• Exporting directly from the “Papers by Type” and “Papers by Date” tabs.
• Exporting a PDF of selected papers from the “Main Export” window.
• Exporting information about the file history in DOC format.

You can also export the Claims Matrix, one of the most unique features available on Patent Workbench^®, into an .XLS (Microsoft Excel) format.  Read on to learn about the Claims Matrix export options!

A past blog post described how the “Claims Matrix” tab, a feature of the “Claims Tools” module in the Patent Workbench^® Reader, allows you to view every iteration of every claim throughout the patent prosecution history–side by side and with text comparison notation.  If you want to share this useful claims comparison tool with a colleague or client, who does not have Patent Workbench, you can export the entire Claims Matrix through two methods:

• Exporting directly from the “Claims Matrix” tab – Configure the Claims Matrix by selecting which claims to load and whether or not to include text comparison.  Load the Matrix by selecting options from the drop-down menu (All Claims, All Claims (by Dependency), Patent Claims, Patent Claims (by Dependency),  Independent Patent Claims) or by selecting claims in the Chain of Dependency.  You can also add or remove text comparisons.  If the comparisons appear on the Claims Matrix when exporting, they will be included in the exported file.  Then, select the “Export” option in the upper right corner above the Claims Matrix to export the information to an .xls (Microsoft Excel compatible) format.

Select the "Export" option to export the currently loaded Claims Matrix.

You may include text comparison annotation in the exported file.

• Exporting from the “Main Export” window – Select the “Main Export” icon in the upper right corner of the Patent Workbench^® Reader to open the “Main Export” window.  In this window, select the “Claims” tab and then the “Claims Matrix” tab.  Choose which claims to include in the exported file by selecting or de-selecting the check boxes beside each claim.  When exporting from the “Main Export” window, you do not have the option to include the text comparison notations.

Select specific claims to include when exporting from the "Main Export" window.

Would you like to test the features of Patent Workbench^®? Request a free sample file to try the Patent Workbench^® Reader today!

Read on to learn the two ways you can export specific patent file history information into .doc format!

The first method to selectively export patent file history information has already been discussed in a previous blog post, and the following description will summarize the export feature described in that post. The “Select Papers” tab under the File History module allows users to choose specific sections of the patent file history through a series of check boxes, and to display information about the selected papers in the right panel.  The user can select the “Print” or “Export” options above the right panel to print the information displayed in the panel or export the information to .doc format.  One benefit of using the “Select Papers” tab to export file history information is that the user can organize the papers by either date or type (we’ve also briefly discussed exporting file history information directly from the “Papers by Date” and “Papers by Type” tabs).

Use the "Select Papers" tab to choose specific documents, view their information, and export the information to a Word document.

The user can also export patent file history information directly through the “Main Export” window.  The “Main Export” option is located in the upper right corner of the Patent Workbench^® Reader.  After opening the “Main Export” window, the user can select the “File History” tab, and then  ”File History Information” to select papers via check boxes and export their file history information in .doc format.

Select papers from the Main Export window to export their information to a Word document.

The papers can only be organized by date through the “Main Export” window.  However, one unique benefit of using the “Main Export” window to export the file history information is that the user can also export three additional sets of information (which aren’t accessible under the “Select Papers” tab):

• File History Bibliographic Data – Bibliographic information about the file history.
• Related US Application Data – A list of US applications related to the file history.
• Special Notes by Researcher – A compilation of all notes added by Landon IP’s Researchers.

The bibliographic data for the file history, related US applications, and a compilation of Special Notes, exported to .doc format.

Benefits of the File History Information Export:

• Information about selected papers in the file history can be saved in a .doc format.
• The exported document can be opened in Microsoft Word and edited to suit your needs.
• The exported information can be emailed to colleagues and clients or printed so it is readily accessible during meetings or while in court.

Would you like to test the features of Patent Workbench^®? Request a free sample file to try the Patent Workbench^® Reader today!

