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Patent
Indexing System
Patent Indexing System
User's guide
December 2005
Enquiries about the Patent Indexing System should be directed to IP Australia
here.
Disclaimer
While all care has been taken in establishing the database, the Commonwealth,
the Director General and the staff of IP Australia accept no responsibility
for errors or omissions in the data base or their consequences, including any
loss which may be incurred as a result of reliance on the accuracy or completeness
of the database. Access to the database is provided only on this understanding.
Introduction
The IPC (International Patent Classification) logical search program for external
users allows users to search Australian applications/patents using one or more
IPC (International Patent Classification) marks. The search is restricted to
those Australian applications/patents which are open to public inspection (OPI).
An IPC search provides details of the application number, six figure (acceptance)
number, the status of each application/patent (i.e. whether it is in force or
not), earliest priority details, IPC information, OPI date and a title. The
search list is seen as a means for helping users to do novelty or infringement
type searches.
General Description
The program provides information on the following fields derived from both
the Patindex and Patadmin systems. Patindex contains IPC and priority details
while Patadmin has bibliographic and administrative details. Neither system
has the specification or a description of the invention.
Field Description
| Application ID |
Patent application number format - NNNNN
YY with 5 digits for the number and 2 for the year |
| Acceptance Number |
The 6 figure number given
to the application at acceptance - format NNNNNN (6 numeric digits) |
| Status |
Indicates whether the patent
is in force or pending (Y), or otherwise (blank) |
| Priority Detail |
Priority country, in the form of a two letter
country code - see Annex A
Earliest priority number based on WIPO Standard ST.10/C |
| IPC |
IPC mark: ANNA (sub-class) NNNN (main-group)
NNNNNN (sub-group). The main-group has up to 4 digits. The sub-group has
up to 6 digits. Zeros should be entered only where they form part of the
IPC mark. All the characters are entered left justified. |
| OPI Date |
Date on which the application
was made available to the public |
| Title |
Title of the invention as
printed on the abstract |
The searchable field is the IPC but results of this search
can be restricted using the year of the application and/or the status.
Logging onto the System
You need to first get onto the IP Australia mainframe, for which you need
to download software. To logon with guest
access, press ENTER in the initial IP Australia logon screen, and your next
screen will resemble Screen 1:
Screen 1
To carry out an IPC logical search, choose "Patent Indexing
System" by typing 4 on the command line at the bottom of the screen and
pressing ENTER.
IPC Logical Search
Screen 2
On this screen you start to enter the details of your search. You can specify
the IPC marks to search either alone or in combination using one of the three
valid Boolean operators shown. Input is required in both of the "IPC MARK
OR STORE GROUP" fields.
IPC marks that can be searched must be valid, i.e. they must exist in one of
the editions of the IPC and must be entered in the correct format, as follows:
ANNA NNNN NNNNNN
(sub-class) (main-group) (sub-group)
where A stands for alphabetic characters and N
stands for numeric characters. The main-group has up to 4 digits.. The sub-group
can have up to 6 digits. Zeros should only be included where they are part of
the IPC mark. All the characters are entered left justified.
The logical operators that can be used are the standard
Boolean operators of AND, OR and AND NOT. The program uses "*"
for AND, "+" for OR and "-" for AND NOT.
The resultant store group "S1" is a means for storing the results
of that search. A store group can be used as input in the logical search with
another IPC mark or another store group. Up to 20 store groups are allowable
and are automatically assigned (i.e. S1, S2, etc.). If there are more than 20
store groups then these are repeated if necessary. The program allows up to
42 IPC marks to be searched in one session.
To move between fields press the TAB key.
Screen 2 also allows access to a display of an audit of the session. This is
displayable as desired, by pressing the Function keys (denoted as PF in the
mainframe screens) indicated.
Searching at sub-class or main-group level is not available,
nor is truncation or the use of wild card symbols. A single IPC mark can be
searched by ANDing or ORing that mark with itself.
IPC indexing codes, e.g. C07K 99:00, are not available. If you try to search
such a code or an invalid IPC mark an error message will appear.
Search Example
The following simple example illustrates how the program
works.
If we assume the subject matter of the search is for agricultural hoes or hand
cultivators in general, or those having one or more blades then appropriate
IPC areas to search are A01B 1/06, A01B 1/08 and A01B 1/10.
Screen 3
On screen 3 the first two IPC marks to be searched have been typed in. After
pressing ENTER screen 4 is obtained:
Screen 4
Screen 4 shows that A01B 1/06 has 32 applications classified in that mark and
A01B 1/08 has 43. The resulting store group, S1, has 72. This means that 3 applications
are classified in both IPC marks. Note that this number includes any applications
which are not Open to Public Inspection. Once Screen 6 has been executed, the
non-OPI applications will have been deleted from the listing.
At this point you can either type I to stop IPC
searching and Input further details to restrict the applications selected
(e.g. a year range), or C (the default) to Continue adding search
terms. In the example, an additional IPC mark, A01B 1/10, has been entered after
accepting C and pressing ENTER. Pressing ENTER again gives the next screen:
Screen 5
Screen 5 was obtained by ORing store group S1 with A01B 1/10 (17 resultant
applications) which results in store group S2 having 84 applications. On screen
5 typing I and pressing ENTER gives screen 6:
Screen 6
Screen 6 allows you to limit the search and to set display
options.
