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Patent information services in India with special reference to drugs and Pharmaceuticals
Gbrld Porrnr In/ormarion. Pergamon InfoLinr Inc. Prlnted in Great Britain.
Abstracts
Vol. 8, No. 1. pp. 309-318.
1986.
Imam Z. and Tandon S. Patent Information Services in India with Special Reference to Drugs and Pharmaceuticals. WorldPatent Information 8 (4), 266272.
of Articles Included in This Issue
van der Drift J. Cross-host Searching in Patent-related Databases. World Parent Information 8 (4), 243-248.
Patent information is useful to a wide spectrum of users. Chemical patent information is particularly useful to those concerned with innovations in this area, as the chemical patent literature is almost of the same size as the chemical journal literature. National and International patent laws and treaties greatly influence the size of patent literature. its dissemination and exploitation for economic development. Paris Convention, WIPO and PCT programmes have all played an important role in the field of patent information. In India, patent information has a very significant role to play because the country’s present law offers wide-ranging opportunities from adaptive development on a foreign patent to its commercialization. Patent information services in India are provided by several organisations which include the Patent Office Headquarters at Calcutta and its branches at New Delhi, Bombay and Madras; Patent Information System, Nagpur; National Informatics Centre, New Delhi; Patent Unit, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi; Technical Information Cell, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Hyderabad; National Chemical Laboratory, Pune and National Information Centre for Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, Lucknow. Many of these organisations cover all areas of technology whereas others are restricted to particular disciplines. National Information Centre for Drugs and Pharmaceuticals is one such specialised centre restricted to only drugs and pharmaceuticals. Its services such as patent bulletin and patent searches on selected drugs have been well accepted by the users. The Centre’s holdings of foreign patent literature are meagre and need to be strengthened by acquiring them mainly from the U.S.A., France, F.R.C.. Japan, Italy and Switzerland which are the top six nations responsible for introducing new drug substances. With a computer now installed at the Centre, the Centre should acquire INPADOC database and collaborate with existing Patent Information System, Sagpur and National Informatics Centre, New Delhi for better services. A survey of the patent information services in the countries of Asia and the Pacific-carried out by the International Bureau of WIPO has put India in the first category because here information services are rendered by both the Industrial property organisation and other outside agencies.
Crossfile searching, though a major step forward in online searching, is still limited to the files presented at one host. Cooperation between hosts, which can lead to the possibility of searching across the boundaries, so-called cross-host searching. is not expected in the near future. A method of cross-host ssarching of patent-relatsd databases in different hosts using a personal computer has been developed and is described in this paper. Examples of cross-host searching from USClass(SDC) to WPl(Questel) and from WPI(Questel) to Inpadoc(Vienna) are given.
Liddle L. Automated Patent and Trademark tion 8 (4), 249-253.
Search Databases at the U.S. Office. World Patent Znforma-
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has completed the initial installation of an automated search system to enable patent examiners to search the full text of U.S. patents issued since 1975. This represents a first step in its automation program. The development effort began in 1982 and will continue into the 1990s. The full text database structure, content and creation are described. Further enhancements of the automated search system, including additional text files and digital image facsimiles are planned by the end of 1986 and will continue in 1987.
Sibley J. F. Patent Information in the Electronic Age: A Symposium Organised by the European Patent Office, Munich, 6-7 May, 1986. WorldPatentInformation 8 (4), 254-260. The author reports on the recent symposium which dealt with the developments in data handling within some of the patent offices in Europe, especially the European and the German patent offices. The use of modern techniques for data processing will lead to the production of potent new official databases which will permit full iext searching,-not only of the front page data, but also-of the full specification. The reaction of both private database producers and of end users is reported.
Kedrovshi 0. V., Kravets L. G. and Molchanova A. A. Organization of Patent File Network. World Patent Information 8 (4), 273-277. The article describes the process of the building up in the U.S.S.R. of a network of patent files whose object was to make patent documents and patent information available in any region of the country and any sector of industry. In 108 regions of the country, patent information divisions are incorporated in the regional centres of scientific and technical information, and these divisions have multisubject search files based on specifications of inventions of U.S.S.R. inventors’ certificates. Of these divisions, 30 regional centres have been appointed to build up seach files containing also foreign patent specifications. Patent files have also been built up at several thousand R&D institutions covering subjects immediately pertaining to their field of work. The conventional search files are supplemented by 70 information centres and divisions with machine readable databases.
Hill M. W. Small and 1Medium Sized Enterprises: U.K. Research into their Information Needs. World Patent Information 8 (4), 261-265. The paper reviews the results of recent research in the U.K. into the information and documentation needs ofsmall firms. Studies in this sector often abound in misconceptions usually based on invalid generalisations and some of these are exemplified. The conclusions are related to the supply of patent information to small firms and it is suggested that small firms prefer a local source of information which they like to contact by the name of the individual. Patent information is, therefore, most likely to be used ifa local serviceacts as intermediary. It is desirable to ensure that those operating the local service are aware of all the types of information and its applications which can be derived from patent documents, are aware of the range of ways of accessing that information and are provided with a central service appropriate to their needs. Ifqueries have to be answered quickly, the back-up service must also be quick.
Initially the preliminary dominantly development. rationalizing and limiting covered, the
309
patent tiles were built up with the aim of conducting patent examination, but the emphasis now is preto support state of the art studies and analyse trends of Efforts are now being made to improve efficiency by document collections to avoid unnecessary duplication collections wherever possible by reducing the countries subject area coverage, and the extent of the backfile.
