Best Practices for Patent Number Search

Through each of the AI-based search types on the NLPatent platform, users can search related patent documents based on conceptual similarity rather than keyword matching.  When one does a patent number search the specification of the inputted patent or publication number will become the query; our AI will look at the entire specification, but will emphasize the claims for pulling up relevant documents.

Despite its simplicity, there are a few tips and tricks to ensure that you get the best results possible for patent number searches. The tricks will be slightly different depending on the use case (Invalidity vs Similarity Searching), so see the next sections for detailed guidance tailored to each scenario.

Invalidity Search 

When using the patent number search option, a priority date filter will automatically be applied, as we assume you are assessing a patent’s validity. The earliest priority date found in the chain of priority will be used as the filter.

You may also want to exclude the Owner/Assignee of the patent at issue to avoid capturing patents owned by the same entity. To do this, go to the Filter > select the assignee(s) you’d like to exclude > click the “Not” switch > Apply Filter.

If you are assessing the validity of a specific claim or limitation, we suggest using our refinement feature. To do this, manually add the query patent to the Saved Results, toggle to the Saved Results tab, highlight the claim or limitation of interest, and then hit Refine. The AI will then emphasize the highlighted section when re-ranking the results.

Patent Similarity Search

The system will always automatically apply a priority date filter when performing a patent number search, as the system is assuming you are interested in assessing the patent’s validity.

However, there are instances where you might want to find patent documents similar to the query patent that do not necessarily predate its priority (i.e., you want the entire database to be considered). In this case, you can remove the priority date filter by selecting Filters, deleting the priority date filter, and then clicking Apply Filter.

If you wish to assess the state of the art surrounding a patent document, you can remove the priority date filter and set a custom date range based on publication or filing date. Leaving the "to" field blank will ensure that all patent documents up to today’s date are considered in the results.

Hence, the specific steps for a patent number search may vary depending on the type of search you are conducting. Whether you are performing validity assessment or seeking to gather patent intelligence on the scope covered in a single patent of interest, the patent number search is a versatile and powerful tool.