Overview

Starting a SEP Search

Technology Generation Field

Searching for Declared Patents

Searching for Undeclared Patents

Using Boolean Operators

Reviewing Results

IPlytics 'How to Search' Guide

This article explains how to conduct a Standard Essential Patent (SEP) search on the IPlytics Platform across all supported technology areas. Where steps or options differ by technology, these are noted in line.

Overview

The IPlytics Platform allows users to search for declared and undeclared SEPs mapped to specific technology standards. SEP searches are available for the following technology areas:

• Cellular (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G) — based on 3GPP standards
• Cellular IoT - (NB-IoT, LTE-M, LTE-Cat-1, V2X, EVS, IVAS) - IPlytics audio landscapes are built from codec-specific patent pool and IPR declaration sources, such as Via LA, ISO/IEC, IETF, and Vectis/IP pool data, then refined through classifier-based analysis and expert manual review.
• Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 2 through Wi-Fi 7) — based on IEEE 802.11 standards
• Video Coding (AVC, HEVC, VVC, VP9, AV1) — based on ITU-T/ISO standards
• Wireless Charging (Qi1, Qi2) — based on Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) standards
• Audio - (AAC, OPUS, MPEG-H 3D)

Note: Each technology uses either the Technology Generation field or the Technology Standard field to filter results to the relevant standard or generation. Detail on each, and availability of declared and undeclared SEPs can be found below in the Technology Generation Field section of this article.

Starting a SEP Search

Understanding Your Starting Point

Your workflow might be to start in the Patents database under 'Search' , which shares the same core search fields as the SEP tab (database), to find the full universe of patents associated with a technology. 

From there you may wish to move to the Standards database to see how the technology standard itself has been defined — searching standard documents and standard contributions submitted to bodies such as 3GPP, IEEE, ETSI, or ITU, and refining by technology generation or committee/working group. 

Once you have this context, you can switch to the SEP database to run a dedicated SEP search: the SEP database adds standards-specific fields on top of the Patents fields, such as Standard Project, Standard Document ID, Declaring Company, Declaration Date, Standard Setting Organization, and Patent Pool , allowing you to search and analyse both declared and undeclared SEPs mapped to a specific technology standard.

A full guide to searching and analysing on the IPlytics Platform is attached here if you'd like to look at the Patents, SEPs, and Standards databases, Boolean/expert-mode search syntax, or filter and import options in more detail.

Running Your SEP Search

To start your SEP search:

• Navigate to the SEP tab/database within the IPlytics Platform.

• Use the available search fields to define your query.
• Use the Technology Generation field to limit results to the relevant technology generation or standard. (note that some technologies use the Technology Standard field to filter results. Detail on each can be found below in the Technology Generation Field section of this article.)

Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) can be used to combine, broaden or exclude terms across search fields, allowing you to refine your results.

Technology Generation Field

The Technology Generation field is the primary way to filter SEPs by technology standard. Available options vary by technology area:

Cellular — 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G

For cellular technologies, the Technology Generation field is populated with 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) numbers classified by generation. You can select one or more generations (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G) to filter relevant TS numbers.

Three search strategies are available when targeting 5G SEPs:

• Sole 5G TS: Returns patents mapped exclusively to 5G TS numbers.

• Bridge TS: Returns patents mapped to TS numbers that span both 4G and 5G (i.e., specifications that evolved across generations).

• 5G Standard Project Identifier: Returns patents associated with a specific 5G project identifier, which may include TS numbers from multiple generations.

• Extended TS coverage helps users explore a wider set of technical specification documents connected to a technology area, making it easier to find relevant standards of context and perform more complete SEP analysis.

Note: Undeclared patent identification is not available for cellular (2G–5G) SEP searches.

Cellular IoT — NB-IoT, LTE-M, LTE Cat 1, V2X

For Cellular IoT, the Technology Standard field displays four technology options: NB-IoT, LTE-M (eMTC), LTE Cat 1, and V2X. Unlike 2G–5G, which are cellular generations, these are individual 3GPP technical specifications, so they're classified as 'Technology Standards' rather than 'Technology Generations'. Select the relevant technology or technologies for your search.

Select one or more technologies to restrict results to patents mapped to the corresponding Cellular IoT standard. Multiple technologies can be selected to analyse SEP portfolios across different Cellular IoT use cases or to compare patent coverage between standards.

