Legal search is used to assist PatSnap users to create queries using legal parameters. The results generated by a Legal Search will help you learn more about particularly litigious companies, where licensing deals or re-assignments have taken place and where a particular company's patent(s) have been made invalid or have required re-examination.
Legal Search has five different categories to select from. Litigation, re-examination/invalidation, licensing, assignment, and pledge. All of the categories have two sections of search fields: General fields and Patent fields.
Each of the different jurisdictions might have slightly different search options in terms of the "General Fields", which is due to the differences between their legal systems but they all have the same options in terms of the "Patent Fields", which use the same format as the Field Search.
You can learn more about our Field Search here: Field Search 101
Litigation
The first option is Litigation. We currently have litigation data for around 65 jurisdictions which you can find on our Data Coverage page under "Legal Databases".
This is an explanation of each of these different options:
- Case Number - PatSnap will search within case numbers for what was inputted.
- Court Name - PatSnap will search within court names for what was inputted.
- Title - PatSnap will search within case titles for what was inputted.
- Fulltext - PatSnap will search within the full text of the case file for what was inputted.
- Outcome of Judgement - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents by the outcome of the case filed involving them or cases by their outcome, either input "plaintiff" or "defendant" to see results where each side won the case.
- Plaintiff Name - PatSnap will search within plaintiff names for what was inputted.
- Defendant Name - PatSnap will search within defendant names for what was inputted.
- Chief Judge - PatSnap will search within chief judge names for what was inputted.
- Judge - PatSnap will search within judge names for what was inputted.
- Verdict Date - PatSnap will search for patents which had a verdict in a case involving them or cases which had a verdict between the dates inputted. If the left-hand option is left blank then the search will be up to the date inputted on the right and if the right-hand option is left blank then the search will be from the date inputted on the left.
- Date Filed - PatSnap will search for patents where the case involving them is filed or cases which were filed between the dates inputted. If the left-hand option is left blank then the search will be up to the date inputted on the right and if the right-hand option is left blank then the search will be from the date inputted on the left.
- Date Closed - PatSnap will search for patents where the case involving them is closed or cases which were closed between the dates inputted. If the left-hand option is left blank then the search will be up to the date inputted on the right and if the right-hand option is left blank then the search will be from the date inputted on the left.
- Hearing Date - PatSnap will search for patents that had a hearing for the case filed involving them or cases which had a hearing between the dates inputted. If the left-hand option is left blank then the search will be up to the date inputted on the right and if the right-hand option is left blank then the search will be from the date inputted on the left.
- Case Type - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents by the type of case that they are involved in or cases by their type. Options here are "Judgment", "Ruling", "Mediation", "Decision" and "Other documents".
- Court Level - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents by the Chinese court that their case was seen in and cases by the type of court they were seen in. Options here are "Supreme Court", "High Court", "Intermediate Court", "Basic Court" and "Special Court".
- Verdict - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents by the verdict of the case or cases by their verdict.
- Party - PatSnap will allow you to search within parties for what was inputted.
- Party Agent - PatSnap will allow you to search within party agents for what was inputted.
- Party Attorney - PatSnap will allow you to search with party attorneys for what was inputted.
- Damages Claimed - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents based on the amount of damages that were awarded for the cases they've been involved in or cases based on the amount of damages awarded upon it's conclusion. This can be greater than or equal to or less than or equal to a inputted value or within a range of values.
- Filing Year - PatSnap will search for patents where the case involving them is filed or cases which were filed between the years inputted. If the left-hand option is left blank then the search will be up to the year inputted on the right and if the right-hand option is left blank then the search will be from the year inputted on the left.
- Product(s) - PatSnap will allow you to search with product(s) for what was inputted.
USA only
- Outcome Status - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents by the specific status that the case currently has.
China only
- Trial Level - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents that have been given a specific trial level (all / first instance / second instance / retrial)
- Case Property - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents that have been given a specific case type (civil / administrative / execution / intellectual property / other)
- Case Region - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents that have had cases filed against them in a specific Chinese province.
Litigation View
In the Litigation Search section, it is also possible to select the "Litigation View". Located at the top of the text box that displays a preview of your query.
When you select Litigation View to perform your search, the query building process is exactly the same as any other search type in PatSnap, the difference is that after clicking on Search, the results page will list litigation cases instead of patents. Each case will display its title, its case No., the case's plaintiff and defendant, the verdict date, the date the case was closed, and the patent(s) involved in the case.
