Showing posts with label Patent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patent. Show all posts

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Patents Behind Facebook’s Graph Search

Posted by Mad for IP, Made for IP - 4 comments


Facebook Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg introduces Graph Search features during a presentation January 15, 2013 in Menlo Park. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Facebook introduced a new version of search on the site called Graph Search on the 15 January, 2013. The new graph search lets Facebook users search in real time for information based on its association with other people. For example, if you were in the mood to watch a new movie you could ask Facebook to recommend “new movies that my friends like.

Facebook patent applications can help us out in understanding the secrets as to how do the Facebook’s graph search works. Below is a list of Facebook patent applications mentioning search which may include relevant material, but it must be remembered that it takes 18 months for a filed application to be published.


SERIAL NO.
PUBLICATION DATE
TITLE
PUBLICATION NO.
1
2013-01-10
PROVIDING CONTEXT RELEVANT SEARCH FOR A USER BASED ON LOCATION AND SOCIAL INFORMATION
US2013013595 (A1)
2
2012-12-20
CLIENT-SIDE MODIFICATION OF SEARCH RESULTS BASED ON SOCIAL NETWORK DATA
WO2012173835 (A2)
3
2012-12-13
PRESENTING IMAGES AS SEARCH RESULTS
WO2012170318 (A2)
4
2012-12-06
CONTEXT-BASED RANKING OF SEARCH RESULTS
WO2012166885 (A2)
5
2012-11-29
SOCIAL DATA OVERLAY
WO2012162279 (A2)
6
2012-10-18
DISPLAY SHOWING INTERSECTION BETWEEN USERS OF A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM
WO2012141910 (A1)
7
2012-07-12
MAPPING A THIRD-PARTY WEB PAGE TO AN OBJECT IN A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM
WO2012094531 (A1)
8
2012-07-05
DISTRIBUTED CACHE FOR GRAPH DATA
WO2012091846 (A3); WO2012091846 (A2)
9
2012-07-05
COMPOSITE TERM INDEX FOR GRAPH DATA
WO2012091844 (A1)
10
2012-06-28
PROVIDING RELEVANT NOTIFICATIONS FOR A USER BASED ON LOCATION AND SOCIAL INFORMATION
WO2012087472 (A1)
11
2012-06-28
PRICING RELEVANT NOTIFICATIONS PROVIDED TO A USER BASED ON LOCATION AND SOCIAL INFORMATION
WO2012087470 (A1)
12
2012-06-21
RANKING OF ADDRESS BOOK CONTACTS BASED ON SOCIAL PROXIMITY
US2012158751 (A1)
13
2012-05-22
AUTOMATICALLY GENERATING NODES AND EDGES IN AN INTEGRATED SOCIAL GRAPH
US8185558 (B1)
14
2012-05-15
DYNAMICALLY GENERATING RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON SOCIAL GRAPH INFORMATION
US8180804 (B1)
15
2012-02-23
LOCATION RANKING USING SOCIAL GRAPH INFORMATION
WO2012024157 (A2); WO2012024157 (A3)
16
2012-02-23
DYNAMIC PLACE VISIBILITY IN GEO-SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM
WO2012024156 (A3); WO2012024156 (A2)
17
2011-10-27
SOCIAL GRAPH THAT INCLUDES WEB PAGES OUTSIDE OF A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM
CA2794412 (A1)
18
2011-06-09
SEARCH AND RETRIEVAL OF OBJECTS IN A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM
US8239364 (B2); US2011137902 (A1)
19
2011-04-21
RANKING SEARCH RESULTS BASED ON THE FREQUENCY OF ACCESS ON THE SEARCH RESULTS BY USERS OF A SOCIAL-NETWORKING SYSTEM
US2011093460 (A1)
20
2011-03-16
METHODS FOR AUTHORIZING TRANSMISSION OF CONTENT FROM FIRST TO SECOND INDIVIDUAL AND AUTHENTICATION OF AN INDIVIDUAL BASED ON AN INDIVIDUAL'S SOCIAL NETWORK
EP2296342 (B1); EP2296342 (A1)
21
2010-05-27
LEVERAGING A SOCIAL GRAPH FROM A SOCIAL NETWORK FOR SOCIAL CONTEXT IN OTHER SYSTEMS
US2010132049 (A1)
Table 1. List of Patents behind Facebook’s Graph Search
Out of above 21 published patents it seems that inventorship to 4-5 published patents goes to the Indian inventors.

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Why/Where/How to do patent search?

Posted by Mad for IP, Made for IP - 10 comments


Hi IP MADs,
A really thorough & exhaustive search of the patent literature is best left to the experts, such as patent information specialists and patent agents. They have the know-how required to undertake the exhaustive trawl through the many electronic databases, hard copy and the expertise to understand what they find. The Internet has opened up the whole area of patents to anybody by providing the ability to search and view worldwide for free. It is possible to do a reasonable search on the Internet if you spend time at the appropriate websites and understand something of the patent system.


This blog post covers handy oveview of the patent search that any searcher needs to be aware of. please check out presentation for more.