Note: Undeclared patent identification is not available for Cellular IoT. Cellular IoT searches return declared SEPs only — a classifier narrows the broader declared cellular patent set down to those relevant to each specific technology, but it does not identify undeclared patents.

Wi-Fi — Wi-Fi 2 through Wi-Fi 7

For Wi-Fi, the Technology Generation field displays options ranging from Wi-Fi 2 to Wi-Fi 7, corresponding to 802.11a/b/g through 802.11be. Select one or more generations to scope your search.

Select one or more Wi-Fi generations to restrict results to patents mapped to the corresponding standard. Multiple generations can be selected to analyse SEP portfolios across different Wi-Fi releases or to compare patent coverage between standards.

Undeclared patents: Available for Wi-Fi 4, Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6, and Wi-Fi 7. See the Undeclared Patents section below.

Video Coding — AVC, HEVC, VVC, VP9 and AV1

For video coding, the Technology Generation field shows five options: AVC (H.264), HEVC (H.265), VVC (H.266), VP9 and AV1. Select the relevant codec or codecs for your search.

Select one or more codecs to restrict results to patents mapped to the corresponding video coding standard. Multiple codecs can be selected to analyse SEP portfolios across successive generations of video compression technology or to compare patent coverage between standards.

Undeclared patents: Available for AVC, HEVC, VVC, VP9 and AV1. See the Undeclared Patents section below. 

Wireless Charging — Qi1, Qi2

For wireless charging, select Qi1 or Qi2 in the Technology Generation field. Qi1 is the primary standard developed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC).

For wireless charging technologies, the Technology Generation field displays two options: Qi1 and Qi2.

Qi1 represents the original wireless charging standard developed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) and encompasses multiple versions of the Qi specification. Qi2 is the next-generation standard, introducing enhancements such as the Magnetic Power Profile (MPP) for improved alignment and charging efficiency.

Select one or both generations to restrict results to patents mapped to the corresponding Qi standard. Multiple generations can be selected to analyse SEP portfolios across the evolution of wireless charging technologies.

Undeclared patents: Available for both Qi1 and Qi2. Note that patent declarations for the Qi standard may not be consistently reported across all holders. See the Undeclared Patents section below.

Audio — AAC, Opus, & MPEG-H 3D Audio (EVS and IVAS)

For Audio, the 'Technology Generation' field displays three codec options: AAC, Opus, and MPEG-H 3D Audio. Select the relevant codec or codecs for your search. 

Please note that EVS and IVAS are available by selecting the 'Technology Standard' field for your SEP search.

Select one or more codecs to restrict results to patents mapped to the corresponding audio coding standard. Multiple codecs can be selected to analyse SEP portfolios across different audio technologies or to compare patent coverage between standards.

Undeclared patents: Available for AAC, Opus, and MPEG-H 3D Audio. See the Undeclared Patents section below. 

Note: Undeclared patent identification is not available for EVS or IVAS — like Cellular IoT, these return declared SEPs only, narrowed by a classifier to patents relevant to each protocol, rather than a predicted/undeclared layer.

Searching for Declared Patents

By default, a SEP search returns only declared patents — those that patent holders have formally declared to the relevant standards body as potentially essential to a given standard.

Results can be viewed in the Analytics View for summary charts or the Search Data View for row-level data export. Use the Filter bar to further refine results, for example by patent status (active or granted). 

By default, a SEP search returns only declared patents-patents that have been formally declared by the patent owner to the relevant standards development organization (SDO) as potentially essential to implementing a given standard.

Use the Filter bar to further refine your results. Common filters include:

• Patent status (for example, Active, Granted, Transferred, or Litigated)
• Ultimate Owner
• Declaration Date
• Patent Office
• Technology generation

Results can be viewed in either of the following formats:

Analytics View

The Analytics View provides aggregated insights and visualizations, enabling you to analyse SEP portfolios through summary charts, ownership distributions, filing trends, and other high-level metrics.

Search Data View

The Search Data View displays row-level patent data and is intended for detailed review and export. Use this view when you need to inspect individual patent families or download search results for further analysis.

Searching for Undeclared Patents

In addition to declared SEPs, the IPlytics Platform can identify undeclared patents — patents that have not been formally declared to a standards development organization (SDO) but that have been identified as potentially essential through IPlytics' machine-learning classification models.

