16 febbraio 2007
UNIVERSITA’ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI FEDERICO II
Seminario sulla tutela e valorizzazione dei risultati della
ricerca
LE BANCHE DATI BREVETTUALI
Ing. Mario Leone
[email protected]
Studio Associato Leone & Spadaro
www.leonespadaro.it
Studio Associato
Leone & Spadaro
LE RICERCHE BREVETTUALI
Vengono compiute generalmente sfruttando
collezioni documentali accessibili on line
Esistono ricerche semplici (nominative o
basate su dati bibliografici) o complesse
(basate sul contenuto tecnico dei documenti
da cercare)
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Siti dove è possibile compiere ricerche
ESPACENET
http://ep.espacenet.com/?locale=en_epù
UFFICIO BREVETTI USA (USPTO)
http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html
UFFICIO ITALIANO BREVETTI (UIBM)
http://www.uibm.gov.it/uibmdev/ricercaavanzata.aspx
EPOLINE
http://www.epoline.org
DOMANDE INTERNAZIONALI DI BREVETTO
http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/search-struct.jsp
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espacenet
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Classificazione Internazionale dei Brevetti
Le invenzioni vengono ordinate in base alla Classificazione
Internazionale dei Brevetti. Questa classificazione serve per
facilitare la ricerca di informazioni fra milioni di documenti di
brevetto. Attualmente la IPC è costituita da circa 70 000 unità.
Ogni cinque anni questo sistema di classificazione viene
adattato allo sviluppo tecnologico e perfezionato di
conseguenza. Attualmente è in vigore l’7° versione.
L’IPC è suddivisa nelle seguenti sezioni:
A Necessità correnti della vita
B Tecniche industriali, trasporti
C Chimica, metallurgia
D Industria tessile, della carta
E Edilizia, industria mineraria
F Costruzione meccanica, illuminazione, riscaldamento,
armi, esplosivi
G Fisica
H Elettrotecnica
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http://www.wipo.int/classifications/fulltex
t/new_ipc/ipcen.html
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ECLA:
http://v3.espacenet.com/eclasrch?CY=ep&LG=en
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EPOLINE
epoline è una collezione di programmi e servizi forniti
attraverso Internet, attraverso I quali è possibile:
Depositare domande di brevetto europeo, domande
internazionali,, e qualsiasi documento riguardante la
prosecuzione e la concessione di una domanda di brevetto
europeo
Monitorare la status e la cd. File history di qualsiasi
domanda di brevetto europeo;
Accedere a qualunque dato riportato dal Registro dei
Brevetti Europei;
Consultare notizie e tariffe relative alle domande di
brevetto europeo
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Example: prior art about systems to prevent
the use of mobile phones in public areas
First step: determination of the search keywords from the
concepts describing the invention, i.e common technical features
that may be found in patents relating to this subject.
Concept of mobile phone : phone, mobile OR cell*
Concept of noise: noise, disturb*, silence (functional but essential
feature, goal of the invention)
Concept of public space: hospital, cinema, theatre, public (it is
rather not possible that an interesting patent does not mention one
of these places as examples)
Concept of prevention: prevent*, screen*
Second step: determination of the relevant class: scan an
IPC/ECLA database or carry out a first search with three or four
concepts and check which are the classes with more hits (in this
case: ECLA H04K3/00 containing few hundreds of documents)
The use of all the subclasses may prevent an extensive search
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Third step: perform searches using the IPC or ECLA class (not the
subclasses) and crossing the first general concept with one of the
other three.
Check if the three groups of documents has document in common
If one or more documents are present in two or three groups, you
can store such documents for a further check, because they may
disclose features
If none of the documents are in common through said groups, there
is somthing wrong: check again the patent classification, broaden
the class limitation. Absence of evidence is no evidence of
absence
To get out of a search dead end try to think lateral to find new
concepts defining your subject.
Possible results of the present search:
US2001006886
Communication
inhibiting
device
and
communication inhibiting system
WO0207120, A system to deny cellular service at refueling stations
EP1061686, Call masking system for mobile telephone
WO9818232, Cellular telephone jamming method and device
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Example of lateral thinking: earthenware refrigerator
It consists of two earthenware pots of different diameters, one
placed inside the other. The space between the two pots is filled
with wet sand that is kept constantly moist, thereby keeping both
pots damp. Fruit, vegetables and other items such as soft drinks
are put in the smaller inner pot, which is covered with a damp
cloth and left in a very dry, ventilated place. The phenomenon that
occurs is based on a simple principle of physics: The water
contained in the sand between the two pots evaporates towards
the outer surface of the larger pot where the drier outside air is
circulated. By virtue of the laws of thermodynamics, the
evaporation process automatically causes a drop in temperature
of several degrees, cooling the inner container, destroying harmful
micro-organisms and preserving the perishable foods inside.
An egg stored in such a cooling device can stay fresh for 27 days
instead of three; tomatoes and peppers can stay fresh for three
weeks or more.
This invention has not been patented. Could it have been?
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First step: defining the concepts covering this invention. One possible
combination is:
1. Refrigerator, cool, cooling, etc.
2. Humid, Moist, etc.
3. Earthenware, pot, etc.
A search using the combination “cool* earth* moist*” yields too many
results of which none is relevant. The results show what is called “noise”:
many patents are found but they have nothing to do with the searched
subject. These patents relate to extremely diverse fields.
Second step: To cover the concept refrigerator, we can check which
classification symbol covers refrigerating systems. This symbol retrieval is
easy: you enter the word refrigerator as a search query and you check the
classification assigned to the retrieved documents. Using this strategy, you
quickly find that the F25 Class stands for refrigeration with thousands of
documents.
Think lateral! To find an additional concept, the conditions of use may be
focused. The searched invention is obviously to be used in hot countries
where no electrical power is available, meaning that the concept “country”
can certainly be present in such patents.
Further step: cross the class F25 with the keywords "country or countries".
This combination yields: CH658901 "Cooling box with evaporation“
A good document: check the classification (F25D7/00) and iter the
search with new concepts, e.g. porous (another essential feature)
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Conclusion
A good search strategy should lead to reasonable number of
documents, all of them having most of the concept in common with
the searched invention.
If such documents cannot destroy the novelty or the inventive step
of the invention, probably such an invention can stand.
If only few documents have been retrieved, the search may be
incomplete.
If the search strategy led to a number of document too high (e.g.
more than 100), probably the strategy is wrong
Practical tip: in mechanics, the main drawings may be used for
exclude most of the non-relevant documents
Practical tip: a trademark may lead to the name of a patent
owner in the searched field, the name be used for retrieving
interesting document or to find out the relevant class
Practical tip: a web search with Google may help in retrieving
the names of the main producers of a certain item. Such names
may be used for retrieving interesting document or to find out
the relevant class
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Le ricerche nel sito dell’UIBM
Nel sito dell’Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi è
possibile recuperare i dati di brevetti italiano. Le
parole chiave possono essere il titolare,
l’inventore, parole del titolo, date di deposito,
classi, regioni di deposito, priorità.
Non possono essere usate parole chiave nel
riassunto.
É possibile incrociare un numero qualunque di dati
ed ottenere un elenco di brevetti o modelli di utilità
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GRAZIE PER LA VOSTRA
ATTENZIONE
Ing. Mario Leone
[email protected]
Studio Associato Leone & Spadaro
www.leonespadaro.it
Studio Associato
Leone & Spadaro