Report:PatBase/Viewing Results/Family Search Features
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Family Search Features
There are three family reviewing features in PatBase: the family list in the main display; the Family Explorer window; and the Priority Map window.
The family list is part of many display formats for PatBase records, although users can remove this item when creating Custom display formats (for more information, see the Display Formats section of this article). PatBase organizes records into INPADOC family members, and by default the document numbers are displayed in alphabetical order by country code. In addition, in 2009 an alternate display option was added which will group the family members into "simple" patent families within the larger list of all INPADOC family members. This setting can be activated from PatBase's "display & search options" page on the settings tab of the main menu (see Setting Preferences for more information). "Simple" family members share exactly the same priority information, and documents within these family groupings are likely to have more closely related content. Likewise, two members from different simple family groups may show greater variations in content. To learn more about patent families and the logic behind their relationships, see the Patent Families glossary article. A patent family list organized into simple families is shown in the screenshot below.
Editor's Note:In earlier versions of PatBase, a scrollable mini-window containing a list of all individual family documents was inset into the larger bibliographic family record, reducing the family list down to a pre-set size. This mini-window was an effective way to reduce the size of the family list: it is not unusual for families to grow to over 200 members, especially with the particularly inclusive family algorithm that PatBase applies. Now, however, the families are reproduced in full, sometimes causing enormous record length. When viewing hits in the View display format, this means that the use of keyboard shortcuts is often necessary to navigate the hit lits, as scrolling down to see the next record can be very time-consuming.
To examine the family contents in-depth, the user can choose to open the Family Explorer window, via a link that appears to the left of the scrollable family data. The Family Explorer window is intended to allow users to investigate the bibliographic and full text records for individual publications in-depth, and even print or export (as html) patent data.
The Explorer page also includes links to legal status registers. The legal status page displays a table containing links to the applicable national legal status registers for each patent family member. Underneath this table, the window displays INPADOC legal status data for each family member.
Furthermore, the Explorer page offers family export/download options (individual check boxes allow selective export, if desired). The export available from this page is an html document displaying the database record (bibliographic record, title, and abstract when available) for each family member. The export is generated quickly and can be saved or opened from the Explorer window. It can be useful to compare bibliographic data within a family – to determine which individual family members contributed a specific classification to the aggregated family record, for example. (For more information about legal status through PatBase, see the Legal Status section above.)
Finally, the Explorer page also provides a link to the Priority Map window. By way of background, a family record provides a list of all documents that are considered by the PatBase algorithm to constitute an extended INPADOC family, creating families sharing multiple priority documents: each publication must share at least one priority document with at least one other family member. To aid users in understanding the relationships between multiple family priorities, PatBase introduced the Priority Map function. Breakdowns by patent number and priority number are available for export to Excel or html format from this window. Below is an example of a priority map record:
If this expanded INPADOC-type family contains over 200 members, the PatBase family display will include an “extended family” link.[1] This option is meant to create smaller groups within the extended family, and will show divisions within large families based on shared priorities. The first screenshot below shows an example of the extended family notice which appears in a patent family record with over 200 members.
Once clicked, this link will initiate an action within PatBase that will find divisions within the patent family and break it down into multiple smaller records. The screenshot below shows the result of performing this action on a family with over 200 members; PatBase has divided the record up into 7 component families for review.
Sources
- ↑ PatBase Manual, October 2009. https://www.patbase.com/manual.pdf, Page 24 (access restricted). Accessed January 07, 2010.