To include undeclared patents in your search:

1. Click the dropdown arrow next to the search field (whilst in the SEPs tab).
2. Select 'Relevant undeclared patents included'.
3. Run or update your search.

When enabled, the search results will include both declared SEPs and patents classified as potentially essential to the selected standard.

Undeclared patent identification is available for the following technologies:

Undeclared patent identification is not available for cellular (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G) SEP searches. For this we have the Expanded TS.

Undeclared patent identification is also unavailable for cellular IoT, and EVS/VAS audio protocols. 

Learn more in the full article on 'How to search for Undeclared Patents'. 

Using Boolean Operators

Boolean operators can be applied across search fields to refine and control your SEP search queries. The following operators are supported:

1. AND — Returns only results that match all specified terms. Example: beamforming AND scheduling. (Returns patents containing both beamforming and scheduling.)
2. OR — Returns results that match any of the specified terms. Example: beamforming OR precoding. (Returns patents containing either beamforming, precoding, or both.)
3. NOT — Excludes results that match the specified term. Example: beamforming NOT precoding. (Returns patents containing beamforming while excluding those that also contain precoding.)

Operators can be combined to create more targeted searches. Example: (beamforming OR precoding) AND antenna — returns patents containing antenna together with either beamforming or precoding.

Adding Parent and Child Search Fields

Use the + icon next to a search field to add additional search criteria. When adding a new field, you can choose to create either:

1. A Parent search field, which creates a separate search group.
2. A Child search field, which nests the new criterion within an existing search group.

This allows you to build more complex search structures and combine multiple criteria using Boolean operators. Parent and child fields are particularly useful when constructing searches that require different logical groupings of terms.

Boolean operators are available across all technology areas and can be used in combination with the Technology Generation field, parent and child search fields, and other filters to further refine results.

More information can be found in this article on the 'Query Builder', or here in the full search guide.

Reviewing Results

Search results are available in two views:

• Analytics View: Visual summary of results including charts and breakdowns by company, family, and filing date.
• Search Data View: Row-level data suitable for export, with full patent family details.

Use the filter bar to apply additional filters such as patent status (active, granted) to narrow results after the initial search.

Result Metrics

At the top of the results page, summary metrics provide an overview of the search results. Results can be viewed from different perspectives:

• Declarations – The total number of standards declarations associated with the search criteria.
• SEPs – The number of standard-essential patent assets identified in the result set.
• Families – The number of unique patent families represented in the results.

Selecting a metric updates the analytics and data views to reflect the chosen perspective.

Analytics View

The Analytics View provides a visual summary of the result set through interactive charts and metrics.

Analytics are organized into multiple subject areas, including:

• Market Overview
• Over Time
• Industry Trend
• Authority
• Indicators
• Rank
• Industry Clusters
• IPC/CPC Portfolio Concentration
• Citation
• Co-Assignee
• Litigation
• Transferred

The available charts and metrics may vary depending on the selected technology area and dataset.

Use the Analytics View to identify trends, compare patent portfolios, analyse ownership positions, and evaluate portfolio strength and influence.

Search Data View

The Search Data View displays row-level patent data and is designed for detailed analysis, review, and export.

The view includes up to 89 searchable and configurable data fields, allowing users to analyse SEP portfolios at a highly granular level.

Available fields may include:

• Patent family identifiers
• Patent owner and ultimate owner
• Publication and application numbers
• Filing, publication, and priority dates
• Legal status
• Patent office
• Standards and specification mappings
• Technology generation
• Committee groups
• Declaration information
• Semantic Essentiality Score

Users can customize displayed columns, sort results, apply filters, and export the resulting dataset for further analysis.

Refining Results

Use the filter panel to further narrow the result set after running a search.

Available filters include:

• Active
• Granted
• Transferred
• Litigated
• Pooled
• Semantic Essentiality Score
• Ultimate Owner
• Patent Office
• Dates
• Kind Type
• Type
• Technology Generation
• Technology Standard
• Standard Document ID (Normalized)
• Committee Groups
• Releases
• Industry Sector
• Industry Field
• Declaration Origin

Available filters may vary depending on the selected technology and dataset.

Filters can be applied in both the Analytics View and Search Data View, allowing you to refine results without modifying the original search query.

How to Analyze & Search: