Introduction to Different Types of Searches Cebu and Manila 7-11 March 2011 Alex Riechel Project Coordinator Overview

Home , Novelty (patent)

Why search? Search types and their uses Why search?

To retrieve information needed to answer specific questions. Questions

Which technologies exist in a given field of technology? Who is active in a given field of technology?

Is a given invention (claimed in a patent application) patentable?

Is a given patent valid?

Do patent rights exist on which a given product risks infringing? State-of-the-art search

Questions Which technologies exist in a given field of technology? Who is active in a given field of technology?

Uses Plan R&D activities more efficiently (avoid duplication of effort). Decide whether to enter a market. Determine which areas are not sufficiently covered by existing players. Identify competitors or potential partners. Novelty/patentability search

Question Is a given invention (claimed in a patent application) patentable?

Uses Decide whether to proceed with a patent application. Determine how to draft or amend claims to help ensure that they are accepted into the granted patent. Validity/invalidity search

Question Is a given patent valid?

Uses Determine the enforceability of your own patents. Prepare an opposition/invalidity procedure against others’ patents. Prepare a defense against lawsuits claiming infringement of others’ patents. Freedom-to-operate search

Question Do patent rights exist on which a given product risks infringing?

Uses Guide product design decisions. Identify patents that may need to be licensed. Exercise

A company intends to introduce a new type of aircraft onto the market. It wants to know: Am I at risk of infringing on other companies’ patent rights if I manufacture and sell this aircraft? Exercise

A patent attorney is drafting the patent application on a new process for manufacturing rubber balls. She wants to know: Which aspects of this process (or the product resulting from this process) can be protected? And how can I phrase my claims to ensure that are allowed in the granted patent? Exercise

A bicycle manufacturer has discovered that its competitor holds a patent on the gear-changing mechanism used in its top-of-the-line mountain bike. It wants to know: Can I protect myself if my competitor decides to seek damages for infringement? Exercise

An inventor believes that he has found a new way of extracting juice from a local fruit. He wants to know: Can I patent my invention? Exercise

A research team at a university is planning its activities for the next biennium. They want to know: Which areas of research should we concentrate on? Exercise

A bank is considering a takeover of a technology startup company. It wants to know: How strong is the patent portfolio of this company? Exercise

A venture capitalist believes that producing laser printers would be a lucrative business. She wants to know: Who are my potential competitors in the field? With whom could I possibly seek partnerships? Exercise

A pharmaceutical manufacturer holds a patent on its blockbuster drug Wipocin but worries that its competitor may start copying this drug. It wants to know: If our competitors start producing Wipocin, how likely is it that we will be able to enforce our patent rights? Exercise

A pharmaceutical company holds a patent on its blockbuster drug Wipocin but worries that its competitor may start copying this drug. It wants to know: Are there other technologies related to Wipocin that can be protected (e.g. its production process or uses of the drug) to secure our investment into the drug? Some Key Concepts in Technology Search Cebu and Manila 7-11 March 2011 Alex Riechel Project Coordinator Overview

What do we search? What is the function of a search? Phases of the search process Precision and recall Technology concepts What do we search?

Any information may be relevant to answering the given questions. In any type of document In any part of the document From any place From any time period On any subject In any language Made available in any form Technology information

Patent information Scientific and technical information Scientific and technical information

Scholarly publications Handbooks, textbooks, encyclopedias, journals, dissertations, conference proceedings, technical reports Industry/trade publications Industry reviews, disclosure publications Newspapers Websites Technology blogs, researchers’ websites What does a search do?

The search process consists of a series of steps (decisions and actions) that progressively narrow the information retrieved. Phases of the search process

Preparation phase Search phase Post-search phase Preparation phase

Search by element (combined) Search by reference Search by name Post-search phase

Evaluate results Analyze results Report results Why are precision and recall important?