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Introduction to Patent Search

Posted by Mad for IP, Made for IP - 0 comments


More than 40 million patent documents have been published, with almost a million new disclosures added each year. Patent searching is done to determine patentability of a new invention or the validity of an existing patent. Other reasons include clearing or determining infringement risks involved in commercializing a new product. Often a patent search is performed to find the state of the art or the direction of an existing technology to get guidance for research and development as well as innovations going off patent. Such information can be invaluable in today’s innovation driven world. Patent searches are performed through a number of free and paid databases hosted by various patent office, commercial and non-commercial entities throughout the world according to the objective of the search.
Patent Search
Patent search can be defined as a process of retrieving and analyzing prior art inventions based on various parameters from patent databases depending on the goals to be achieved.
1.    Types of Patent Search
          A.   Novelty Search: 
  • To determine novelty of new invention.

          B.  Freedom to operate Search
  • To determine extent of commercialization without infringement.
  • Also referred to as a “Clearance” search, a “right to use” search, or an “infringement” search.

          C.  Validity Search
  • Determine validity of a patent.

          D. State-of-the art Search
  •  To determine technology trend.

          Benefits from Patent Search
  • Identify innovation trends and developments in a specified field of technology
  • —Discover new product portfolio which can be licensed from the patentee or used without needing a license
  • —Find information that prevents duplication of research
  • —Keep track of the work of a particular individual or company by seeing what patents they have been granted i.e. obtain product information on your competitors.
  • —Find a solution to a technical problem
  • —Gain new ideas for research in a particular field

1.2.        Limitations of Patent Search
  • —Patents typically publish 18 months after the initial filing date so till that time they remains out of public domain
  • —Data is entered manually by patent offices and inevitably errors and inaccuracies will occur such as misindexing, misclassification and spelling errors
  • —Terms used in patents have technical meanings that are different from their everyday meanings
  • —Patent examiners may not classify a patent application into the most appropriate classifications
  • —An organization may have changed their name or acquired patents via purchasing or licensing.

2.    Developing a Patent Search Strategy
Which search tools to use?
◦       Various search type
–   Simple or Basic
–   Advanced or Syntax
–   Boolean or Field Combination
◦       Words (synonyms, some are more likely to be in the text than others)
–   Pros: Easy to use, Can be used in most databases, Infinitely flexible, Can be use singly or in specified combinations/ orders/ separations, Can search full text in some databases or restrict to titles/abstracts/abstracts.
–   Cons: Need to be aware of language, synonyms (e.g. cellphone, cell phone, mobile phone), Alternative spellings (e.g US v UK, color and colour), Can be imprecise in some arts and generate too many hits (e.g. for electric circuits - control AND temperature).
◦       Classifications e.g. IPC, US
–   Pros: Independent of language, synonyms, alternative spellings, terminology, quirky vocabulary, Comprehensive and detailed, Classification term can be the quickest and best way.
–   Cons: Can be complex and challenging to understand beyond an elementary level, May not have any terms which are a good fit for a particular search, May be applied with varying skill and accuracy by different authorities, May generate too many hits if used at a general level, May not be universally applied.
◦       Names e.g. Inventor
◦       Dates
◦       Citations
Which fields to search?
◦       Patent Office
◦       Title
◦       Abstract
◦       Claims
◦       Full Text
◦       Bibliographic Data

3.    Refining Search-Trial & Error
◦       Try in individual or combined search in different parts of patent e.g. title,  abstract, claims etc.
◦       Try searching as a phrase
◦       Use different Operator e.g. AND, OR, or ANDNOT etc.
◦       Use a truncation wildcard "$" or “*” e.g. Mot$ , US2000*
◦       On/Off  word stemming
◦       Include/Exclude synonyms
◦       Expand/Shrink abbreviations
◦       Increase/ Decrease time bracket

4.    Patent Search Resources
◦       Patent  Office Database Search
–   WIPO Patentscope
–   USPTO(United State Patent and Trademark Office)
–   EPO(European Patent office)
–   Patent Abstracts of Japan
–   CIPO(Canadian IP Office)…..many more
◦       On-line Patent Office Databse Search Services
–   Free Databases
—  Patent Lens
—  SIP Patent Database
—  Free patents online
—  Sumobrain
—  PriorIP…..many more
–   Paid Databases
—  Delphion
—  Q-Pat
—  Boliven
—  Patsnap …..many more
◦       Patent Search Softwares
–   Patent integration
–   IP vision
–   Patent Insight Pro….. many more


Conclusion

A patent search is a crucial step to take before filing a patent application. Just as you need to do due diligence before taking on any business venture, you need to do your patent landscaping before filing a patent application. A patent search involves tedious, repeated searching through various patent and non-patent literatures using typical technical words. An unskilled person would not be able to do justice to the vast amount of literature to be searched. A patent professional, who is acquainted with better patent landscaping capabilities, can analyze your invention from the perspective of a patent examiner. Furthermore, there are ways to structure a patent application differently to make your invention fit for patentability. Since patenting is a skilled expensive procedure, it is prudent to conduct a patentability search before filing an application. Besides financial reasons, there are several other compelling reasons as discussed for conducting a search before filing an application.
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