Contents of the global database Search4ip, Rights
In the worldwide data base Search4ip you are able to search the stock of currently more than 103 offices with full texts for the countries DE, EP, WO, US, AT, GB, CH, CA and others. This data is combined with the legal status data of the European Patent Office’s database INPADOC. Further information about the offices and timeframes can be found on the homepage www.patentfamily.com
You will find information about the latest update on the homepage under News. Updates are usually carried out a on Wednesday. Generally, you receive the latest family and legal status monitoring results on a Thursday morning, on Thursday or Friday you will receive the automatic search profile results. It may occasionally happen that this timeframe cannot be met due to delayed delivery by the offices or an exceptionally excessive quantity of correction deliveries. If there will be delays of more than one week, we will inform you on our website.
Research in the global database is a chargeable service, which needs to be unlocked in your user ID.
Search in own stock
If you do not have the rights to conduct a search in the global database, but are a member of the Invention Navigator Knowledge Network in your company or of another institution (patent attorney, SIP GmbH, Consulting Agency) then the functions listed below within your segments of the Invention Navigator Network are available to you. In this case, a box is checked in front of the Segment search field, which cannot be unchecked.
In case you only possess reading rights for a local database you may only use the local search, which differs in the functionalities when researching the global database Search4ip (The button is not displayed on the Invention Navigator). Currently you can find advice on how to use the local search in the user’s manual of version 5.0 in the Invention Navigator’s help menu.
Professional, Premium, Standard (R&D) User
Research options also differentiate whether you log in as a standard user, professional user or premium user. As standard user it is not possible to research legal status, search history will not be saved across-session and you are not able to set up automatic monitoring.
An overview about the different versions can be found here.
Whether you are a professional or standard user, is not dependent on the software, but is controlled through your settings with SIP.
Simple Search
Due to the wishes of some of our customers, the simple search was introduced. The most frequently used search fields are automatically displayed and linked with "AND". Once you start entering the search and realise that the search mask is sufficient for your query, you can simply transfer the already entered search terms in the advanced search mask. Just click the button "to advanced search".
Advanced Search: Creating search masks
The search for publication and applicant numbers, as well as the import of complete number lists is explained in detail on the website Number search.
Information about saving lists and searches is found under: management of Lists and Searches.
The research surface in the Invention-Navigator versions can be compiled according to your wishes and requirements for the search.
To do this use drag-and-drop to pull the required search field in the middle part of the search mask. That way you are able to integrate any search field in the desired order and associate them with AND, OR or NOT.
If you would like to nest searches you can use brackets. In order to do so, pull the field Brackets in the search mask and insert the required search fields in the brackets with drag-and-drop. Search fields can be opened several times. Due to reasons relating to the technology of the database, you will have to put text fields in brackets when using them multiple times. A bracket (called container in previous versions) is not only a definition for a query but also means that a bracketed search string is seen as an individual search and is conducted separately.
Search fields in Search4ip
The fields available for creating a search mask can be divided into the following categories
- Search fields which allow you to research the official office data, e.g. text, date, classifications, applicant, legal status
- Search fields which limit the search (in the network) in already saved searches or lists
- Search fields which are dependent of the company’s Knowledge Network: segments, company abstract (previously network comment), comment and evaluation state on document level
- Search fields, which are only available in the premium, professional version: legal status search, CPC search and others
Information about company specific search fields can be found under company specific settings and search fields
Searching and combining search results
Search4ip allows you to combine saved searches, result lists or other entries in the history. Open the history by clicking on the button History. In the history activities such as search queries, uploads, downloads, opened lists, etc. are saved (see also: History).
If you would like to combine one search, search 1 with another search, search 2, select search 1 from the history and open the search results by clicking on the result number (R123-Result). Now pull search 2 into the result list of search 1 with Drag-and-Drop. A window appears which offers you to choose from Boolean operators. Now select the combinations AND, OR or NOT to refine your search.
Proceed in the same manner, if you would like to modify result lists or searches with new search fields.