Too broad search Æ low precision Æ many irrelevant documents to examine Too narrow search Æ low recall Æ many relevant documents missed Search

Limitations on searched data

Search parameters

Evaluation parameters Precision and recall

Relevant result

Irrelevant result Precision vs. recall

Narrow search Precision vs. recall

Broad search Precision and recall

Precision Relevant documents retrieved divided by All documents retrieved Precision and recall

Recall Relevant documents retrieved divided by All relevant documents Time factor

All documents retrieved (not excluded by a search) must be reviewed

More docs retrieved

More docs to be reviewed

More time required Volume of information

Over 70 million patent documents published to date Nearly 2 million new patent applications filed worldwide every year (Source: WIPO) Almost 7 million science and engineering articles published worldwide from 1995 to 2005 (Source: NSF) Over 700 000 new science and engineering articles published worldwide each year (Source: NSF)

Æ Mountains of potentially relevant data Technology information

Problem to be solved Solution proposed for this problem Features of the solution Functions of the solution Example: United States Patent 5,392,735

Marine mammal communication device Description (extract)

…in spite of their relative intelligence and heightened sensory abilities, communications between marine mammals and humans have been limited by the lack of a common symbolic medium for facilitating communication. Claims

A communication device for communication between marine mammals and humans comprising: a submersible keyboard, said keyboard having at least one panel in which a plurality of hollow keys are disposed, said at least one panel having a front surface and a plurality of openings, each key having a housing open at a first end and mounted at said first end to an opening in said panel, an object situated in said key housing near said panel opening, said object comprising an echolocatable object providing a unique echoic or visual representation of an audible language element, and, a switch means which can be activated by a marine mammal to produce a signal when a key is selected; and, an audio generator coupled to each key for detecting said signal and generating said audible language element when said switch is activated. Problem

Limitations in communication between marine mammals and humans Lack of a common symbolic medium Structure

communication device submersible keyboard panel hollow keys (plurality) front surface openings (plurality) housing open at a first end echolocatable object switch means audio generator Function

communication between marine mammals and humans providing a unique echoic or visual representation of an audible language element producing a signal detecting a signal generating an audible language element Common words

Apparatus Device Means Method Dispositif Moyen Méthode Procédé http://ip.com/resources/stopwords/english-shortstop.html Concepts

Concepts can be represented in many different ways. Different languages Different terms Other (non-language based) means of representation Æ Example: classification Concepts: Synonyms

gear gearwheel

roue dentée cog

roue d'engrenage pignon spurwheel sprocket Zahnrad roue d'engrenage Concepts: Homonyms Synonyms and homonyms

Including synonyms (in all languages) will help improve recall. Excluding homonyms will help improve precision. Wikipedia PATENTSCOPE Cross-Lingual Search (CLIR): Automatic expansion mode PATENTSCOPE Cross-Lingual Search (CLIR): Results

Synonyms and variants Æ Homonym: lead (metal), lead (electrical) PATENTSCOPE Cross-Lingual Search (CLIR): Supervised expansion mode PATENTSCOPE Cross-Lingual Search (CLIR): Supervised expansion mode PATENTSCOPE Cross-Lingual Search (CLIR): Results

Synonyms and variants Æ No homonym confusion Synonyms : Description

Embodiments: a specific example of how an inventive concept can be put into practice Æ include in search Often identified by phrases such as: "Advantageously…" "Preferably…" "(According to) a preferred embodiment…" "(According to) an advantageous embodiment…" "(According to) one aspect of the invention…" Concept hierarchy

Concepts do not exist in a vacuum. They can be related to: higher order (more general) concepts lower order (more specific) concepts Concept hierarchy: Example

Furniture Table Bedside table Drawing table Coffee table Dining room table Concept hierarchy : Limitations

State-of-the-art search Include lower order (possibly)

Novelty/patentability search Include lower order

Validity/invalidity search Include lower order

Freedom-to-operate search Include higher order Example: State-of-the-art search

Task: Retrieve information on fuel cells.

Electrochemical devices Electrochemical sensors Fuel cells Proton exchange fuel cells Molten carbonate fuel cells … Example: Freedom-to-operate search

Task: Retrieve information on freedom to operate with respect to organic light-emitting diodes

Semiconductor devices Diodes Light emitting diodes Organic light-emitting diodes Concept categorization

Where the problem, structure, or function are not explicitly specified by the source, consider carefully what they really are. Æ novelty search (prior to filing of an application) Æ freedom-to-operate search Concept categorization

Transportation Toy Balloon Balloon Hot air balloon Beach ball Helium-filled balloon Soccer ball Two approaches

High precision - Increasing recall High recall - Increasing precision High precision - Increasing recall

Problems + Structures + Functions Problems + Structures + Functions - Problem (x) Problems + Structures + Functions - Structure (x) Problems + Structures + Functions - Action (x) … High precision - Increasing recall