Abstracts
Vol. 8, No. 1. pp. 309-318.
1986.
Imam Z. and Tandon S. Patent Information Services in India with Special Reference to Drugs and Pharmaceuticals. WorldPatent Information 8 (4), 266272.
of Articles Included in This Issue
van der Drift J. Cross-host Searching in Patent-related Databases. World Parent Information 8 (4), 243-248.
Patent information is useful to a wide spectrum of users. Chemical patent information is particularly useful to those concerned with innovations in this area, as the chemical patent literature is almost of the same size as the chemical journal literature. National and International patent laws and treaties greatly influence the size of patent literature. its dissemination and exploitation for economic development. Paris Convention, WIPO and PCT programmes have all played an important role in the field of patent information. In India, patent information has a very significant role to play because the country’s present law offers wide-ranging opportunities from adaptive development on a foreign patent to its commercialization. Patent information services in India are provided by several organisations which include the Patent Office Headquarters at Calcutta and its branches at New Delhi, Bombay and Madras; Patent Information System, Nagpur; National Informatics Centre, New Delhi; Patent Unit, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi; Technical Information Cell, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Hyderabad; National Chemical Laboratory, Pune and National Information Centre for Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, Lucknow. Many of these organisations cover all areas of technology whereas others are restricted to particular disciplines. National Information Centre for Drugs and Pharmaceuticals is one such specialised centre restricted to only drugs and pharmaceuticals. Its services such as patent bulletin and patent searches on selected drugs have been well accepted by the users. The Centre’s holdings of foreign patent literature are meagre and need to be strengthened by acquiring them mainly from the U.S.A., France, F.R.C.. Japan, Italy and Switzerland which are the top six nations responsible for introducing new drug substances. With a computer now installed at the Centre, the Centre should acquire INPADOC database and collaborate with existing Patent Information System, Sagpur and National Informatics Centre, New Delhi for better services. A survey of the patent information services in the countries of Asia and the Pacific-carried out by the International Bureau of WIPO has put India in the first category because here information services are rendered by both the Industrial property organisation and other outside agencies.
Crossfile searching, though a major step forward in online searching, is still limited to the files presented at one host. Cooperation between hosts, which can lead to the possibility of searching across the boundaries, so-called cross-host searching. is not expected in the near future. A method of cross-host ssarching of patent-relatsd databases in different hosts using a personal computer has been developed and is described in this paper. Examples of cross-host searching from USClass(SDC) to WPl(Questel) and from WPI(Questel) to Inpadoc(Vienna) are given.
Liddle L. Automated Patent and Trademark tion 8 (4), 249-253.
Search Databases at the U.S. Office. World Patent Znforma-
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has completed the initial installation of an automated search system to enable patent examiners to search the full text of U.S. patents issued since 1975. This represents a first step in its automation program. The development effort began in 1982 and will continue into the 1990s. The full text database structure, content and creation are described. Further enhancements of the automated search system, including additional text files and digital image facsimiles are planned by the end of 1986 and will continue in 1987.
Sibley J. F. Patent Information in the Electronic Age: A Symposium Organised by the European Patent Office, Munich, 6-7 May, 1986. WorldPatentInformation 8 (4), 254-260. The author reports on the recent symposium which dealt with the developments in data handling within some of the patent offices in Europe, especially the European and the German patent offices. The use of modern techniques for data processing will lead to the production of potent new official databases which will permit full iext searching,-not only of the front page data, but also-of the full specification. The reaction of both private database producers and of end users is reported.
Kedrovshi 0. V., Kravets L. G. and Molchanova A. A. Organization of Patent File Network. World Patent Information 8 (4), 273-277. The article describes the process of the building up in the U.S.S.R. of a network of patent files whose object was to make patent documents and patent information available in any region of the country and any sector of industry. In 108 regions of the country, patent information divisions are incorporated in the regional centres of scientific and technical information, and these divisions have multisubject search files based on specifications of inventions of U.S.S.R. inventors’ certificates. Of these divisions, 30 regional centres have been appointed to build up seach files containing also foreign patent specifications. Patent files have also been built up at several thousand R&D institutions covering subjects immediately pertaining to their field of work. The conventional search files are supplemented by 70 information centres and divisions with machine readable databases.
Hill M. W. Small and 1Medium Sized Enterprises: U.K. Research into their Information Needs. World Patent Information 8 (4), 261-265. The paper reviews the results of recent research in the U.K. into the information and documentation needs ofsmall firms. Studies in this sector often abound in misconceptions usually based on invalid generalisations and some of these are exemplified. The conclusions are related to the supply of patent information to small firms and it is suggested that small firms prefer a local source of information which they like to contact by the name of the individual. Patent information is, therefore, most likely to be used ifa local serviceacts as intermediary. It is desirable to ensure that those operating the local service are aware of all the types of information and its applications which can be derived from patent documents, are aware of the range of ways of accessing that information and are provided with a central service appropriate to their needs. Ifqueries have to be answered quickly, the back-up service must also be quick.
Initially the preliminary dominantly development. rationalizing and limiting covered, the
309
patent tiles were built up with the aim of conducting patent examination, but the emphasis now is preto support state of the art studies and analyse trends of Efforts are now being made to improve efficiency by document collections to avoid unnecessary duplication collections wherever possible by reducing the countries subject area coverage, and the extent of the backfile.