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Common Citation Document (CCD) Handbook

User documentation and online help

11 January 2017 Version 1.2

European Patent Office Dir. 5423 User Support Coordination and Tools

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Table of Contents 1. Concept Topics .................................................................................................... 5

1.1. Common citation document (CCD) ............................................................... 5

1.2. Benefits of CCD ............................................................................................ 5

1.3. Patent documents ......................................................................................... 5

1.4. Non-patent literature ..................................................................................... 6

1.5. Patent families ............................................................................................... 6

1.6. Simple patent family ...................................................................................... 7

1.7. Extended patent family (incl. inpadoc) .......................................................... 7

1.8. priorities ........................................................................................................ 7

1.9. Data quality ................................................................................................... 7

1.10. Data coverage............................................................................................ 8

2. Accessing the common citation document ........................................................... 8

2.1. Access Via the official IP5 Website ............................................................... 8

2.2. Access via ESPACENET .............................................................................. 9

3. Setting CCD interface ........................................................................................ 10

3.1. Using the Hide CCD viewer......................................................................... 10

3.2. Using the Double inspector ......................................................................... 11

3.3. Activating the Timeline ................................................................................ 12

4. Getting help ....................................................................................................... 12

4.1. Online help .................................................................................................. 12

4.2. Contact EPO customer support ................................................................... 13

5. The Forum ......................................................................................................... 13

5.1. Register/Login to the Discussion Forum ..................................................... 15

5.2. Subscribe to a Forum .................................................................................. 15

6. Entering search terms ........................................................................................ 15

6.1. Enter search term ........................................................................................ 16

6.2. Direct result ................................................................................................. 16

6.3. Multiple results (ambiguous) ....................................................................... 16

6.4. Opening multiple tabs ................................................................................. 17

6.5. Resetting search ......................................................................................... 17

6.6. How number searches are interpreted by CCD........................................... 18

6.7. Searching with keywords ............................................................................ 19

6.8. Searching with names ................................................................................. 19

6.9. Searching with numbers .............................................................................. 19

6.10. Searching with dates ................................................................................ 20

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6.11. Boolean operators .................................................................................... 20

6.12. Using field identifiers in CCD ................................................................... 20

7. CCD Viewer ....................................................................................................... 20

7.1. Viewing search results ................................................................................ 20

7.2. Identifying patent family(ies) in the CCD Viewer ......................................... 21

7.3. Identifying cited documents (citations) in the results list. ............................. 22

7.4. Rich citation information .............................................................................. 23

7.5. Non-patent literature ................................................................................... 24

7.6. Modifying results list .................................................................................... 24

7.7. Classifications and fields searched ............................................................. 25

7.8. Document view buttons ............................................................................... 28

7.9. Printing results list ....................................................................................... 28

8. Exporting search results from the ccd viewer .................................................... 29

8.1. Exporting to excel ........................................................................................ 29

8.2. Opening patent documents from Excel in ESPACENET ............................. 32

8.3. Exporting to CSV ........................................................................................ 33

9. Timeline ............................................................................................................. 33

9.1. Activate the Timeline ................................................................................... 34

9.2. Single application mode option ................................................................... 34

9.3. Compare mode ........................................................................................... 34

9.4. Deleting results in the Timeline ................................................................... 35

9.5. Opening patent documents from Timeline .................................................. 35

9.6. Modifying Timeline view .............................................................................. 37

9.7. Browsing Timeline ....................................................................................... 38

9.8. Re-setting changes ..................................................................................... 39

10. Inspector ......................................................................................................... 40

10.1. Navigating through documents from the CCD viewer in the Inspector ..... 40

10.2. Bibliographic details (Biblio) ..................................................................... 40

10.3. Description and Claims sections .............................................................. 40

10.4. Opening “also published as” documents in the Inspector ........................ 41

11. Viewing the original document ........................................................................ 42

11.1. Navigating through the original document ................................................ 42

11.2. Page-by-page navigation ......................................................................... 42

11.3. Section-by-section navigation .................................................................. 43

12. Error messages .............................................................................................. 44

12.1. Input issues .............................................................................................. 44

12.2. Connection issue ..................................................................................... 44

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12.3. Stopped call ............................................................................................. 45