In a previous blog post, we discussed the export options under the “Papers by Date” and “Papers by Type” tabs in the  the File History Module.  Users can also choose to export specific papers from the file history through a different method: the “Main Export” window.

At the top right of the Patent Workbench^® Reader screen, you can choose the the “Main Export” option from a small menu of icons.  The Main Export tools allow you to export information and papers from the Patent Workbench^® file into a variety of commonly used formats.  Today we will focus on exporting file history papers in .pdf format, but depending on the type of information being exported, the user may be prompted to export in .doc (Microsoft Word), .xls (Microsoft Excel), or .pdf format.

Access the "Main Export" option.

After you select “Main Export” the export window is displayed with several tabbed options.  You can select the “File History” option to either export the File History Information (described in the blog post on File History Viewing Features) or to export PDF copies of any or all papers in the file history.

Use the check  boxes to select the file history papers (organized by date) to be  include in the exported .pdf file.  For example, illustrated in the screenshot below, the user has selected to export only papers from 2004.  You can choose to include annotations in the exported file (including highlighting and the position of notes within the text) by choosing the option “Annotated File History PDF.”  Selecting the option “Original File History PDF” will export a clean version of the papers, without any annotations.

View "PDF Copies" under the "File History" tab to select the papers to be exported in .pdf format.

All selected papers will be exported into a single PDF file.  It should be noted that under the “PDF Copies” tab, the .pdf option is the only available export format option.  If you exported the annotated file history, all saved highlighting will be displayed in the PDF file, and the placement of notes will be indicated by comment icons in the PDF file. The comment icons will only indicate the placement of notes within the file history.  The user can export the text of notes separately through the Notebook export option, which will be discussed in a future blog post.

Select "Annotated File History PDF" to maintain highlighting and position of notes within the exported papers.

The Benefits of this Export Function:

• Quickly and easily share information with your colleagues or clients.
• Choose only the papers which you currently need to share.
• Preserve annotations, including highlighting and note position, in the exported PDF file, or export the original versions of the papers, if you need a clean copy.

Would you like to test these features of Patent Workbench^®? Request a free sample file and try Patent Workbench^® today!

Information can be exported from the ”File History” module by clicking the “Export” button which appears in the upper right corner above the file history information panel.

The "Export" option is in the upper right corner above the file history information.

When exporting from the “Papers by Date” or “Papers by Type” view, an export window is displayed with two tabs:

• File History Information: The File History Information tab only exports data about the file. If you want to export specific papers from the .PDF of the file history, you should select the PDF Copies tab. Use the check box to select the specific information  you want to export.  The file history information for each selected paper (including the subsections, Claims Summary, and  Special Notes added by Landon IP’s experienced Researchers)  will be exported in a single Microsoft Word document (.doc format).  Depending on which view you exported from, the file history information will either be organized by date or paper type.
• PDF Copies: Use the check box to select the papers you want to export into a single PDF document.  You can choose to include annotations in the exported file (including highlighting and the position of notes within the text) by choosing the option “Annotated File History PDF.”  Selecting the option “Original File History PDF” will export an untouched version of the selected papers.  Depending on which view you exported from, the papers will either be organized by date or paper type.

The "File History Papers by Date Export" window is accessed from the "File History Information" module.

You may select (or unselect) all items in a given category by selecting the check box next to the category heading.  Clicking the Select All check box will place checkmarks next to all items on the list. If items are already selected, clicking Select All will remove the checkmarks.

For example, if you want to export all office actions and responses into a single PDF document, follow these steps:

1. Select the “Papers by Type” tab.
2. Choose the “Export” option under this tab.
3. In the “”File History Papers by Type Export” window, choose the “PDF Copies” tab.
4. De-select the “Papers by Type” check box to clear the list.
5. Select the check boxes of the category headings for the two paper types that you want exported: “Office Action” and “Response.”
6. Select “Export” to export all office actions and responses into a single PDF document.

