PIUG Patent Searching Fundamentals

Course Offerings

1. Understanding Intellectual Property for Searchers
2. Choosing and Evaluating Patent Searching Resources 
3. Essential Search Techniques
4. Patent Classification
5. Patent Analytics and Landscaping
6. Advanced Search Techniques
7. Finding and Understanding Legal Status Information

Both complete course and individual registrations availability

Course Descriptions

Webinar 1       Instructor: John Zabilski

Understanding Intellectual Property for Patent Searchers 

Learn key patent information providing a working knowledge of important aspects every searcher should know and to help guide you towards obtaining relevant search results.

• What constitutes intellectual property
• Advantages of owning a patent
• Types of patent publications
• Parts of a patent publication
• Basics of U.S. Patent Law
• Essential International Patent Law
• Patent timeline including publication stages
• Patent term adjustments and extensions

Webinar 2       Instructor: Martha Yates

Choosing and Evaluating Patent Searching Resources  

Learn how to find patent searching resources and more importantly how to evaluate those resources: 

• How do you evaluate data quality? 
• How do you evaluate search and analysis features? 
• How do you choose the right tool or tools for your particular circumstances? 

These questions are discussed along with a review of available free and commercial resources.

Webinar 3       Instructor: John Zabilski

Essential Patent Search Techniques  

Learn essential information and techniques to effectively search for patent information.

• Understanding database coverage, content and structure
• Evaluating a bottom-up versus a top-down approach to control precision versus recall
• Mining data using analysis and semantic techniques to identify relevant search terminology
• Comparing search types including bibliographic, keyword, classification, full-text and indexed content
• Building comprehensive search statements using search operators and command language techniques including nesting, truncation, wildcards and stemming
• Contrasting search features across free and commercial resources
• Considering necessary steps for different search types: Patentability, Freedom to Operate and Validity
• Viewing a search case study applying these techniques

Webinar 4       Instructor: Stephen Adams

Patent Classification 

This session will provide an overview to the effective use of patent classifications.  The systems covered will be the International Patent Classification and its derivatives, the CPC and the FI systems.  You will encounter illustrations of usage for different types of patent information retrieval.  There are several mechanisms to enable the user to identify the classification marks which may be suitable for each subject-based search; tools for this will be discussed, relevant to each of the distinct classification systems covered.  The revision cycles will be described together with means for keeping your knowledge up-to-date.

Webinar 5       Instructor: Tony Trippe

Introduction to Patent Analytics and Technical Intelligence 

This introductory webinar provides examples of the stages required for performing patent analytics, and for the preparation of a Patent Landscape Report (PLR). Patent analytics and PLRs support informed decision-making and are designed to efficiently address the concerns associated with making high stakes decisions in technologically advanced areas with a maximum degree of confidence. For many years' decision-makers operated based on personal networks and intuition. With the institution of patent analytics, and PLRs, it is possible for these critical decisions to be made with data-driven approaches that deliver informed choices, and lower risk profiles. This session will provide an overview of the patent analysis process and provide a case study.

Webinar 6       Instructor: Dominic DeMarco

Patent Searching – Beyond the Basics  

Whether it is Week 10, Month 10, or Year 10 of searching patents, there will always be a new tip or trick that can make you better. In this fast paced and interactive class, we will help you think creatively to develop adaptive search queries and multi-pronged strategies that will hopefully keep you from being replaced by a machine learning algorithm…for a few years, at least.

Students need to have completed the preceding search courses through PIUG or have at least one year of patent searching experience. All should come to class with an open mind and willingness to do things differently. Every patent searcher has routines they follow, but our goal in this class is to help you shake things up and avoid falling into a rut. This will help you approach every search fresh, increase your efficiency, and hopefully, make your job less boring.

Webinar 7       Instructor: Stephen Adams

Finding and Understanding Legal Status Information  

This session will provide a background to the importance of retrieving information on the legal status of patents and patent applications, both at the document level and in complete collections.  The differing models of patent prosecution will be outlined briefly, followed by developments in recording legal status at the national level and compiling it into multinational databases.  The key sources for major jurisdictions will be covered, together with information on federated databases and their searchable characteristics.