Patent Claims Analysis System and Method

• US 20110138338A1
• Filed: 12/09/2009
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Magic Number, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Spore, Inc.
• Inventors: GLASGOW, JiNan
• Granted Patent: US 9,104,648 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/853
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/137 Hierarchical processing, e.g. outlines
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A system and method for facilitating patent grant and patent application claims examination; including the functions of automated importing of patent claims, automated parsing of the claims into their hierarchy, and compression/expansion of the parsed claims to/from the independent claim level.

Claims

1. A system for displaying patent claims, the system comprising:

at least one input device in communication with a computer and at least one output device, and information input via the at least one input device to the at least one computer and viewing information on the at least one output device, and wherein the at least one computer is capable of storing, modifying, outputting, and retrieving information in communication with the at least one input device and at least one output device; and

software installed and capable of running on the at least one computer for automatically importing patent claims based upon the user inputted information, parsing the patent claims hierarchically, generating a hierarchical claims diagram comprising graphical claim structure and textual claim content associated with each patent claim, and outputting a viewable diagram of the parsed claims wherein, for each patent claim, the graphical claim structure fully includes the textual claim content;

the claims diagram showing at least part of a patent claims series in an interactive format that is operable to dynamically expand and compress the at least part of a patent claims series, including both the graphical claim structure and the fully included textual claim content, according to the hierarch of the at least part of a patent claims series;

the graphical claim structure comprises multiple geometric outlines, each outline fully containing the textual claim content of at least part of one claim, and at least one line directly connecting the outlines to each other according the hierarch of the at least part of a patent claims series.

2. A computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to create an interactive graphic user interface (GUI) for providing a diagram of patent claims, the diagram comprising:

an interactive graphical user interface (GUI) viewable on an electronic display, the GUI including a diagram of at least part of a patent claims series from a patent or a patent application;

the claims being parsed and the diagram comprising a graphical claim structure and a textual claim content associated with each patent claim and, for each patent claim, the graphical claim structure fully includes the textual claim content;

and the claims, including both the graphical claim structure and the fully included textual claim content, are dynamically compressible hierarchically;

the graphical claim structure comprises multiple geometric outlines, each outline fully containing the textual claim content of at least part of one claim, and at least one line directly connecting the outlines to each other according the hierarch of the at least part of a patent claims series.

3. The computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to create an interactive GUI of claim 2, wherein the at least part of a claim series include an independent claim.

4. The computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to create an interactive GUI of claim 2, wherein the claim series includes at least one dependent claim that depends from the independent claim.

5. The computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to create an interactive GUI of claim 2, wherein the claims are displayed in a compressed state.

6. The computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to create an interactive QUI of claim 2, wherein the claims are displayed in an expanded state.

7. The computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to create an interactive GUT of claim 2, wherein the imported claims are an entire claims series.

8. The computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to create an interactive GUI of claim 2, wherein the imported claims are an entire patent'"'"'s claims.

9. The computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to create an interactive GUI of claim 2, wherein the imported claims are at least part of a patent claims series from more than one patent.