Choose to export office actions and responses into a single PDF document.

The Benefits of Exporting from the “Papers by Date” and “Papers by Type” Tabs:

• Export either the information about the papers or a PDF version of the original papers.
• Select which papers you want to export, and choose the order in which the papers will appear (by type or by date).
• Export selected papers or information into a single Word or PDF file for easy sharing.
• Maintain highlighting and position of notes added to the Patent Workbench file or export a clean version of the file history papers.

Would you like to test these features of Patent Workbench^®? Request a free sample file and try Patent Workbench^® today!

Using the “Claims Tools” module in the Patent Workbench® Reader, you use the “Chain of Dependency” option to view a Claim Tree and to access to other reporting and export options.

Select the "Chain of Dependency" option to generate a Claim Tree.

Selecting the “Chain of Dependency” option will automatically generate a Claim Tree for the patent, which the user can expand or collapse by selecting the arrows beside claim numbers.  Within the Claim Tree, the number in parentheses is the patent claim on which the primary claim number is dependent. For example, in the Claim Tree below, “4(1)” indicates that patent claim 4 is dependent on patent claim 1, and “5(4)” indicates that patent claim 5 is dependent on patent claim 4. The dependency relationship is also illustrated through the indented (and collapsible) formatting of dependent claims below the patent claims which they are dependent on.

Select "Export" to export the Claim Tree to a Word document.

You can select specific claim numbers within the Claim Tree to generate a Claims Matrix with the selected claim’s dependency only.  You can also select the “Export” option to export the entire Claim Tree into a Word document.

The Claim Tree in .DOC format.

The Word document displays an expanded version of the Claim Tree, including all dependency relationships clearly illustrated through hierarchical formatting.

Benefits of the Claim Tree Export option:

•  Quickly generate a simple display of all claim dependency relationships.
• Export the Claim Tree into a format that can be easily shared with colleagues.
• Create a Claims Matrix with a selected claim’s dependency only.

Do you want to test the Claim Tree Export option? Request a free sample file to try the Patent Workbench® Reader today!

• The File History Tools
• The Search Tool
• The Text Comparison Tool
• The Claims Matrix
• The The Reference Tool

Now we’ll focus on tools that were added to Patent Workbench® because they were requested by users. Patent Workbench® was developed with the input of patent attorneys,  who specifically requested the inclusion of certain features that they felt would improve the process of reviewing file histories. Let’s look at the first in a series of features added to Patent Workbench® based on user requests: the “Select Papers” tab.

Choose papers, using the “Select Papers” tab, to create a customized view.

The “Select Papers” tab, available in the  “File History” module, can be used to customize your own view of the file papers, based on your own unique legal and business requirements. For example, you can use the “Papers by Type” option to create a custom view that includes only “Office Actions” and “Responses.”

Under the “Select Papers” tab in the left panel, you can choose to organize the file papers by date or by type. Using the check boxes, select papers in the left panel to narrow down what will be displayed in the right panel. If a checkmark appears in a check box, the paper will be included in the custom view.

View PDF links, Claims Summary, and Special Notes on selected papers.

After selecting the papers to include in the custom view, click “Show Selections” to display the information about these papers in the right panel. The information displayed in the right panel includes a direct link to the .pdf of the paper and specific sections of the paper, a Claims Summary, and any Special Notes created by Landon IP’s experienced IP Researchers. Clicking the “Add Note” button allows you to add comments about that paper to the electronic Notebook in Patent Workbench. You can also print or export the information that appears on this customized view.

Export the customized view of information on selected papers into a Word document.

Benefits of the “Select Papers” tab:

• Quickly create a customized view that shows only the papers that are most relevant to your task at hand.
• Easily select papers for your custom view – you can choose the papers by date or by type of paper.
• Effortlessly export or print the information that appears in the customized view.

Do you want to test this feature for yourself? Request a free sample file to test in the Patent Workbench® Reader today!