Start with specific (unambiguous) terms only Progressively add additional terms High recall - Increasing precision

Structure (x) Function (x)

Problem (x) + Structure (x) Problem (x) + Function (x) Structure (x) + Structure (y) Function (x) + Function (y) Structure (x) + Function (x) Overview of Non-Patent Databases Cebu and Manila 7-11 March 2011 Alex Riechel Project Coordinator Finding scientific and technical information

Google Scholar

Scirus Search engines : Coverage

Google Scholar (poorly documented) webpages, journal articles, books Scirus (moderately well documented) “science-related” webpages “special sources” (journal articles, patents, etc.) Scirus : Advanced Search Scirus : Features

Field searches (article title, journal title, author name, author affiliation, keyword, ISSN, URL fragment) Example: author:smith Boolean operators (AND, OR, ANDNOT, +, - ) Example: plastic AND bicycle Example: DNA -sequencing Scirus : Features

Phrases Example: “electric car” Truncation (right, internal, left; single character, unlimited characters) Example: car* Æ car, cars, carbon Example: car? Æ car, cars, cart Example: alumin?um Æ aluminum, aluminium Example: *capsul* Æ capsule, capsules, encapsulate, encapsulation Scirus : Features

Filtering (date, information type, file format, content source, subject area) Æ advanced search only Results filtering (suggested keywords) Scirus : Filtering Scirus : Results filtering Google Scholar : Advanced search Google Scholar : Features

Field searches (title, author) Example: author:jones Boolean and logical operators (OR, +, - ) Example: tennis ball OR racket Example: vaccine -human Phrases Example: “plastic bicycle” Proximity operator Example: “treatment * cancer” Filtering (date, journal title, subject area) Æ advanced search only Google Scholar : Features

Citations Results grouping (additional versions) Google Scholar : Caution

Indexing not always accurate (especially in older documents) Æ limits precision and recall

Keyword “aspirin”? Published in 1845? Considerations and Challenges in Specialized Cebu and Manila Fields of Technology 7-11 March 2011 Alex Riechel Project Coordinator Scenario

A pharmaceutical company intends to launch production of a new formulation containing paracetamol and needs to know whether any recent patent applications might have been filed that would restrict its freedom to operate. Challenge

Paracetamol? Or… Challenge

An organic compound with the molecular weight 151.1626

R Naming

Manufacturing, Drug Lead Clinical Product sales, discovery optimization studies launch marketing, advertising

Laboratory Chemical Generic Brand Vendor designation name name name catalog

SH 263 Sodium 5- Droxacin Droxacin NSC 356041 ethyl-8- sodium [INN] oxo…

Adapted from: Härtinger, 2009, “1000 ways to name your chemical” Sources

Manufacturing, Drug Lead Clinical Product sales, discovery optimization studies launch marketing, advertising

Product patents Formula Process Medical use patents and use patents patents

Scientific literature Medical Patient info Vendor catalog articles

Marketing and adverts

Adapted from: Härtinger, 2009, “1000 ways to name your chemical” Possible solutions

Classification (Section C: Chemistry; Metallurgy) Chemical structure search Synonyms Patent disclosure (pharmaceuticals) Tools: Chemical structure search and synonyms

ChemSpider PubChem ChemSpider ChemSpider: Advanced search ChemSpider: Advanced search ChemSpider: Structure search ChemSpider: Result ChemSpider: Synonyms ChemSpider: Patent documents PubChem PubChem: Advanced search PubChem: Advanced search PubChem: Structure search

Identity/Similarity Substructure/Superstructure Combinations

Documents may describe (and patents may claim) sets of chemicals based on a common basic structure.

Æ Chemical structure search: Search structures and substructures Patent disclosure (pharmaceuticals)

21 C.F.R. 314.53: Submission of patent information An applicant [who submits to the Food and Drug Administration a new drug application or an amendment to it or a supplement to an approved application] shall submit information on each patent that claims the drug or a method of using the drug that is the subject of the new drug application or amendment or supplement to it and with respect to which a claim of patent infringement could reasonably be asserted if a person not licensed by the owner of the patent engaged in the manufacture, use, or sale of the drug product. FDA Orange Book

Active ingredient (e.g. centirizine hydrochloride) Proprietary name (e.g. Zyrtec) FDA Orange Book

Prescription drug products Over-the-counter drug products Discontinued drug products FDA Orange Book

