Whether you are preparing a patent application or defending a patent, the integration of automation in the patent process can be crucial to your success. If you are not using a computerized system to handle your patents, then you are missing out on a number of opportunities for cost savings, and a more efficient process overall.
The integration of automation in the patent process can improve efficiency, accuracy and speed, while reducing costs and increasing capacity. Here are some of the ways automation can be integrated into the patent process:
- Prior Art Search: Automated prior art search algorithms can quickly search vast databases of patents and other relevant sources to identify relevant prior art and save time for examiners.
- Patent Classification: Automated patent classification can improve the accuracy and speed of classification by providing more consistent and efficient results.
- Patent Drafting Assistance: Automated software can take an invention disclosure and provide a high-quality first draft ready for patent attorney review.
- Patent Examination: Automated tools can be used to streamline the examination process, reducing the time and effort required to review and analyze patents, while improving accuracy and consistency.
- Patent Prosecution: Automated tools can assist in patent prosecution by providing real-time feedback and suggestions on claim language, improving the quality and consistency of patent applications.
- Portfolio Management: Automated tools can provide real-time insights and analytics to help organizations manage and optimize their patent portfolios, improving the efficiency of decision-making and strategic planning.
Overall, the integration of automation in the patent process has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency, accuracy and speed of the patent system, while reducing costs and increasing capacity.
Office actions from patent examiners
Using an automated patent office documentation system can be a great way to save time and energy when responding to an office action from a USPTO examiner. The system can be coupled to a variety of sources of public information. For example, the USPTO Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system is one of the more prominent sites for conducting online patent research.
An automated patent office documentation system can also be implemented in general purpose computers. For example, the system can be based on a crawler that checks file histories of serial numbers. Some embodiments also incorporate the ability to analyze electronic content, user input, and other reference materials.
The system can also include the ability to search for the right office action. For instance, a user may want to perform a search for Office Actions issued by a particular Examiner in similar prior art. This can be done by selecting the search parameters displayed on the user interface.
A final office action is also shown. This is typically an action that is overcome or a newer office action that is placed higher in the cue to update checking. The box is also accompanied by a hyperlink that can be used for a variety of purposes.
The system may also display statistics derived from a collection of prosecution history documents. For example, the pop-up box will show a dated listing of documents that are in the file history. This is a good way to identify attorneys with a lot of cases with the given Examiner.
Patent prosecution strategies can be automated
Whether a practitioner is a new patent prosecutor or an experienced litigator, the patent prosecution process requires a proactive approach. This means monitoring each patent application and actively searching for updates. The volume of applications makes this task difficult. The USPTO provides online resources for practitioners.
Preparing written responses to Patent Office rejections is time-consuming and expensive. Traditionally, this work was handled by paralegals, patent secretaries, or patent attorneys.
However, the use of automation has come a long way in a short amount of time. This is due in part to advancements in machine learning and big data. These advances have led to predictive analytics for patent prosecution.
For instance, patent software provides an analysis of statistical patterns for assigned examiners and recommendations for prosecution strategies. This allows a user to get tailored advice on how to best prosecute a particular patent.
Another tool, can automatically generate document sections based on specific criteria. For example, it can check documents for inconsistent part numbers, lack of specification support, and missing antecedent bases. It also can check documents for status indicators, such as missing or incongruous antecedent bases or missing antecedent basis information.
The use of AI-based automated search tools can provide innovators with access to existing prior art. This can help avoid obviousness rejections. It can also validate concepts at the ideation stage, which can greatly reduce the turnaround time of a patent prosecution.
In addition, analyzing the prosecution history of an invention can help an innovator find innovative areas of invention. This can be accomplished with manual searches or with AI-based automated searches. The latter will provide a more accurate and comprehensive search.