Delve Deeper into Patent Histories with Public PAIR
Posted on Thu, Feb 09, 2012
The most common way for Researchers to begin an Article One Study is to research the Study Patents and Cited Patents in order to become familiar with the history of the technology. In addition to reading the patent claims, did you know that there’s another easy way to delve deeper into patents?
USPTO Public PAIR is an online platform that accesses all public information available about U.S. patents and applications. Most importantly for Researchers, this includes details on all of the publicly released "office actions" that led to the approval of the patent. (Or in the case of a pending application, all of the public office actions to date.) Office actions can include:
- Rejections (both “final” and “non-final”)
- Appeals from the inventor
- Images of cited non-patent literature
- Receipts of fees
- Accounts of the examiner's search strategy.
These documents may seem like mundane paperwork, but in fact they are rich with information useful to Researchers. A patent is only the final result of years of work and deliberation. Public PAIR reveals the details of how it came to be.
The Arguments
Article One Study Descriptions often include cited claims. These are great tools for understanding the background of the invention, since they are selected as the most relevant claims for the Study at hand. However, it is not always clear exactly what language within those cited claims is most relevant to the state of the art, and what nuanced definitions the claims' language may carry. One way to find answers to these questions is to look at rejections and appeals that were filed by the examiner and inventor, via Public PAIR.
Rejections and appeals contain detailed arguments for and against the originality of the technology at hand, citing specific language in the cited patents to make their points. The language of these documents can be legalistic, but compared to the vague, muddied language of patent claims, it can be illuminating. This is especially key for Researchers who don't happen to be experts in the given technological field. Knowing the original language, and why it was or wasn't rejected, will help Researchers to understand the nuances of the technology.
Plus, certain key words and phrases used by the inventor may have been stricken in the approval process. These could turn out to be the best, most relevant search terms for online database searches, but you'd never know them by only reading the final patent.
The Examiner's Materials
Another way to use the information on Public PAIR is to take a look at the examiner’s strategy and findings. This is a chance to get inside the head of an expert researcher!
The documents labeled “Examiner’s Search Strategy” show the exact search queries he or she made, and in which databases they were searched. It can even include screenshots of the search results. The keywords the examiner used may reveal another side to the technology that was not committed to paper in an official document, but that is nonetheless important to understanding the technology as a whole. It's a good idea to cross reference your list of key terms with the examiner’s, and learn from his or her perspective.
Another document type available is a “List of References Cited.” These lists often include non-patent literature—the most unique form of prior art—that was found by the examiner. Copies of those pieces of non-patent literature are only available by request of the USPTO, but full bibliographic information is available in the “List of References,” making it a convenient alternative. Once you review the bibliographic information on the “List,” you can then use other means to find the literature, such as Google Scholar, a library, or a database subscription. This is a great research shortcut where it is applicable. It saves you from having to search databases and scan abstracts to find the non-patent articles that are truly relevant.
How to Access the Documents
In order to access all of these documents, take the number of the patent you want to research and put it into the search field found on the PAIR website. Then click on the tab labeled “Image File Wrapper.” The list of documents, including those document types mentioned in this article, will appear if they’re available.
For a more detailed guide to accessing PAIR, Intellogist has published a fantastic pair of blog posts (Part 1, Part 2).