12.4. Document not found ................................................................................. 45

13. Abbreviations and terminology ....................................................................... 45

14. FAQS .............................................................................................................. 46

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1. CONCEPT TOPICS

1.1. COMMON CITATION DOCUMENT (CCD)

The Common Citation Document (CCD) application provides single-point access to citation data supplied by more than thirty patent offices. It consolidates the prior art cited by all participating offices for the family members of a patent application, thus enabling the search results for the same invention produced by several offices to be viewed on a single page. The creation of the CCD application is part of an ongoing process of technical harmonisation at the international level aimed at establishing an appropriate infrastructure to facilitate greater integration of the global patent system.

1.2. BENEFITS OF CCD

CCD is a quick and easy citation search and analysis tool, that allows insight into prior art searching and the methods used by patent authorities to search and examine patent documents. It contains patent families, extended families and citations in one view making it easier to identify and analyse certain patterns of cited documents, company filings and patent authority procedure. In particular CCD is used to:

Identify the geographical areas targeted by the applicants/companies Identify potential markets or areas of protection for your inventions Identify the patent strategy of an applicant by viewing the gap between the

filing dates of applications for the same invention Easily identify whether there are more family members (divisional applications

or continuations in-part) Identify patent search/examination procedure of the patent authorities Anticipate the outcome of your applications or those of your competitors in the

early stages of the procedure. Identifying the success of patent documents by viewing the amount of times it

has been cited in other areas.

1.3. PATENT DOCUMENTS

Patent documents are documents published by patent offices that contain information about inventions for which a patent application has been filed or granted, or for which a utility model has been registered.

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Each year, more than a million patent documents, based on approximately half as many inventions, are published worldwide. Only a small number of inventions are described in sources other than patent documents. This makes the information in these documents invaluable for an understanding of the status of both technology and innovation processes. Patent documents mainly consist of patent applications and granted patents, along with the search reports, amendments to these documents, and translations. The type of publication is indicated by a code affixed to the document number. Patent documents consist of:

a first page comprising basic information such as the title of the invention and the name of the inventor

a detailed description of the invention indicating how it is constructed, how it is used and what benefits it brings compared with what already exists

claims containing a clear and concise definition of what the patent legally protects

drawings

1.4. NON-PATENT LITERATURE

In addition to patent literature, the EPO's search documentation includes any other printed or non-printed material that may be technically relevant for the patent grant procedure. This documentation is called non-patent literature. Non-patent literature can be an important source of information on the state of the art. It primarily consists of articles from scientific magazines, conference reports, books, internet pages, etc. The latest developments emerging from scientific publications and conferences are usually found in these sources first. This is especially true for research results from universities or scientists, who often tend to publish their results in scientific publications or within the context of conferences and do not necessarily protect their inventions with patents.

1.5. PATENT FAMILIES

Patents are industrial property rights that provide protection in a certain country or countries. Inventions are frequently the subject of patent applications in several different national or regional patent offices or with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). See also Help index Patent families in Espacenet

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1.6. SIMPLE PATENT FAMILY

A simple patent family is the collection of patent applications that have been filed for the same invention in different countries / regions and are claiming the same priority or same combination of priorities. In some cases more than one patent family can be displayed. This occurs when the various patent offices cite different patent documents (citations) for the same invention. Synonyms for the Simple Patent Family: Also published as Equivalent(s)

1.7. EXTENDED PATENT FAMILY (INCL. INPADOC)

An extended patent family is a collection of patent documents that are directly or indirectly related to one particular priority document. Complex structures of the extended patent family occur when patent applications are filed in several different countries/regions and when much earlier applications (older than 18 months) are cited as the priority. This has the result that the same or similar inventions are indirectly connected by a priority or combination of priorities.

