Guide to STN Patent Databases – Basic Version - Paton - TU Ilmenau

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Guide to STN Patent Databases
1 Steps to conduct a patent search
Using online databases is actually very like doing a manual search. However, the manual searcher is probably
unaware of many of the steps involved.
1.1 Before the search
Understanding the enquiry involves:
Formulating the subject of the search as accurately but also as comprehensively as possible
Describing the subject of the search to exclude what is already known or not required
Allocating it according to the type of search
Limiting it according to certain formal criteria, e.g. number of patents expected; period; countries;
languages
Formulate the criteria for the search:
Select relevant search words
Decide on classification (e.g. IPC, USCL)
Names of inventors/applicants if known
Numbers of patents already known
This involves determining search criteria that will accurately reflect the heart of the matter. If one is
tackling a search for , for instance, a number of questions arise:
Are there other names for inline skates? e.g. rollerblades or roller-blades or roller skates.
Is it vital that the brakes are only for roller-blades or could the brakes be used on roller skates? It may
How many documents do you expect? If the subject of the search yields too many results one should
(initially) limit the search to a more specific subject (e.g. brakes operated by hand).
Which one (or more) of the relevant classes should be searched?
Are there certain firms that ought to come up on the search? It may be possible to check the quality
of the search against this.
Are some patents already known? They may give some assistance in narrowing down the search
strategy.
Select one or more patent databases
By subject e.g. Chemistry Chemical Abstracts
By country e.g. International DWPI, e.g. U.S.A. USPATFULL
By type of search e.g. patent family INPADOCDB
Decide how various search criteria should be linked to each other Search strategy
(The search strategy also depends on the type of search and the databases chosen, cf. chapter Types of
search.)
Formulate the search queries Search logic
(This depends on the type of search and the databases chosen, too. It may also be necessary to perform
some online test searches.)