XNUMX. XNUMX.Introduction

　There are more than 160 patent offices in the world.Each office often has its own website, but many people may find it difficult to visit the websites of foreign patent offices.Therefore, in this column, we will explore how even beginners can use foreign patent offices as easily as possible.This time we will focus on the United States Patent Office.

XNUMX.Structure and Characteristics of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

　The official name of the United States Patent Office is the United States Patent and Trademark Office.It is abbreviated as "USPTO" (hereinafter referred to as "USPTO").
　If you search for "United States Patent Office" on a search engine such as Google, the page of "USPTO" will be hit.
　hereUSPTO top pageWhen you open it, you will see a page like this:

　Move the cursor to "Patents", "Trademarks", etc. at the top of the screen to display a list of related pages for each category.
　In this column, we will focus on patents and describe how to use them to obtain patent-related information.

　"Patents" related pages are roughly divided into

・ Getting started: Describes the basics of law, affiliated application support companies (lawyers, etc.), and application procedures
・ Application process: Describes the procedures, etc. in the examination process after the actual application is filed.
・ Maintaining a patent: Describes procedures that occur after registration

is configured.

XNUMX. How to use the USPTO

　First, click "Patents" on the USPTO top page to jump to the patent details page.

　Here is the details page of the patent.

　Here, we will take up "Publication Number Search," "One Portal Dossier," and "Search Methods Using Classification and Keywords," which are considered to be frequently used in patent searches.

XNUMX Publication number search

　Until July this year, it was possible to search for publication numbers on the "Public Pair" page, but from August this year, the new interface "Patent Center" was used.
Until July, you could access the publication number search screen at the following URL, but now,There is only a notice of "Public PAIR to be retired".

　The Patent Center can be accessed from the USPTO top page > hover over "Patents" > "Patent Center".again,https://patentcenter.uspto.gov/You can also access it directly from

XNUMX Input method

　Number searches are performed using the "Search for a patent application" item.

　You can select the type of number by clicking the ▼ of ⇒ of "Application #".
　Note that "All fields" cannot be selected.

　The method of entering each number is the same as Public Pair, but there is no example of how to enter in the Patent Center.If you make a mistake in the input method, an error will be displayed and you can see the input method.

<How to enter each number>
Application number: XX/XXXXXX or XXXXXXXX (e.g. 16/637443 or 16637443)
Patent number: Enter the number as is (Example: 7727574, 11260026)
International application number (PCT): PCT/CCYY/99999 or PCT/CCYYYY/999999 (Example: PCT/EP21/79199) *Note that this is not a public number.
Publication number： US 9999-9999999 A9、9999-9999999 A9、9999-9999999、US 99999999999 A9、99999999999 A9、99999999999のいずれか（例：20210220421、西暦の後に7桁の番号）

XNUMX Access to full text of publications

　After making a number inquiry, you can access the full text of the publication by clicking on each link on the first screen that appears.You can also check the Global Dossier (described later) from this screen.

　You can also get a PDF of the publication by clicking "Images" at the top of the publication display screen. Only the front page is displayed first in the PDF, but you can display the entire PDF by clicking "Full Pages" on the left side of the screen.

　You can also download the PDF by clicking the ↓ in the upper right corner of the screen.

XNUMX Access to information on the review process

　File wrap information is available by clicking on "Documents & Transactions" on the left side of the page.

XNUMX One portal dossier

　One Portal Dossier allows you to view file wrapper information from foreign patent offices on the website of your own country's patent office.By entering a single application number or publication number, the corresponding foreign family can be searched at once, and the application-related documents and examination process can be viewed collectively.
　In the USPTO, it is called "Global Dossier". Top page > Move the cursor to "Patents" > "Tools & links" > "Global Dossier" > Click "Access Global Dossier" at the bottom (or left) of the video. Then you can access the corresponding page.

You can also access from this URL.
https://globaldossier.uspto.gov/#/

　Since most of the screen is occupied by explanations, at first glance it seems to be "How to use it?"
　Select the country in "Office" and the publication type in "Type", enter the number in the box on the right, and click the magnifying glass on the right to display the following screen.

　Click the document you want to see, and the document in PDF format will be displayed.You can browse the original language and English translations.

<Japanese original>

<English translation version>

XNUMX How to Search Using Classification and Keywords

　The USPTO search screen can be accessed through the following route.
　Top Page > Patents > Patent basics > Search Patents > Each search screen (USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT) or USPTO Patent Application Full-Text and Image Database (AppFT) or Patent Public Search)

XNUMX Search screen

　There are three types of pages for patent searches in the USPTO.

・ USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT): Database of registered patents only
・ USPTO Patent Application Full-Text and Image Database (AppFT): Database of publications only
・Patent Public Search: A new search engine released in February 2022 that allows users to search both publications and patent publications.

　Of these, PatFT and AppFT each have three types: "Quick Search", "Advanced Search" and "Patent Number Search".
　The search screens of PatFT and AppFT are similar, for example, in "Advanced Search", the following screen is displayed, and the specification is to directly enter in the "Query" box in the upper left to perform the search.If you click [Help] on the right side of "Query", you can read the explanation of the input method and stop words (words that stop the search when you enter it).

　On the other hand, the newly released "Patent Public Search” has a completely different interface screen.

　Click "Start Search" to display the search screen.

　If you click "? Help" on the lower left tab, you can see explanations such as how to enter.

　The USPTO's Patent Public Search seems to use the unusual input method of "keyword.field name."
　Now switch to the "Advanced Search" screen and actually perform a search.

　Click "Advanced Search" on the upper right of the screen to switch the screen.
(Ex)Chocolate x powder (claimed)

　Unlike PatFT and AppFT, you can search and check hit documents on one screen, and I have the impression that it is designed to be easy to search.

XNUMX Patent classification

　You can go to the explanation page of the patent classification by accessing the top page>Patents>Application process>Learn about patent classification.

　On the classification page, there is a link to a page where you can check the list of CPC and USPC.Expand "Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system" and "United States Classification (USPC) system" respectively at the bottom of the page to see links to each classification.

　For CPC, click "CPC scheme" to access the listing page.

　For USPC, you can access the list at "USPC class numbers and titles".

　In "Search Patent Classification Systems" at the bottom of this "Patent Classification" page, you can check the definition of CPC and USC classification, search for classification by keyword, and the correspondence (concordance) between IPC and CPC.

　For example, you can read the definition of the classification by entering the classification at "Enter Classification symbol", selecting "Definitions" in "Select content" and clicking "submit".

　Also, if you enter the classification, select "CPC to IPC Concordance" in "Select content", and click "submit", you can see the IPC corresponding to the entered CPC.

XNUMX.in conclusion

　There are many related pages on the USPTO website, and at first glance, it may be difficult to know where and how to use them, and how to access them.However, the patent office homepage is considered to be more reliable and faster to disclose information than any other commercial database.It's hard to get used to, but please try to master it.

　I myself often use it to obtain information on the review process (file wrapper information) when conducting an invalid document search.I think it's convenient to be able to select only the documents you need and get them in PDF format.

　We will also take up other patent offices when the opportunity arises.

Research Division Kudo

【reference】

　

　This column is based on information as of August 2022, 8.The configuration of the sites and homepages featured in this article may change in the future.

・The top page of the US Patent and Trademark Office
https://www.uspto.gov/
・Patent Center: Publication number search page
https://patentcenter.uspto.gov/
・Global dossier
https://globaldossier.uspto.gov/#/
・Patent Public Search
https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/static/pages/landing.html?MURL=PatentPublicSearch