Part 3 - Patent View

From the results page (and some other parts of PatSnap), you can select a specific patent you want to inspect. After doing so, you will enter the "Patent View" screen.

Make note of the toolbar that will be available on the top right part of the Patent View in many sections.

Using this toolbar, you will be able to Download the PDF file of the patent you are inspecting, save it to a Workspace, assign values to custom fields, leave a comment, share the patent (link/email), and translate text from its original language to English, Chinese, or Japanese.

Additionally, on the right side of the screen you'll find your original search results in a list alongside some other options.

You can access the Keyword Highlighter (explained on Part 2), the Structure Highlighter, and the option for reporting data errors. When reporting a data error you are able to select from the options of data missing/incomplete, data error, data improvement, or others.

It is also possible to navigate through the results using the arrow buttons pointing up and down, or to hide this sidebar completely by clicking on the arrow button pointing right.

Overview

The first thing that will appear after entering Patent View, is the "Overview" page. The Overview page has multiple sections to select from, "Abstract" will be the first one to appear.

Abstract

Under "Abstract", you will be able to see various pieces of relevant information about the selected patent.

Application Number and Date, Publication Number and Date, Assignee, IPC/CPC, etc. will be located on the left side of the screen. You can also access the document's images from here.

On the right side of the screen, you will be able to view the actual abstract of the patent in its original language.

Also in this section is the Patsnap Title and AI Summary, where Patsnap's AI technology intelligently extracts or summarizes the abstract, and challenge the invention aims to address, and the positive impact of the invention.

Dual View

The next tab you can go to in Patent View is "Dual View" where you can look at the full text of the patent on the left side of the screen, and the PDF file next to it.

It is also possible to access "Smart Image" from the Dual View screen, you'll find the option to do so at the top of the PDF file.

Citation

The next tab you can go to is "Citation", where you can view a list of documents that have been cited in this patent (Backward Citations).

And a list of patents that have cited the one you are currently inspecting (Forward Citations).

Finally, you'll find the option to save these lists of patents to a Workspace, and access the "Citation Map".

Citation Map

The Citation Map allows you to see at a glance all the forward and backward citations that a particular patent has. This is useful for when you are trying to identify prior art, or potential infringement on a specific patent.

On this map, you can decide which information you want to display. For example, which patents have licensing information, and which ones are involved in litigation. PatSnap will display an icon next to the patent concerned.

It is possible to show the citation information of the patents that belong to the same Simple, INPADOC or PatSnap Family as the patent you are currently viewing. You can can also group these entries by Application Number or by Authority.

You have the ability to extend this citation map indefinitely. If a “+” appears next to a patent, you can display the backward, or forward citations that this patent may have (generations).

You can click on any of the patents you are interested in, and relevant information will be displayed. You will have the option to view this patent, add it to your Workspace, or download the PDF document.

Finally, the camera icon will allow you to take a screenshot of the map and save it to your computer.

Family

The next tab is "Family", where you can view the other patents that are members of the same families as the patent you are currently viewing. You can choose to see the representatives of the Simple, INPADOC, or PatSnap Family. It is also possible to display the family members in the "Thumbnail", "Geography", or "Tree Map" views.

List

The List view will show you all of the documents in list form. It will group up the documents that are part of the same application. This gives shows you the Publication Date, Legal Status, Application Number, Application Date, and the Estimated Expiry Date.

Thumbnail

Here, you will see the list of family members for your selected type of family. You will be able to see which type of family, the publication number/title, current assignee and abstract image for each of them.

Geography

Here, you will get to see the countries in which this family has presence. You will be able to see how many documents have been published, and where. The countries in which a family member exists will be colored, and the documents from EPO and WIPO are displayed at the bottom of the map.

You can select to see these documents ungrouped, or counted by one document per application. You can also choose which patent family is displayed (Simple, INPADOC, or Extended).

At the top right of this map, you'll find the options to show (or hide) the numbers, take a screenshot, and go into full-screen mode.

Below the map, you will find a list of all the family members, depending on the family you are choosing. On the left side you will see the publication number of each member, and the option to download the corresponding PDF file. On the right side of the list, you can choose to display priority data, current assignee, inventor, IPC, Abstract, or Application number/date. At the top of this list, you'll find the option to filter out by Authority.

Family Tree

Here, you will see a tree that shows all of the the family members, and their relationship. On the left side of the map, you'll find the different Jurisdictions where there are family members present, and on the top of the map, you'll see the application year.

On the top right side of the map you can access the settings, where you can refine by application year, authority, or legal status. You can also choose what information will be displayed for each patent. Application number is selected by default, and you can add the application date, publication number, publication date, legal status, if there has been any litigation or licensing activity, and the relationship between publications. Also located on the top right, there is the option to take a screenshot of the full map, or to go into full-screen mode.

The lines and arrows show the different links within the family. If you chose to display the relationship between patents from the settings menu, the arrows will also indicate if a patent claimed priority, or if they are a continuation or divisional from a previously published patent.

Legal

The next and final tab, is "Legal". Here, you'll find the sections Transaction, Litigation, Re-examination & Invalidation, Licensing, Pledge, File Wrapper, and Customs. Please note that these sections will only be available when there is relevant data to display.

Transaction

The first section that appears after selecting "Legal" is "Transaction".

From here, you will be able to see:

The current legal status of the patent, the date when this status came into force, and information regarding patent term adjustments (PTA).

A transaction history for the patent.

The assignments that have taken place.

And finally, the INPADOC legal status.

The transaction tab might be a little different depending of the country or authority that the patent you are viewing comes from. Patents that have been filed through the EPO for example, will display the list of countries in which this patent is being enforced at the top of the transaction screen.

If you click on one of the countries, you will be able to see the transactions that are relevant to that territory.

Litigation

The next option is "Litigation" which displays information about cases that have taken place involving this patent.

You will be able to see the name of the case, its case number, the court where the trial took place, and the dates in which the case was filed and closed. It is also possible to view the product(s) cited, and the Judge who took this case. The information concerning both the plaintiff, the defendant, and the attorneys who were on each side is listed too. Including their corresponding law firms.

You can click on the publication number of the patents involved, or the related cases. This will open a new results page with relevant results.

Finally, on the litigation section, you can view the dockets (if they are available). When the PDF icon appears, you will be able to download the document.

Re-examination & Invalidation

"Re-examination & invalidation" allows you to see the relevant information to this type of cases, like the European Case Law Identifier, Decision number and date, Distribution, Language of proceedings, Type, Board, Applicants, Legal Grounds, Summary, etc.

Licensing

Under "Licensing", you can view details of licensing deals that have taken place regarding this patent. You will be able to the find the date the terms of the license were agreed, the licensee and the licensor for the deal, the industry that the licensor operates within, case number for the deal, and some other relevant details.

Pledge

Next section is "Pledge", it will allow you to see the date that the patent was pledged, the reel/frame numbers, the type of pledge, and the pledgor and pledgee.

File Wrapper

The file wrapper, sometimes referred as the patent file history, is a written record of the application process, negotiations, and communications between Applicant and the Patent office. In Patsnap, this information is accessed under the "Legal" tab of the "Patent View".

When the file wrapper information is not hosted in Patsnap, you should see a link to the official website where you can also view this information.

Customs

Finally, we have the "Customs" section. Intellectual property rights holders apply to the Customs for the intellectual property rights protection. Currently, we only have Customs records for CN and JP patents.

You can also check:

< Previous page Next page >

Was this article helpful?

Have more questions? Submit a request