Use cases: A Powerful Tool for Patent Analysts and Attorneys
Adding Patent Family Tree to the Family Viewer
What is the feature?
Patent Family Tree is a new feature in PatentSight+ that provides users with a clear and intuitive representation of the hierarchical and chronological structure of patent families. It automatically generates a visually appealing hierarchical tree that illustrates the relationships between various applications, publications, and granted patents within a family. This tree effectively conveys crucial information such as priority dates, filing and publication dates, legal status and the priority claim connections between individual family members.
Use Cases: A Powerful Tool for Patent Analysts and Attorneys
Patent Analysts: Investigate competitor filing and internationalisation strategies by confirming specific nationalisation strategies for a patent family. The ability to quickly grasp the complexities of patent family structures and filing strategies provides valuable insights into competitors' tactics and strategies.
Patent Attorneys: Utilise visualisations during patent drafting, prosecution, or litigation to discuss priority, related documents, and claim construction. The visual representation of a patent family's history and development can be a powerful tool in supporting legal arguments and facilitating clear communication.
How does the feature work?
Patent Family Tree is seamlessly integrated into the existing PatentSight+ patent analytics workflow, ensuring a consistent and familiar user experience. Users can access this feature from the Result List. In the Family Viewer a new card is displayed: Patent Family Tree.
With a simple click or tap, the tree diagram will open in a new tab within the user's web browser, providing a full-screen view of even the most complex patent families. All functionality is available in this full-screen view:
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Configure Tree Display Options |
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Zoom In / Out |
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Fit to Page |
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Copy Link |
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Download PNG file |
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Legend |
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| Open Document Viewer |
Detailed step-by-step guide
From the "Analysis Templates", select "Result List".
After selecting a patent family from the Result List, the Family Viewer with all detailed information will be loaded. When scrolling downwards through the displayed information you will find a card called "Patent Family Tree", which will show a canvas with hierarchical tree structure of all applications and publications of the family.
In case the card "Patent Family Tree" is not visible, check the section Troubleshooting as you might have a customized layout of the Family Viewer.
You can zoom in / out by using the buttons "-" and "+" (or scroll wheel of your mouse). With the cursor you can pan the position of the tree on the canvas. The button "Fit to Page" repositions the tree on the canvas.
More functionality is available in the full-screen view. You open this view by clicking on the link "Explore Patent Family Tree" on the right above the canvas.
The header displays the publication number of the family representative and the earliest priority date of the patent family.
Full-screen view is opened in a new tab and gives you access to all functionality of the feature Patent Family Tree:
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Configure Tree Display Options |
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Zoom In / Out |
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Fit to Page |
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Copy Link |
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Download PNG file |
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Legend |
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| Open Document Viewer |
On the left top of the page you can configure which information needs to be displayed in the tree by clicking on "Tree Display Options".
In the middle top of the page you see buttons "-" and "+" to zoom in / out (or you use the scroll wheel of your mouse). With the cursor you can pan the position of the tree on the canvas. The button "Fit to Page" repositions the tree on the canvas.
On the right top of the page you will see two icons / buttons for a) copying a link to the page and b) download an image of the tree. The download is a PNG file, and is a snapshot of what is displayed in the tree.
With using earlier mentioned the option "Display Tree Options" you can configure what is visible on the screen. With this configuration you can control which data is in the downloaded PNG image. For instance, you can configure a tree with only filing date, publication number and publication date.
A legend on the left top on the canvas displays what is visible in the tree.
When you hover on the displayed legal status of an application a legend is displayed with explanation about the possible Legal Status: In Force, Validated, Pending, Inactive, Unknown.
When you hover on a displayed application type additional information is shown about the application.
In case only an application is available (and no accompanying publication) the application is shown. For instance, in the case of a US provisional application. N.B. The application number format is provided by European Patent Office. In below example US201862682730.P = US application 62/682,730.
To get more detailed information about any individual family members you can click on the publication of that member.
After clicking on a publication in the tree a new tab will open and displays a Document Viewer. Here you can download a pdf file of the selected Family Member or open Espacenet for all information of the publication.
The pdf and Espacenet icons are on the right top of the page.