1.8. PRIORITIES

A priority is the first filing of a patent application that seeks protection for a single invention in one country. When protection is sought for the same invention in other countries the first filing is claimed as the prior art or priority by indicating the application number and date in the succeeding application. Note: Priority can only be claimed within twelve months of the first filing for protection of the invention in different countries.

1.9. DATA QUALITY

Accuracy of the data retrieved by the CCD web application engine relies on the extent to which data is exchanged between the participating offices. In particular,

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delays in bibliographic data delivery can vary depending on the country and the time period involved. Before relying on the completeness of a common citation document, one should check where there are gaps or if there are delays in certain areas. This information is available in the statistics of the world wide bibliographic database (DOCDB) and the worldwide legal status database (INPADOC) which provide indications of missing or delayed document series, (updated weekly). In addition, particular attention should be given to European patents which have entered into the national phase. In these cases completeness of a document series and its data accuracy can vary significantly between countries.

1.10. DATA COVERAGE

Please find here the information concerning the main offices and also the link to the Overview of the citation data in EPO’s citation data base (REFI) It is important to consult this additional information to avoid gaps in the search.

TASKS

2. ACCESSING THE COMMON CITATION DOCUMENT

2.1. ACCESS VIA THE OFFICIAL IP5 WEBSITE

The common citation document application can be accessed via the official IP5 website.

Enter www.fiveipoffices.org

Click on the link to the Common Citation Document (CCD) to open the application

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2.2. ACCESS VIA ESPACENET

In ESPACENET you can transfer the list of patent documents from the Cited documents panel or from the INPADOC patent family panel directly to the CCD interface.

Click on the CCD icon in the toolbar to transfer the displayed list to the CCD interface.

The CCD application opens displaying the same list of documents.

Example from the Cited documents panel

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3. SETTING CCD INTERFACE

The CCD application has two interfaces.

CCD Viewer - for the display of the search results, Inspector – for opening and viewing the content of patent documents,

The interfaces can be adapted with the described toggle buttons.

3.1. USING THE HIDE CCD VIEWER

This toggle button hides/unhides the CCD viewer. When the CCD viewer is hidden the Inspector view is maximised.

To hide the click on the toggle button Hide CCD viewer. The CCD viewer is then temporarily hidden. To re-open the viewer click on the same button now displayed as Show CCD viewer.

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3.2. USING THE DOUBLE INSPECTOR

To open a second inspector click on the Double inspector toggle button. To

return to one inspector click on the same button now displayed as Single inspector.

Note: When returning to the single inspector view the last opened inspector is closed.

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How to open documents from the results list in the first and second inspector is described in Chapter Viewing patent documents from results list Tip! Click on Hide CCD Viewer to maximise the single or double inspector(s) for easier reading of document details.

3.3. ACTIVATING THE TIMELINE

The Timeline button opens an additional window to the bottom of the CCD viewer below the results list. It presents the timespan of applications, citations, publications and priorities which are displayed in the results list above, in graphical form.

Click on the Timeline toggle button to show or hide the timeline window. Note: when the CCD viewer is hidden the Timeline is temporarily disabled. You can find out more details about the timeline and how to interact with it in Chapter Timeline.

4. GETTING HELP

Online assistance and contacts are available for the CCD application.

4.1. ONLINE HELP

In top right corner you can open the Help index in the CCD application for a step-by-step guide on how to use the individual features.

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4.2. CONTACT EPO CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Write to us using the EPO web form or call our customer service desk on the EPO website.

5. THE FORUM

The patent information Discussion forum offers free real-time help from user to user and the patent information teams post real-time news, updates, workarounds and new features surrounding the patent information products. To access the forum go to the EPO website www.epo.org, and click on the forums link.

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5.1. REGISTER/LOGIN TO THE DISCUSSION FORUM

To use all features of the forum registration is required with an email address, username and password.

To create an account click on the Register link on the forum homepage.

Once you have registered to the forum click on Login on the forum homepage to access your account with your username and password.

5.2. SUBSCRIBE TO A FORUM

You can subscribe to one of the Forums displayed on the discussion forum landing page. Once you have subscribed to a forum you will receive an email notification when new posts occur.