Dosage forms Routes Strengths FDA Orange Book Scenario

A medical research center wants to investigate vaccines against influenza A (H5N1) and needs assistance in determining which research has already been done in this field. Challenge

Influenza A virus Orthomyxoviridae Infections

Influenza A virus, Influenza in humans Influenza in birds H5N1 subtype Avian flu Influenza Human flu H5N1 virus Grippe Fowl plague Bird flu virus Avian influenza Possible solution

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Hierarchical classification Æ Find related concepts Thesaurus Æ Find synonyms MeSH: Hierarchy

Organisms Viruses RNA Viruses Orthomyxoviridae Influenzavirus A Influenza A virus Influenza A virus, H5N1 subtype MeSH Browser MeSH: Record PubMed: Using MeSH Terms Infringement, Clearance and Freedom to Operate Search Cebu and Manila 7-11 March 2011 Alex Riechel Project Coordinator Freedom-to-operate search

Question Do patent rights exist on which a given product risks infringing?

Target Existing claims of patents currently in force Æ existing “active” claims Subject matter that may appear in claims of patents entering (or re-entering) into force in the future Æ future “active” claims Future “active” claims: Document types and elements

Claims in patent applications Claims in patents lapsed or withdrawn Æ reinstatement Description in patent applications Æ amended claims Description in patents Æ amended claims Non-patent literature Æ grace period Future "active" claims: Geographical considerations

Domestic patent documents Foreign patent documents Æ Paris Convention (TRIPS Agreement) Æ PCT Æ regional agreements Patent lifecycle: Domestic priority

First disclosure Priority date Start of patent term

Time to start Grace period Patent term Term extension of patent term

0123

Patent documents: Priority date from the present to the maximum possible period 1 + 2 + 3 Non-patent documents: Publication date from the present to the maximum possible period 0 + 1 + 2 + 3 Patent lifecycle: Foreign priority

First disclosure Priority date Start of patent term

Grace Delay to Time to start Patent term Term extension period domestic filing of patent term

01234

Foreign patent applications Non-patent documents Patent lifecycle

Patent term In many countries, patents can remain in force for a maximum of 20 years from their priority date. Longer patent terms may be permitted in some countries (for patents filed or granted before a certain date). Different conditions for calculating maximum patent terms may be applied in some countries (for patents filed or granted before a certain date). Patent term extensions Extensions to patent terms may be granted under certain conditions or for specific types of technologies (e.g. supplementary protection certificates for medicinal products). Tip

Limitations by date should only be set where absolutely necessary If it is absolutely necessary to set date limitations, be generous in setting the limitations Æ Better to review too many documents than to miss a single relevant document. Caution!

Publication of patent applications generally occurs with some delay after the priority date (typically 18 months). Æ Future "active" claims are unsearchable during this time Tip

After filing an application, applicants may disclose their inventions in non-patent literature. Æ Non-patent documents may indicate the content of unpublished patent applications. Freedom-to-operate search: Limitations

Document type: Patent and non-patent* Document elements: All* Subject area: All Country or region: All* Time period: All* Languages: All Classifications: IPC and others Freedom-to-operate search

Source Concepts embodied by a product (features, functions, problems solved) Caution!

Any inventive concept embodied by the product may be patented. By deciding which aspects of a product to include in the search, we are implicitly deciding that all other features of the product could not be patented (do not belong to patentable subject matter or do not fulfill patentability criteria). Inventive concepts: Examples

A few aspects of a product that might be inventive include: Each individual component and any combination of components as embodied in the product Functions of each component and combinations of components (including of the product itself) Æ a known component in a new function might be considered inventive! Means or methods of producing each individual component or combinations of components (including of the product itself) Example : Motor

Any part or combination of parts might be claimed in a patent Caution!

A product consists of many elements that may be protected by different intellectual property rights (and other legal rights), not only patents. marks (e.g. distinctive markings or coloring) industrial designs (e.g. decorative elements) copyright (e.g. user manual)

Æ All different types of rights should be reviewed in order to minimize the risk of infringement. Exercise

Retrieve information related to a company's freedom to operate with respect to the following product. Product

Working Principle : Snowpulse backpacks have an airbag inside the shoulder straps as well as a compressed air cylinder inside the pack. In the event of an avalanche, pulling the handle inflates the airbag in 3 seconds. The inflated airbag lifts an avalanche victim to the surface of a slide and helps protect the wearer from trauma to the head, spine, and chest. Remember!

