Skip to: Page content - Navigation.
to Homepage 
  • Home
  • Objectives
  • Projects
    • Common Documentation
    • Common Hybrid Classification
    • Common Access to Search and Examination Results
    • Common Application Format
    • Common Training Policy
    • Mutual Machine Translation
    • Common Examination Practice Rules and Quality Management
    • Common Statistical Parameter System for Examination
    • Common Approach to Sharing and Documenting Search Strategies
    • Common Search and Examination Support Tools
  • About us
Sitemap
 Banner: Working together towards a sustainable patent system

Common Approach to Sharing and Documenting Search

Strategies (Recordation)

Vision

A documented approach of the search strategy performed in association with a search of a patent application than can be replicated and shared between Intellectual Property Organizations (IPO). Search Strategy Recordation captures the record of (1) the approach that the user undertook to understand the patent application, identify the databases to query and develop the particular query strings, (2) the list of queries (including key words, synonyms, and pluralizations) executed for each application, and (3) the returned results.

The search strategy recordation will provide examiners the ability to understand the search criteria selected in any other IPO in every supported language. The search strategy and recordation tools support capture and exchange of the common information detailing the search activities performed.

Definition of Scope

The search strategy recordation will provide examiners the ability to understand the search criteria selected in any other IPO in every supported language.

  • the structural differences between languages create challenges in sharing and reusing searches that must be addressed.
  • benefits of implementation would be repeatability, share-ability, confidence, and resource reduction
  • recording of both IPO and Internet searches
  • a classification search of a document collection should be recorded as completed unless all documents represented by the classification symbol(s) have been reviewed
  • exact search terms including synonyms, plurals, wildcards
  • exact search syntax including parentheses, Boolean operators, proximity operators, numeric operators
  • exchanged search recordation may be filtered or limited to only contain those proven to be useful
  • data content queried, such as full-text, title, inventor name, abstract
  • classifications searched, such as IPC, ECLA, FI, USPC, Derwent
  • search engine(s) used, such as BNS, EPOQUE, Google, Lucene
  • record extract search results in individual cases, without increasing the burden on examiners, including user and system defined document tagging history (reviewed, printed, user- relevant, cited)
  • translation of search strategy using multiple languages

Contribution to Work Sharing

An intellectual property office/organisation will be able to create a reusable documented accounting of the steps associated with an application search of the prioir art and examination adjudication decisions.