To subscribe to a select a forum, once it is open scroll to the bottom of page and tick the box Subscribe

TIP! Subscribe to the forum Patent Information Matters where all topics for all of the forums are posted.

6. ENTERING SEARCH TERMS

The following rules apply for entering search queries in CCD.

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6.1. ENTER SEARCH TERM

Start a search in CCD by entering search terms in keywords or numbers in

the search field and click Search or hit the Enter (return) key.

When the search is successful the simple patent family(ies) and citations are displayed in the CCD viewer and by default the Classifications and fields searched is activated and the details are displayed in the Inspector

6.2. DIRECT RESULT

A direct result is a search query that is successful and with a single result. In this case the CCD viewer opens and a list of patent families and citations are displayed. Example of direct result

6.3. MULTIPLE RESULTS (AMBIGUOUS)

Whenever a search query results in a more than one result the Multiple results screen appears with a list of possible results relating to the query entered.

Select a document from the list to open in the CCD viewer

Example of Multiple results (ambiguous)

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If no documents are found an error message will be displayed. See Chapter Error messages.

6.4. OPENING MULTIPLE TABS

It is possible to have more than one patent document open at the same time in the CCD interface. On entering a search term a tab is automatically opened.

To open a new tab, enter a new search term in the search field.

6.5. RESETTING SEARCH

Reset a single search by clicking the cross in the input field

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To close single tabs, click on the cross within the tab field.

To close all tabs click on the cross to the far right of the tab area.

Tip! In case you have reset all entries and you want to know the last searched number click on the Search button to display a pop-up with the last searched patent document.

6.6. HOW NUMBER SEARCHES ARE INTERPRETED BY CCD

The number format entered in search field of CCD, determines the output in. In some cases the number or format entered is displayed differently. The following rules apply for the input/output interpretation of a number search.

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6.7. SEARCHING WITH KEYWORDS

Keywords can be searched for with the field identifier ti (title) in the languages English French and German. Example

ti=motor this search query will search for the word motor in the title of English and German documents.

6.8. SEARCHING WITH NAMES

Names of representatives, inventors, companies can be searched in CCD. Field identifiers must be used to acquire a result. See section 6.12 Using field identifiers in CCD (below) to find out how these commands can be used.

6.9. SEARCHING WITH NUMBERS

Application publication and priority numbers are unique IDs that are assigned to the patent document at the time of filing and publication, thus clearly identifying a specific document. Priority numbers relate to earlier applications of the same patent family. The following patent document number formats are compatible for searching in CCD.

Description

Compatible number formats

Application number national 09/667,353

Application number international PCT/US2005/035078

Publication number with country code WO2011018055 - WO 2011 018055

Publication number (without country code)

2011,018,055 - 2011018055

Publication number with kind code EP1002935 A1 - EP1002935A1

Priority document (international) WO2007JP3287 - WO,2007,JP,73287

Priority document (national) JP20070041489 - JP 2007 004 1489

See also chapter 6.12 Using field identifiers in CCD.

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6.10. SEARCHING WITH DATES

Dates can be entered in the following formats: YYYYMMDD or DDMMYYYY or YYYYMM or MMYYYY YYYY/MM/DD or DD/MM/YYYY or YYYY/MM or MM/YYYY YYYY-MM-DD or DD-MM-YYYY or YYYY-MM or MM-YYYY

6.11. BOOLEAN OPERATORS

The Boolean operator AND is the default operator for connecting two search strings; it is the equivalent to using a blank space as part of the input.

6.12. USING FIELD IDENTIFIERS IN CCD

Field identifiers are used in CCD to help limit ambiguous output. The following field identifiers can be used with the corresponding search term.

Description

Field identifier

Search query example

Applicant pa pa=johnson

publication date pd pd=2010

title ti ti=lenses

inventor in in=mullis

cooperative/international patent classification

cpc or ipc cpc=F16D7/028 or ipc=F16D7/02

7. CCD VIEWER

7.1. VIEWING SEARCH RESULTS

Once a search has been triggered and is successful the simple patent family and citations are listed and presented in the following five columns.