The Refining sidebar on the left-hand side of the screen will also display different refining options.
Normally, when you click on one of the results that were returned after doing a standard patent search, a new tab would open displaying the "Patent View", where you can inspect various sections containing relevant patent data like Abstract/Claims/Description, images, the patent's pdf, etc. When you select a result while using the "Litigation View", a new tab will be opened, but it will only display information relevant to the case. Similarly, the list of results that appear on the sidebar on the right-hand side of the screen will be made up of cases.
Re-examination/Invalidation
The second option is re-examination/invalidation. We currently have re-examination/invalidation data for CN/US/EP/JP patents.
This is an explanation of each of these different options:
- Decision Number - PatSnap will search within decision numbers for what was inputted.
- Internal Number - PatSnap will search within internal numbers for what was inputted.
- Reexam/Invalid Applicant - PatSnap will search within the applicant of re-examination/invalidation cases for what was inputted.
- Decision - PatSnap will search for patents where the final decision of the case contains what was inputted.
- Decision Summary - This may also be considered to be "full text" since this includes the case summary, the reason/the basis for the decision in the case, therefore, in this case, PatSnap will search for patents where the full text for the case contains what was inputted.
- Legal Grounds - PatSnap will search for the legal grounds that had been cited in a case.
- Decision Date - PatSnap will search for patents where the date that a decision regarding re-examination/invalidation has been made for the dates inputted. If the left-hand option is left blank then the search will be up to the date inputted on the right and if the right-hand option is left blank then the search will be from the date inputted on the left.
China Only
- Decision Points - PatSnap will search for patents where the main points/basis for the decision in the case contain what was inputted.
- Decision Type - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents by the type of re-examination/invalidation that has taken place or is currently taking place for the patent (re-examination / invalidation / oral hearing).
USA Only
- Decision Type - Similar as for China but different options are available here (Inter partes review / Post-grant review / Covered business method review)
EPO Only
- Decision Type - Similar as for China and the US, but different options are available here (Enlarged Board of Appeal / Technical Board / Legal Board of Appeal / PCT protest cases / Petitions for review under Art. 112a / Disciplinary Board of Appeal).
Licensing
The third option is Licensing. The Licensing search options look like this:
This is an explanation of each of these different options:
- Licensor - PatSnap will search within licensor names for what was inputted.
- Licensee - PatSnap will search within licensee names for what was inputted.
- Exclusivity - PatSnap will allow you to search for patents by the exclusivity of the licensing deals that have occurred regarding them (exclusive/non-exclusive/multi-exclusivity/sole license/cross license/sub license/others).
- Effective Date - PatSnap will search for patents where the date that a licensing deal for the patent has taken effect is between the dates inputted. If the left-hand option is left blank then the search will be up to the date inputted on the right and if the right-hand option is left blank then the search will be from the date inputted on the left.
Assignment
The fourth option is Assignment. The assignment search options look like this:
This is an explanation of each of these different options:
- Assignor - PatSnap will search within assignor names for what was inputted.
- Assignee - PatSnap will search within assignee names for what was inputted (in this case it looks for current assignees that are not the original assignee, this is to make sure an assignment has actually taken place).
- Effective Date of Assignment - PatSnap will search for patents where the date that an assignment for the patent has taken effect is between the dates inputted. If the left-hand option is left blank then the search will be up to the date inputted on the right and if the right-hand option is left blank then the search will be from the date inputted on the left.
Pledge
The fifth and final option that you can search using "Legal Search" is Pledge. We currently only have pledge data for CN/US patents.
Each of these jurisdictions has slightly different search options in terms of pledge which is due to the differences between their legal systems.
The options available when selecting the US (or both authorities at the same time) are the following:
This is an explanation of each of these different options:
- Pledgor - PatSnap will search within pledgor names for what was inputted.
- Pledgee - PatSnap will search within pledgee names for what was inputted.
- Pledge Number - PatSnap will search within pledge numbers for what was inputted.
- Pledge Effect Date - PatSnap will search for patents where the date that the pledge first comes into effect is between the dates inputted. If the left-hand option is left blank then the search will be up to the date inputted on the right and if the right-hand option is left blank then the search will be from the date inputted on the left.
China Only
- Pledge Stage - PatSnap will search patents by the specific stage a pledge is currently in (Take effect / Cancellation / Change).
