Viewing Patent Trees

NLPatent now offers users the ability to view patent trees directly within the platform. Whether it’s for patents you already have, or ones you find in the results section, the process is simple.

Please note that NLPatent uses the DOCDB Simple Patent Family method to determine families.

Viewing Patent Trees for Known Patent Numbers

If you have a selection of patents you'd like to examine, follow these steps:

In the main page, go to "Quick Search"

Copy and paste in the patent number(s) that you would like to see the trees for. If you'd like to put multiple patents, please separate them by commas (ex. US8338441, US8841331).
Then, Click on the patent you would like to view the tree of.
Please note that our systems will not accept the format of US8,841,331, so remove the commas when adding them.
In the top centre-right click "Family Members" to see the family member list.

Then, click Family Tree in the top left.

This will then generate the patent family tree- which again will include all family members, even if they're not officially part of the NLPatent database.

Navigating the Patent Tree

Zoom in/out: Use the controls in the bottom-left corner.
Fullscreen mode: Expand the view for a clearer display.
Download the patent tree: Click the download button in the bottom-left corner. You can save the tree as a PNG or PDF.

International Coverage: By clicking on the globe icon, you can chose which jurisdictions show up on the family tree. By default we show all family members, to remove specific jurisdictions, un-click them, and click close. The tree will update with the chosen jurisdiction(s).

Creating Trees from the Results Tab

The same instructions apply to patents found in your search results:

Click the patent of interest.
Go to the "Family Members" section.
Generate the patent tree as described above.

Minor Notes:

Family member list/tree will show ALL family members, even if they're not part of the NLPatent database currently. (Ex. NLPatent database does not currently cover Singapore, but if there is a Singapore patent in the family tree, it will be found as a family member).