# the counter

CC country code (e.g. EP for European Patent; US for the USA)

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Cat. Category of relevance attributed by the examiner with respect to the set of claims for which the search has been performed.

Citation details A general set of information concerning both the patent document input by the CCD web application users, its family members and the cited documents.

Claims The claims of the family member for which a relevant document has been found by the examiner who performed the search within the respective patent office. This information is only available for searches performed at the EPO, e.g. EP or WO where the EPO has acted as International Search Authority.

7.2. IDENTIFYING PATENT FAMILY(IES) IN THE CCD VIEWER

In the results list the simple patent families displayed with the corresponding citations, when available. In some cases a patent document can have more than one simple family. This can happen when one application is filed in different countries and have been examined separately by each corresponding patent office. See Chapter 1.5 Patent families for more information.

The + symbol to the far left of the application number and marks the next simple

patent family, if available.

When an extended patent family is available the button Get all family members appears.

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To open the extended patent family click on the button Get all family members. Note: it can take several seconds for the uploading of documents to complete. This depends on the amount of data being retrieved. The total amount of simple families and family members is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the CCD viewer.

7.3. IDENTIFYING CITED DOCUMENTS (CITATIONS) IN THE RESULTS LIST.

Citations are prior-art documents cited by patent authorities and/or applicants during the examination procedure of a patent application. Citations can be patent documents or non-patent literature. In the results list the source of the citations are indicated with one of the following subtitles from a patent authority:

European examination European search report International search report International examination National examination National search report

When citations originate from the applicant the subtitle is:

Applicant

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When citations originate from an opposition procedure the subtitle is:

Opponent

7.4. RICH CITATION INFORMATION

Some citations are cited with more detailed information, so-called “rich” citation information. This information can be an exact indication of a passage in the description or of certain claims in a patent application. If this information is available it is displayed in the same column as the patent application number.

The following shows an example with legend to identify the positions.

Legend: 1. Category (see Guidelines for Examination) 2. Patent document number 3. Kind code (see Kind code concordance list) 4. Applicant name and country code

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5. Publication date 6. Claims 7. Relevant passages of the document

7.5. NON-PATENT LITERATURE

Non-patent literature (NPL) documents are documents that have been cited from sources other than documents that have gone through the patent procedure and have been allocated a patent document number. NPLs can be extracted from books, articles, online and so on. The citation details, such as date and name of article help to search and retrieve such documents.

7.6. MODIFYING RESULTS LIST

The results display a list of patent families and citations. Toggle buttons in the toolbar help to arrange the list as preferred.

To display only the citations click on Citations view only in the toolbar. The patent family applications are temporarily hidden. Click again to re-open with patent family applications. With the list Citations view only the documents are by date per default. When a document is selected, the group of citations are visually enhanced.

To display the patent family applications only click on Compact view, to return to previous view click the same button again now displayed as Expand view.

To group the patent family members click on Sort by country.

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To filter the results further click on the Filter button and select Hide applicant citations or Hide applications without citations from the drop-down menu.

Note: When using the filters, documents cited by the applicant that are then included in the examiner's search report are interpreted as an examiner's citation. These are marked with category D. Therefore, even with filter '(1) Hide applicant citations' enabled 'D' categorized citations are not hidden, because priority is assigned to all documents cited in the examiner's search report.

7.7. CLASSIFICATIONS AND FIELDS SEARCHED

The classifications and classification fields searched by a patent office are displayed when an application is first opened in CCD. The classifications displayed correspond to the simple patent family members listed in the CCD viewer. These classifications compiled as follows

technical domains in which the subject-matter of such a document belongs, i.e. the classifications;

technical domains in which the search for each family member has been performed, i.e. fields searched.

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By default the 'Classifications & fields searched' is activated when a search is triggered in the Inspector. The CPC classifications have hyperlinks and can be clicked to open the classification definition.

To open the classification definition click on a cpc classification. A pop-up window appears with the definition.