Any part or combination of parts might be claimed in a patent. Example : Preparation phase

Define limitations on the search Identify the concepts to be searched Generate synonyms Search for appropriate classifications Identify other means of representing the concepts to be searched Limitations: Theoretical

Document type: Patent and non-patent* Document elements: All* Subject area: All Country or region: All* Time period: All* Languages: All Classifications: IPC and others Limitations: Practical

Document type: Patent only Document elements: All Subject area: All Country or region: US and content of PATENTSCOPE® search service Time period: All* (US from 1976 to present) Languages: English only Classifications: IPC only Preparation phase

Snowpulse backpacks have an airbag inside the shoulder straps as well as a compressed air cylinder inside the pack. In the event of an avalanche, pulling the handle inflates the airbag in 3 seconds. The inflated airbag lifts an avalanche victim to the surface of a slide and helps protect the wearer from trauma to the head, spine, and chest. Concepts: Problem

avalanche Concepts: Structure

backpack airbag shoulder straps cylinder compressed air handle Concepts: Function

inflate airbag lift surface protect trauma head spine chest Preparation phase

avalanche: valleyward snow, snow slide, snow slip, snow flow, buried in snow, suffocated under snow Problem: Search syntax (PATENTSCOPE)

(1) avalanche* OR ((flow OR flows OR slide OR slides OR slip OR slips OR valleyward OR buried OR burial OR suffocat*) NEAR snow)

Boolean operator: OR Proximity operator: NEAR (within 5 terms distance) Wildcard operator: * (unlimited characters) Structure: Synonyms

backpack: knapsack, pack-bag, pack-can, rucksack, sack, bag, baggage airbag: air bag, air cushion, flexible envelope, life preserver, life vest lifejacket, life jacket, life belt, floatation suit, floatation device shoulder straps cylinder: tank, bottle, container, vessel air: gas compressed: pressurized, pressurised, under pressure handle: grip, cord Structure: Search syntax (PATENTSCOPE)

(1) backpack* OR knapsack* OR "pack-bag*" OR "pack-can*" OR rucksack* OR sack OR sacks OR bag OR bags OR baggage (2) airbag* OR "air bag*" OR "air cushion*" OR "flexible envelope*" OR "life preserver*" OR "life vest*" OR lifejacket* OR "life jacket*" OR "life belt*" OR "floatation suit*" OR "floatation device*" (3) "shoulder strap*" (4a) cylinder* OR tank OR tanks OR container* OR vessel* OR bottle* (4b) "compressed air" OR "compressed gas" OR "air pressur*"~3 OR "gas pressur*"~3 (5) handle* OR grip OR grips OR cord OR cords Function: Synonyms

inflate: blow up, pump up airbag: air bag, air cushion, flexible envelope, life preserver, life vest lifejacket, life jacket, life belt, floatation suit, floatation device lift: buoy, float surface: top, up, vertical protect: conserve, cushion, insulate, preserve, safeguard, save trauma: concussion, collision, blow, crash, crush, impact, injury, jolt, shock, wound head: cranium, skull spine: backbone, spinal column, vertebrae, vertebral column chest: rib, thorax, upper body, upper trunk Æ body Function: Search syntax (PATENTSCOPE)

(1a) inflat* OR "blow up" OR "pump up" (1b) airbag* OR "air bag*" OR "air cushion*" OR "flexible envelope*" OR "life preserver*" OR "life vest*" OR lifejacket* OR "life jacket*" OR "life belt*" OR "floatation suit*" OR "floatation device*" (2a) lift* OR buoy* OR float* (2b) surface OR top OR up OR vertical* (3a) protect* OR conserv* OR cushion* OR insulat* OR preserv* OR safeguard* OR save OR saving (3b) trauma OR concussion* OR collision* OR blow OR blows OR crash* OR crush* OR impact* OR injur* OR jolt* OR shock OR shocks OR wound* (3c) body (3c') head OR cranium OR skull (3c'') spine OR backbone OR "spinal column" OR vertebrae OR "vertebral column" (3c''') chest OR rib OR ribs OR thorax OR "upper body" OR "upper trunk" Preparation phase

A45F Æ Travelling or camp equipment; sacks or packs carried on the body A45C Æ Purses; luggage; hand carried bags PATENTSCOPE (backpack) PATENTSCOPE (backpack): Results PATENTSCOPE (backpack): Results PATENTSCOPE (backpack): Results

