Apparatus for and method of searching and organizing intellectual property information utilizing a field-of-search
First Claim
1. A method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search for locating intellectual property information, wherein the intellectual property information includes at least one information field containing accessible information, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) selecting a source grouping of intellectual property information;
(b) identifying search information contained in the source grouping; and
(c) creating a field-of-search based on the search information identified in said identifying step (b).
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Abstract
An apparatus for and a method of searching and organizing intellectual property (IP) is provided. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, an apparatus (and corresponding method) is provided for formulating and facilitating searches for intellectual property, and organizing results of such searches. In an exemplary embodiment, a search and organization server is provided with one or more modules to create and process search queries to be run on local or remote database systems. A class search module, for example, may be provided to provide on-line access to classification information and facilitate searching of intellectual property using select classifications. An IP thesaurus module may be provided for developing a list of elements (e.g., words, textual phrases, concepts, representations, numbers, identifications, pictures, graphics, features, etc.) found in select intellectual property information (e.g., groupings of patents). In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the list of elements may be used as an aid in learning a new technology, as a search tool to refine search queries or criteria, as a drafting tool to assist in the preparation of technical or legal documents (e.g., proposals, licenses, patent applications, etc.), or any other practical use. A field-of-search module may be provided to creation of a field-of-search based on search information identified from select intellectual property information. Additional modules (e.g., search engine, workspace module, alert generator, report generator, etc.) may be provided in the search server to formulate, store, organize and output results achieved through operation of the search server.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search for locating intellectual property information, wherein the intellectual property information includes at least one information field containing accessible information, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) selecting a source grouping of intellectual property information;
(b) identifying search information contained in the source grouping; and
(c) creating a field-of-search based on the search information identified in said identifying step (b). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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17. In a search system for use in searching for intellectual property information, the improvement comprising an article of manufacture having stored thereon an executable program operative to effectuate searching for intellectual property information in connection with the search system, wherein the executable program is executed to perform the steps of:
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selecting a source grouping of intellectual property information;
identifying search information contained in the source grouping; and
creating a field-of-search based on the search information identified in said identifying step.
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24. A search system for use with an intellectual property classification system, the search system comprising:
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an intellectual property database, wherein said intellectual property database stores information related to intellectual property classified in accordance with the classification system; and
a search server comprising;
a search engine module, wherein said search engine module accesses said database and retrieves intellectual property information corresponding to input classification selections; and
a field-of-search module, wherein said field-of-search module processes the retrieved intellectual property information to obtain search information contained in at least one information field of the retrieved intellectual property information.
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Specification