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In the pop-up window there is the option to display first page images from of the related patent document.

Click on Show representative examples of 1st page clippings to open the images

A new window is opened with the images.

To navigate through the images click on the arrows to the right and left.

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7.8. DOCUMENT VIEW BUTTONS

These buttons ( , ) function as selective expansion or enrichment per simple family.

The button expands into the complete, detailed list of citations for all family members carried by that simple family.

The button hides the citation data for that simple family.

7.9. PRINTING RESULTS LIST

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The results list can be printed.

To print the results click on the “print icon” in the toolbar

8. EXPORTING SEARCH RESULTS FROM THE CCD VIEWER

The search results in the CCD viewer can be exported in CSV and Excel format. The exported content corresponds to the Expanded view in the CCD viewer by default. However, the options in the Filter drop-down Hide applicant citations and Hide applications without citations are recognised and exported accordingly.

See also Chapter 6: CCD viewer for information about the settings.

The exported application numbers are in EPODOC (EPO document database) and DOCDB (Master documentation database) formats.

8.1. EXPORTING TO EXCEL

Open the dropdown menu of the export icon and select Export in Excel

format. The export starts immediately.

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A pop-up window appears with two options

Click open to view the exported file immediately.

Click save to store the file on your computer.

The exported list is presented with a header containing details of the root application number and states the amount of simple families and family members contained in the application. In case of deviation, the actual amount of families and family members that have been exported is indicated next to Loaded.

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A file exported in Excel is displayed with following columns from left to right.

Field Description

FamSeqNr Sequence number of the simple family, starting with 1

ApplnSeqNr Sequence number of the application, starting with 1

The number is not reset for each family

ApplnCC Country code

ApplnNrEPODOC Application number in EPODOC format

ApplnNrDOCDB Application number in DOCDB format

ApplnFilingDate Application filing date

CitnSeqNr Sequence number of the citation, starting with 1

(number reset to 1 for each application)

em

pty

if an a

pp

lica

tion

CitnOrigin Phase where the citations originates

(empty if unknown)

CitnType PAT: Patent citation

NPL: Non-patent Literature citation

PublnNr Publication Number of

citation, including kind

code Empty if CitType =

NPL PublnDate Publication date

Applicant Name of the applicant

and the country code

XPnumber Citation allocated an XP

number Empty if CitType =

PAT NPLbiblio Bibliographic data of the

NPL

CitnCategory Citation category such as “A”,”X” or “XP”;

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Passage

Short passage from the citation

Claims The claims that have been cited.

Additional information

PublnDate - In cases where the PublnNr field refers to a patent application, the PublnDate field will contain the application filing date.

Applicant - in case of multiple applicants, only the first applicant is

considered and et al. is appended.

CitnOrigin – if the Citation origin is unknown the field remains empty.

8.2. OPENING PATENT DOCUMENTS FROM EXCEL IN ESPACENET

In the columns ApplnNrEPODOC and PublnNr the patent documents are hyperlinked to ESPACENET.

To open an application in ESPACENET click on an application number in the ApplnNrEPODOC field.

The application is opened in the Result list view of ESPACENET where the selected document is listed.

To open a publication in ESPACENET click on a publication number in the PublnNr field.

The publication number is opened in the bibliographic data view of ESPACENET. Note: ESPACENET searches by publication numbers. Therefore when you click on an application number ESPACENET will display the Results list containing that application or open the publication number directly, if found. Note: When exporting approximately 500 applications to Excel the links to ESPACENET become inactive.

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8.3. EXPORTING TO CSV

Open the dropdown menu of the export icon and select Export in CSV

format. The export starts immediately.

A popup prompt appears.

Select open to view the exported file.

Select save to store the file on your computer.

The exported list contains the field names in the first row. The other rows contain the data.

The columns in csv format correlate to those described in the previous chapter 6.11 Exporting to Excel. Note: The character encoding will be UTF-8

9. TIMELINE

The Timeline is a function that opens a new panel that presents the patent documents listed in the CCD viewer in a graphical way.

