The present disclosure is generally related to targeted searching of public sources of information.
Finding instances of patent infringement is a difficult and time consuming process, particularly for companies with large patent portfolios, with many potential infringers, or covering very futuristic concepts. The wealth of information available in public information sources may provide useful information regarding potential patent infringers. Many companies use experts in the particular technology field and outside firms to assist in identifying patent infringers. However, this process can be expensive, as well as difficult. The potential exists for many patent infringers to remain undetected.
Therefore, there is a need for systems and methods that address these and/or other perceived shortcomings.
The present disclosure provides systems and methods for an infringer finder to search public information sources for possible patent infringers. Some embodiments provide for analyzing an issued patent, associated patent support data, such as Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) information, and other reference materials, along with user input to create a patent search profile. Using the patent search profile, a search is made of public information sources and a report is generated summarizing possible patent infringement targets.
Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according to embodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon review of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or computer program products be included within this description and be within the scope of the present disclosure.
Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are intended to convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, all “examples” given herein are intended to be non-limiting.
The present disclosure provides systems and methods for an infringer finder to search public information sources for possible patent infringers.
In the operating environment shown in
The patent analysis module 145 creates a patent search profile 200. The patent search profile 200 is shown in
As shown in
The patent analysis module 145 may also receive user input, referred to as patent analysis factors 161, through the patent user tuner interface 160. The patent user tuner interface 160 is discussed in greater detail below. User input may include many terms or fields that may be relevant to a particular invention. The patent user tuner interface 160 also allows the capability to inspect or view the patent search profile 200 prior to any search that may occur. A user may also specify that a search is to proceed without inspecting or viewing the patent search profile 200.
Upon inspection of the patent search profile 200, a user may modify the patent analysis factors 161 or allow the search to proceed. The patent user tuner interface 160 also allows the user to delete information from the patent search profile 200, after which the search may be allowed to proceed or the patent analysis module 145 may refine the patent search profile 200 based on the newly excluded information. Of course, new input may also be added to further refine the patent search profile 200.
The patent analysis module 145 will analyze the various input received from among the patent information, support data, reference materials, and/or the patent user tuner interface 160 to create the patent search profile 200. Analysis may be performed, e.g., based on claim type, keywords, context analysis, structure of the claim for identifying dependencies, similar and opposite meaning interpretation of the claim language, dictionary meaning, claim modification, office actions, and prior art, among others. According to exemplary embodiments, analysis may begin with the particular claim type. For example, if the invention were a pencil, the claim type might be an apparatus or article of manufacture as well as a method. Of course, for different inventions, claim types could be a system, a process, or a computer readable medium, for example.
Analysis may also involve parsing keywords from the claims. The patent analysis module 145 may perform context analysis of words or phrases that appear in the claims. As an example, the terms graphite, composition, and wood might appear in a claim for a pencil. These terms appearing in close proximity to each other could be a useful ingredient to a patent search profile 200. If a particular claim contains a large number of keywords, then some percentage of those terms appearing together might be an interesting item to search for. The patent analysis module 145 could specify, for example, that finding any five of the seven keywords would be a relevant find. Further, the patent analysis module 145 may analyze the structure of the claim for identifying dependencies. For example, if claim 2 contains “The system as in claim 1 . . . ” then relevant keywords from both claims 1 and 2 may be considered together.
Context analysis may also extend to similar and opposite meaning interpretation of the claim language. For example, the patent analysis module 145 may compare the claim language to the specification language to determine the proper context. Dictionary meanings of words may also be incorporated into the analysis. For the patent analysis module 145, artificial intelligence and fuzzy logic could be utilized to effect rule-based analysis.
Further, the context analysis by the patent analysis module 145 may extend to claim modifications, office actions, and prior art. Claim modifications may occur due to amendments during the prosecution of the patent application. Exclusion of certain words or phrases from the claim, as well as additions of words or phrases to the claim may be relevant in creating a patent search profile 200. Analyzing any office actions as well as prior art or other documents/public information cited in an office action or the patent application itself could also provide useful input to the patent search profile 200.
Finally, the patent analysis module 145 may incorporate the patent analysis factors 161 deemed relevant via user input through the patent user tuner interface 160. Utilizing concepts of fuzzy logic or artificial intelligence, any of the relevant patent analysis factors 161 may be marked for inclusion or exclusion, any of the patent analysis factors 161 may be marked as conditional, or any manner of rule-based decision-making could be employed. For example, a particular company, such as the Eagle Pencil Co., could be included (or excluded) as a patent analysis factor 161 only if a particular technology, such as wooden pencils, is present as a patent analysis factor 161. A further limitation could be that the technology does not include mechanical pencils.
As shown in
The search module 150 may receive user input, search factors 166, via the search user tuner interface 165 as shown in
As also shown in
The patent user tuner interface 160, shown in
An exemplary patent search profile 200, as created by the patent analysis module 145, is shown in
As shown in
Additionally, it should be noted that statistical methods could be used by the system 100 to evaluate the likelihood of infringement by any infringer target identified by the system 100. User input, via the search user tuner interface 165, could identify levels of correlation that would indicate a likelihood of infringement. For example, presence of a certain percentage of keywords in conjunction with a desired level of accuracy, or a certain confidence level in search hits might signify a higher likelihood that the target is an infringer.
As shown in
The report generator module 155 utilizes the report factors 171 and the search results from the search module 150 to create a patent search results report 300 as shown in
As shown in
Finally, it should be noted that the system 100 could also be used to search public information sources for prior art. As an example, an infringer target identified by the system 100 would possess similar technology to the particular invention or patent information identified as an initial input parameter 140. Similar technology existing at an earlier date than the proposed invention might qualify as prior art. Thus, specifying a date range for the search that is earlier than the date at which the proposed invention came into existence would potentially result in relevant prior art. In another embodiment, instead of using patent information, e.g., a patent granted by the PTO, as an input to the system 100, a patent application could serve as an initial input parameter 140. The system 100 output would not only include commercial product descriptions and product announcements, but could include research papers, general documents, news articles, presentations, and patents, among others, that relate to the patent application or to the drafted claims. In other embodiments, a published application or a draft application, among others, could serve as an initial input parameter 140.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the disclosure without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure.
This application: is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/188,209, filed Jul. 3, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,386,460 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/004,497, filed Dec. 6, 2001, now abandoned which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/750,012 filed Dec. 29, 2000 now abandoned, all of which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/192,862 filed Mar. 29, 2000, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/173,919, filed Dec. 30, 1999; and is also a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/750,154, filed Dec. 29, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,346,518 which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/192,862 filed Mar. 29, 2000, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/173,919, filed Dec. 30, 1999; and is also a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/946,457, filed Sep. 6, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,389,239 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/750,000, filed Dec. 29, 2000, now abandoned all of which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/192,862 filed Mar. 29, 2000, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/173,919, filed Dec. 30, 1999; and is also a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/750,130, filed Dec. 29, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,405 which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/192,862 filed Mar. 29, 2000, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/173,919, filed Dec. 30, 1999; and is also a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/750,001, filed Dec. 29, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,801,830 which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/192,862 filed Mar. 29, 2000, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/173,919, filed Dec. 30, 1999; and is also a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/946,593, filed Sep. 6, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,406,425 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/750,136, filed Dec. 29, 2000, now abandoned all of which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/192,862 filed Mar. 29, 2000, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/173,919, filed Dec. 30, 1999.
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