In this screen the defaults are as follows:
| Nominated Store Group |
This shows the last specified
store group but any preceding store group could be used here. |
| Application Years |
Allows for date ranging
by application year. The default is for all years from 1920. The year
format is CCYY eg. 1976, 2000 etc. |
| Exclude Lapsed/Ceased |
This allows you to specify
if you wish to display or print all applications/patents (default is N)
or only those in force (Y). Regardless of the option chosen the resulting
output will show the status field. |
| Titles Required? |
If Y is entered the title
will be displayed. |
| Search ID |
This field allows you to
enter identifying information such as a search title and client name.
|
| Sort Order (A/C) |
If A is entered the search results will
be sorted by application number. If C is entered they will be sorted by
six figure number. Since not all applications have six figure numbers
a sort in C order will have the applications with a six figure number
coming first followed by those without, in application number order. |
Screen 7 shows a search restricted by year and with other
display parameters set:
Screen 7
ORing the 3 IPC marks resulted in store group S2. This group is limited to
1940-1990 applications, and application titles are to be displayed. The search
ID is given as a search title "HOE" and a client name "CLIENT
XYZ", and the applications are to be displayed in application number order.
Pressing ENTER gives the result:
Screen 8
Screen 8 shows that there are 56 applications (out of
84 - see screen 5) which when restricted by year, are open to public inspection.
Screen 8 prompts the user for the next action which
is carried out by typing one of the following letters:
L to list the search results on the screen.
P to obtain your search results as a .doc
file attachment through email.
C to continue your search by adding more
IPC marks (reverts to screen 5).
and pressing ENTER. The default is to list.
If L is chosen then an audit log is displayed:
Screen 9
This will show the history of the IPC marks searched, including store group
postings and certain user actions such as whether the result was listed or printed,
year ranged, all or only live applications/patents shown, and the number (see
also screen 12 on page 12).
Following the audit screen, the list of applications retrieved by the search
will be displayed. For lists which extend to more than one screen, pressing
ENTER will display each screen in turn. Screens 10 and 11 show the first and
last search list screens for the example search:
Screen 10
Screen 11
The details shown are as previously described in the general description on
page 1. Under "Pri/Cty" (priority country) the country code as given
by Annex A is displayed. An "XX" in the Pri/Cty field indicates that
the priority country is unknown.
If the title consists of "**" then its title is non Arabic, for example
a PCT application from Japan.
The status indicator "St" is always displayed regardless
of what was entered in the "Exclude Lapsed/Ceased" field.
When the P option is chosen the system responds
with an input box requesting input of an email address.
Screen 12
Once an email address has been input and entered, the IP Australia mainframe
will dispatch an electronic mail to that address which will have a DOC file
attachment containing the search results in a format similar to the listing
shown in Screens 9-11 above.
This completes your search. If desired an extra audit log can be obtained by
pressing either the F9 key. If you have another IPC area to search then pressing
the F2 key will return you to screen 2.
To logoff from the system press either the F5 key. This returns you to screen
B.
International Patent Classification (IPC)
The patent office has applied the IPC to AU patent applications since 1970.
Prior to 1970 the Australian Classification (AC) was used. Most of the search
file since 1920 has been reclassified into the IPC. However where no revision
has been made the AC system is applicable. This system is a manual system, available
on microfiche (Austcard), and is not available online.
Since the search relies on the IPC a few details regarding the international
patent classification should be known.
The 8th edition of the IPC is place from 2006 January, previous editions being:
- IPC1 1970 - 74
- IPC2 1975 - 79
- IPC3 1980 - 84
- IPC4 1985 - 89
- IPC5 1990 - 94
- IPC6 1995 - 99
- IPC7 2000 - 05
- IPC8 2006 -
Click here
for the 8th edition of the IPC.
When new IPC editions are introduced certain IPC areas may change, be deleted
or new ones created. The patent office applies the IPC at current indexing (soon
after lodgement) and applies the current IPC edition. In searching the IPC it
is therefore necessary to take into account its various editions.
Where certain IPC revision projects have taken place AU applications indexed
into an earlier edition may have been reindexed to the then current IPC edition.
Also where applications indexed under the old AC system have been reclassified,
they will have been reindexed according to the then current IPC edition.
When a new IPC edition comes into force the patent office does not reclassify
all its material to this new edition.
Thus in searching using the IPC you should ensure that all IPC editions have
been considered and be aware that some AU search material is classified under
the old AC system.
The above considerations apply to all search material
provided in sub-office collections.
Session Logging
The program provides a log of the session for audit purposes.
Screen 13 is an example:
Screen 13
The log is displayed automatically:
when the list option is chosen, immediately preceding
the list itself. Screen dump if a hard copy of the log is required.
In addition the log can be viewed at any time during the search session when
the message "F9/F21 to Display Audit" appears on the screen.
Having viewed the log, pressing ENTER will allow you
to continue your search.
Where accurate logging is required for multiple search sessions it is recommended
that you start with a new search. To start a new search press the F2 key.
The audit log gives details on:
the IPC marks searched
store groups and the number of postings
user action of listing or printing the relevant store group
the year range(s)
whether the display showed all applications/patents or only those in force
the number displayed
Quick Keys for IPC Logical Search
| Function Key
|
Result |
| F1/F13 |
Online Help (none available)
|
| F2/F14 |
Returns to same level
menu |
| F3/F15 |
Returns to previous
level men |
| F4/F16 |
Returns to top level
menu |
| F5/F17 |
Returns to opening
menu |
| F9/F21 |
Audit log |
|