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9.1. ACTIVATE THE TIMELINE

Click on the Timeline button in the toolbar to activate the Timeline panel. A

new window appears at the bottom of the CCD viewer. To close the timeline panel re-click the Timeline button.

Adjust the way documents are displayed in the Timeline with the two options in the dropdown menu of the Timeline button.

9.2. SINGLE APPLICATION MODE OPTION

To display a single application, select one of the patent applications (patent

family member) from the results list and select Single application mode from the Timeline down menu.

9.3. COMPARE MODE

You can select up to four documents to compare them in the Timeline window.

To compare applications in the Timeline select the option Compare mode. The selected applications appear in different colours on selection. You can select up to a maximum of four applications to compare. When you click on a fifth document the first selected patent application is replaced.

Note : When the Timeline button is deactivated the mode selection remains active. Note : The first patent document selected from the CCD viewer always remains in bold and blue colour. is that true, see the last sentence above, when you click.....

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9.4. DELETING RESULTS IN THE TIMELINE

Right-click within a clear space in the Timeline window, select Clear timeline to delete results.

If a patent document is selected prior to activating the Timeline, this document will appear in bold and blue colour when the Timeline is activated.

9.5. OPENING PATENT DOCUMENTS FROM TIMELINE

The patent documents displayed in the Timeline can be opened in the inspector(s).

To open a document in the Inspector view click on a document in the Timeline.

To have two documents opened simultaneously right-click on a document in

the Timeline, a pop-up appears with the options Show in Inspector 1 - Inspector 2. Click on one of these options to open the document.

By default all documents are opened in Inspector 1.

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Note: when Citations only view is activated, a selected citation is displayed in the colour orange and in bold. The selected patent document from the previous screen remains in blue and bold.

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9.6. MODIFYING TIMELINE VIEW

Zoom functions can activated to maximise the Timeline view by scrolling with your mouse wheel.

To activate the zoom function in the Timeline view right-click in a free space of the Timeline and select Zoom mode: on from the pop-up.

To deactivate the zoom function, click again in a free space of the Timeline

and select Zoom mode: off.

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9.7. BROWSING TIMELINE

You can use the scroll option to view the documents in the timeline. To scroll through the Timeline

Click in a free space of the Timeline and hold down the left mouse button while moving the mouse from left to right.

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9.8. RE-SETTING CHANGES

To remove all results from the Timeline

Right-click a free space in the Timeline view and select Clear timeline.

To unselect items from the Timeline

Click in a free space of the Timeline view and select Reset timeline from the pop-up menu.

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10. INSPECTOR

The inspector view displays classification details and patent document details that have been opened from the CCD viewer or from the Timeline. When a document is first opened in the Inspector the Biblio toggle button is activated by default and the bibliographic details are displayed. Note: All documents opened in the Inspector are opened by default in the Inspector 1.

10.1. NAVIGATING THROUGH DOCUMENTS FROM THE CCD VIEWER IN THE INSPECTOR

With the navigation arrow to the far right and left of the command line, you can browse from one document to another that is displayed in the CCD Viewer.

Click on the left arrow to go up the list of documents and click the right arrow to go down the list of documents.

Note: The single arrow skips to citations. The double arrow skips through applications. A tooltip, Previous application/citation or Next application/citation

appears the first time you hover over the arrows.

10.2. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS (BIBLIO)

Documents in the inspector are opened by default in Biblio (bibliographic data) section in html format for an overview of the document content.

Click on the Biblio toggle button to open details and scroll up and down to view all information within the inspector.

10.3. DESCRIPTION AND CLAIMS SECTIONS

The description and claims sections provide details of the original document as published in html format.

To open the description or claims sections click on the corresponding buttons in the toolbar.

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To navigate within these sections of the displayed document page-by-page use the navigation buttons to the left and right of the toolbar.

10.4. OPENING “ALSO PUBLISHED AS” DOCUMENTS IN THE INSPECTOR

The equivalents, also known as also published as documents can be viewed in the Inspector. These documents can be accessed in the link also published as in the top right hand corner of the inspector.