Finding a specific publication in a family can be challenging. Using the search functionality of your web browser can help you quickly navigate to a specific family member. The keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F will give you instant access to searching on text. For instance, KR20210008044.A
In case you are interested in more legal information you can return to the tab with the Result List and scroll to a card called Legal Status Today.
Clicking on an authority will provide more details about the legal status in that authority.
All legal data is available with the option "Legal Events".
A dialog is displayed with an overview of all legal events for all authorities. The list can be filtered. All displayed information in the table can be copied to your clipboard with the icon / button on the right above the table.
More information about Legal Status can be found here.
Adding Patent Family Tree to the Family Viewer
The Patent Family Tree is already available to you via the default view of the Results List. If you do not have the Patent Family Tree card enabled, you can easily enable the card by clicking on the gearwheel icon of the Family Viewer.
After clicking on the gearwheel icon a dialog will be displayed where on the right side under "Available Cards" you will find a card named "Patent Family Tree".
With arrow icon / button <- (or by dragging) you can position the card in your customized layout of Family Viewer.
After pressing the button "Confirm" your changes will be saved.
Frequently Asked Questions
What patent family definition is used?
LexisNexis patent family definition is used. This definition is based on DOCDB simple patent family definition from the European Patent Office (EPO). According to this definition, documents that have the same set of priorities are grouped into one patent family. Divisional and continuation applications belong to the same patent family as their parent application, whereas continuation-in-part (CIP) applications do not belong to the same patent family.
Where do we get the data from?
Patent Family Tree is built upon the LexisNexis patent family definition, which is based on the DOCDB simple patent family definition from the European Patent Office (EPO). According to this definition, documents that share the same set of priorities are grouped into a single patent family. Divisional and continuation applications are considered part of the same family as their parent application, while continuation-in-part (CIP) applications are treated as separate families.
To determine the earliest priority filing, the feature analyses the priority claims and dates of all family members and identifies the application with the earliest priority date. This application is then displayed as the root of the tree, allowing users to quickly assess the family's priority and trace its origins.
The data used to generate hierarchical trees is sourced directly from the European Patent Office (EPO). An algorithm transposes priority claims from DOCDB to an hierarchical tree for every patent family. The repository is weekly updated to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the information presented in the visualisation.
How is the earliest priority filing determined?
The earliest priority filing is determined by analysing the priority dates of all family members and identifying the application with the earliest priority date. This priority date is printed on the tree and visualised as the root of the tree, allowing users to quickly assess the family's priority.
What is the maximum supported family size or member count that will render properly in the visualisation?
There is no strict limit on family size or member count. The Patent Family Tree has been thoroughly tested on families with up to 762 members, ensuring proper rendering and performance even for exceptionally large families.
How do I access the Patent Family Tree?
The Patent Family Tree visualisation will be visible and directly accessible from the patent family viewer in PatentSight+. Users can open then tree in a new tab within their web browser. This full-screen mode makes it easy to view complex family trees. Detailed instructions in a knowledge base article helps users onboard this new feature here.
Can I download the tree in Excel, PowerPoint, Word, PDF or PNG formats?
For the initial release, users will be able to download the tree as a PNG image file. This format strikes a balance between providing a high-quality, shareable output and minimising technical complexity. Based on user feedback and demand, we may consider supporting additional file formats like PDF, PowerPoint, or Excel in future iterations.
Can I print the tree to paper in a readable format?
Yes you can. For patent families with 20 members or fewer, the downloadable PNG output is optimised for paper format A4 / letter to print well at full scale. On the right top of the page you will see the icon to download an image of the tree. The download is a PNG file, and is a snapshot of what is displayed in the tree:
The tree layout algorithm aims to produce a compact yet legible representation within the printable (landscape) area. We understand that a paper version of a patent family tree can be helpful for users, especially patent attorneys. However, for extremely large patent families printing the entire tree on a single sheet of paper while maintaining readability is challenging. We are exploring techniques like splitting large trees across multiple pages, as well as incorporating filtering options to selectively display / hide branches based on criteria like authorities or priority chains. Please don't hesitate to contact our support team on this topic via support@lexisnexisip.com.
Who can I contact if I have other questions?
Please reach out to support@lexisnexisip.com if you have any other questions about using the Patent Family Tree feature.