B65D Æ Containers for storage or transport of articles TACSY (backpack) TACSY (backpack): Results TACSY (backpack): Results

A45F Æ Travelling or camp equipment; sacks or packs carried on the body A45C Æ Purses; luggage; hand carried bags IPCCAT (airbag)

B63C 9/00 Æ Life-saving in water B60R 21/00 Æ Life-saving in water Classification (airbag) PATENTSCOPE (compressed air cylinder): Results

F17C Æ Vessels for containing or storing compressed, liquefied, or solidified gases; fixed capacity gas- holders; filling vessels with, or discharging from vessels, compressed, liquefied, or solidified gases Classification

backpack: A45C, A45F, B65D airbag: A62B, B60R 21/00, B63C 9/00 compressed air cylinder: F17C Search phase

Search by element (combined) Search by reference Search by name Search by element (combined)

Backpack only Airbag only Air cylinder only Avalanche only …

Airbag + avalanche Backpack + airbag …

Backpack + airbag + air cylinder … Caution!

In freedom-to-operate searches, combine elements only to the extent absolutely necessary to restrict the number of results to be evaluated.

Æ High recall - Increasing precision Target

Current active patents Æ PatFT: Granted patents (US) Future active patents Æ AppFT: Patent applications (US) Æ PATENTSCOPE: Patent documents (international) USPTO PatFT/AppFT Target

Current active patents Æ PatFT: Granted patents (US) Future active patents Æ AppFT: Patent applications (US) Æ PATENTSCOPE: Patent documents (international) Search – PatFT (airbag only) Search – PatFT (airbag only): Results Search – PatFT (airbag only, IPC) Search – PatFT (airbag only, IPC): Results Search – PatFT (airbag + avalanche) Search – PatFT (airbag + avalanche): Results Search – PatFT (airbag + avalanche, IPC only) Search – PatFT (airbag + avalanche, IPC): Results US Patent 7,878,141: Airbag system for use in an avalanche Target

Current active patents Æ PatFT: Granted patents (US) Future active patents Æ AppFT: Patent applications (US) Æ PATENTSCOPE: Patent documents (international) Search – AppFT (airbag + avalanche): Results Search – AppFT (airbag + avalanche, IPC) Search – AppFT (airbag + avalanche, IPC): Results US patent application 10/992,942: Jacket and method for surviving and avalanche Target

Current active patents Æ PatFT: Granted patents (US) Future active patents Æ AppFT: Patent applications (US) Æ PATENTSCOPE: Patent documents (international) Search - PATENTSCOPE (Airbag + avalanche) Search - PATENTSCOPE (Airbag + avalanche): Results European patent application EP1992241: Inflatable anti-avalanche garment PCT patent application WO/2007/050024: System and method for protecting a bodypart Search phase

Search by element (combined) Search by reference Search by name Patent family – PCT (WO/2007/050024) Patent family – PCT (WO/2007/050024) Patent family (WO/2007/050024) Patent family (WO/2007/050024) Patent family (WO/2007/050024) Patent family (WO/2007/050024) Patent family (WO/2007/050024) Patent family (WO/2007/050024): Results Patent family (WO/2007/050024): Results Search phase

Search by element (combined) Search by reference Search by name Search – PATENTSCOPE (Snowpulse) Search – PATENTSCOPE (Snowpulse): Results Search - PATENTSCOPE (Snowpulse): Patent family - PCT Post-search phase

Evaluate results Analyze results Report results Evaluate results

Sort results Clearly relevant results Potentially relevant results

Æ Do not judge results based on title alone: Carefully read the claims (and the description) Æ Avoid discarding results entirely: Let the client decide whether the information is relevant or not Post-search phase

Evaluate results Analyze results Report results Analyze and report results

What is the priority date of the document? Are the features contained in the claims? Are the features contained in the description? What is the current legal status of the document?

Æ Indicate sources and date as of which information is valid (date on which information was collected) Online patent register: USPTO PAIR USPTO PAIR: US patent 12/091,278 USPTO PAIR: US patent 12/091,278 USPTO PAIR: US patent application 12/091,278 USPTO PAIR: US patent application 12/091,278 Caution!

Information provided through online patent registers may not be fully complete or up-to-date Æ Always verify information obtained through online patent registers with the respective patent office before making any legal decision