To open click on the also published as link.

A drop down menu appears with a list of the also published as documents.

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Open the drop-down menu and select one of the documents to open it in the inspector.

11. VIEWING THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT

The Original document is the patent document as published by the corresponding patent authority.

To open the original document click on the Original document toggle button in the toolbar.

The document is opened in pdf format in the inspector.

11.1. NAVIGATING THROUGH THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT

To browse through the pages or sections of the original document you can use the navigation bar at the bottom of the inspector view.

11.2. PAGE-BY-PAGE NAVIGATION

To go through the document page-by-page click on the navigation arrows to

the left and right of the toolbar.

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11.3. SECTION-BY-SECTION NAVIGATION

To navigate directly to certain sections the document a dropdown menu is available is available in the navigation panel

Click on the dropdown arrow to open the menu. Select which section you want to view with a click.

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Note: When the original document button is activate the print icon disappears. It is not possible to print original documents from the inspector.

12. ERROR MESSAGES

12.1. INPUT ISSUES

The following message appears when no search criteria has been entered.

Solution: Enter a search term The following message appears when no results are found.

Solution: Enter alternative search criteria

12.2. CONNECTION ISSUE

This message indicates a server availability problem.

Solution: Wait a short while and try to re-connect. If the problem persists, contact Patent information.

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12.3. STOPPED CALL

This message appears when the process takes longer than expected. This can be due to the search criteria entered, the server availability or the size of the data to be retrieved.

Solution: It can be stopped by clicking Cancel process in the Fetching data from server pop up, you can then try and re-enter your query.

12.4. DOCUMENT NOT FOUND

This message indicated that either a citation or an application is not available in the database.

13. ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMINOLOGY

The general terms related to patents used within the CCD application have been selected within the standard nomenclature used in the patent community. For further information there is a glossary available on the fiveIPoffices website.

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Application: a family member of the patent document selected by the CCD

user

CCD: common citation document

CC document: common citation document (i.e. the document containing all of

the family members and their citations)

Citation: document cited for an application, which can be cited by the

applicant and also cited by the examiner (and included in the search report) In

addition, such a document could correspond either to patent literature or non-

patent literature (NPL)

Classification: the classification of the document. Several classification

schemes are available and if displayed, they are preceded by an abbreviation

(IPC, CPC, FI/f-term)

Compact view: view containing only the applications (i.e. family members)

EC: European Classification

Expand view: view containing both the applications as well as the citations

Fields searched: technical fields in which the search for a patent document

has been performed

FI: F-Index, a Japanese classification assigned by the JPO

FT: F-term, a Japanese classification system assigned by the JPO

IPC: international patent classification

Publication: a family member of a patent document

Simple family: all documents that have exactly the same priority or

combination of priorities

14. FAQS

What do A1, A2, A3 and B stand for after a publication number? When a European patent application is published with the search report, it is known as an A1 publication. When this application is published without the search report, it is an A2 document. The search report is then published later as an A3 document. When the patent is granted, it is published as a B document. (Further information can be found here:)

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Why does a button with the label "also published as" sometimes appear and what are these documents? This option offers the opportunity to access the technical content of the cited document in a language which better suits the language preference of the CCD user. What is a citation? It is a document belonging to the prior art cited for a patent document (e.g. patent or a NPL) either cited by the examiner or by the applicant). What is an application? It is a family member of the family retrieved by the CCD. What information will I find if I click on the link "Citations only view"? Gives access, in a single view, to all citations for the patent document which a CCD lookup has been performed. As a result, the global picture of the prior art available at the moment of the retrieval is made available. Why do I sometimes find the full text of a document whereas sometimes not? Accessing full text is granted only when documents with full text are available within the fiveIPoffices network. However, accessing the original document (in PDF) provides the full text by making use of commercial OCR software. Why is the inspection window inactive for non-patent literature (NPL)? The bibliographic data concerning NPL documents, the only information generally available for free are provided within the rich citation itself. The access to the original document is protected by copyright.