Invention) level– “IPC Current”– will be created by combining

and de-duplicating IPCs from each family member (similar to current IPC field)

– De-duplication will take place across IPC symbols and certain attributes but not across IPC7 and IPC-R

– Combination of IPC7 and IPC-R expected until MCD reclassification is complete

– For reclassified record the current IPC will appear both at family and member patent level

WPI patent family and IPC-R -3

• Member patent level will contain two fields: – “Original IPC”, as published on the

patent document– “Current (latest) IPC”

• “Current” field is populated with original IPC (for no re-classification) or the re-classified IPC

– All IPC attributes will be captured for family members

IPC-R Changes on Delphion• Alerts & Saved Searches: Alerts will run as normal, and any queries

that search in the "IC" field now also search the new IPC R data. However, because significant code changes have been made in IPC R, you should review and adjust your code selections in Alerts and Saved Searches. Full details of the new IPC R codes are available at the WIPO website.

• Boolean Search Form: The "IPC Code - Any" field will now search both IPC 7 and IPC R data. The "IPC Code - Main" field is now called "IPC Code - Invention/Main" and searches IPC 7 Main and IPC R Invention codes.

• Advanced Search Form: The "IPC Code" field will now search both IPC 7 and IPC R data, but also includes the option to take advantage of new attributes available in IPC R.

• Result Set & Delphion Integrated View: These views will now display both IPC 7 and IPC R codes depending on what is available for a specific publication. The Result Set displays the subclass level of the first-listed IPC, while the Delphion Integrated View shows all available codes.

IPC-R on PatentWeb• Alerts: Alerts will run as normal, and any queries that search IPC codes

will also search the new IPC R data. However, because significant code changes have been made in IPC R, you should review and adjust your code selections in Alerts and Saved Searches.

• Search Form: The "US or Int'l Class" field in PatSearch Fulltext has been renamed to "US or Any IPC" and searches both IPC 1-7 (pre-reform) and IPC R data. A new "IPC R - Current" field has been added, and will allow specific searching of current IPC R data. In MPI, the existing IPC field has been relabelled as IPC 1-7 and a new "IPC R - Current" field has been added. When this field is selected, an option to take advantage of new IPC R attributes will also be presented. For saved searches and alerts in MPI, queries that include IPC criteria will need to be edited to run properly.

• Hitlist and Record View: These views display both IPC 1-7 and IPC R codes depending on which is available for a specific publication. The Hitlist displays the subclass level of the first-listed IPC, while the Record View shows all available codes.

• Exports, PatGraph and Reports: These features give preference to using Current IPC R data (vs. pre-reform codes) and Advanced codes, when available. If those codes are not present, pre-reform data and Core codes will be used

IPC-R Info on TS Web sites

• http://scientific.thomson.com/support/patents/coverage/latestupdates/ipc-reform/

• http://scientific.thomson.com/news/newsletter/2006-01/8304710/

Summary

• For IPC-R to become an effective search and retrieval tool for patent information users, the Patent Offices and the commercial sector must continue to work closely– Better communication– Better technical collaboration– Better information for users