• The File History Tools
• The Search Tool
• The Text Comparison Tool
• The Claims Matrix

Today we’ll take you through another major feature of the Patent Workbench® Reader that our customers tell us they can’t live without: The Reference Tool.

Read on to find out how you can incorporate patent references into the file history package to get the total picture of that important case you’re working on!

The Basics
The References Tool allows you to view information about the references associated with a file history. If the references were included in the Patent Workbench® file package, the PDFs of the references will be easily accessible. In addition, this tool offers you the ability to attach your own references to the Patent Workbench® file.

It’s important to note that electronically available US patent references are included with every Patent Workbench® file history package at no extra charge.

The References Tool can be selected at the top of the Patent Workbench® Reader interface.

How the References Tool Can Help You
The references associated with your file are grouped into four categories:

1. U.S. Patents and Published Applications
2. Non-U.S. Patents and Published Applications
3. Non-Patent Publications
4. References Added by User

By default, Patents and Published Applications are sorted by number, but can be resorted by Inventor's Last Name as well. Non-Patent Publications and References Added by User are sorted in alphabetical order.

In the course of your important research, you may uncover what you believe is a critical piece of prior art that was not mentioned in the file history. Rather than have to work with this reference separately, you can use the References Added by User capability to add such references to the Patent Workbench® file history package. Here's how you can add your own references:

1. Click "Add User Reference" near the bottom of the Patent Workbench® Reader interface
2. Enter a name for the reference (this name is used for the aforementioned alphabetical indexing)
3. Enter a description (not required)
4. Enter a date (not required)
5. Browse your file directory to add a file, and save the reference

If the reference you have added is a searchable PDF file, the reference will be searchable using the Patent Workbench® Reader Search Tool–a huge benefit! (References included in the Patent Workbench® file package are searchable as well.) Information regarding the user-added reference can later be modified, or the reference can even be deleted from your Patent Workbench® file history.

Much like other parts of the Patent Workbench® file history, references can be annotated via the "Add Note" tool. Notes can be added in two ways: to each section of the References page (perhaps a note about which references to look at, or which were useful per each section) and to individual references.

To make a note on an individual reference, click on the document link in the References list to open the specific reference with the PDF Viewer (completely within Patent Workbench® Reader). Now that you’re looking at the complete PDF of the reference, simply right-click on the document to pop up the Add Note window and annotate.

Annotating a reference works in a similar fashion to annotating a specific document withing the file history.

Only interested in seeing references that were cited by the US Patent Examiner? Patent Workbench® Reader lets you filter all other references from view by clicking on the “Show Only Examiner Cited References” button in the upper left part of the interface. It’s also worth noting that all references cited by the examiner will have asterisks next to the document number in the regular references viewing mode.

Reference Request and Reference Translation One Step Away
One of the great things about Patent Workbench® Reader is that it puts everything you could ever need at your fingertips. References that have been indexed by Patent Workbench® but not added to the file history package, such as Non-U.S. Patents and Published Applications, and Non-Patent Publications can be requested…just click on the button!

Users can request non-included references or request translations with the click of a button.

If a reference has not been attached to the Patent Workbench® file, you may purchase the reference from Landon IP by clicking the button shown above. This will open the Patent Workbench® Customer Request form. The form will be preloaded with pertinent information about the requested reference. If the reference is a Non-U.S. Patent or Published Application, you may also request a professional translation from Landon IP’s native language speaking patent translators by clicking on the Request Translation button. This will open the Patent Workbench® Customer Request form, which will be preloaded with pertinent information about the requested translation for your convenience.

The References Tool within the Patent Workbench® Reader is designed to pull together all of the references for a patent file history. This applies to both references indicated by the patent examiner and your own hand-picked references. By integrating these references within the Patent Workbench® Reader, search and annotation functionality is added to these important documents. Additionally, we make it easy for you to acquire references or professional translations not included with the file history.

If you have any questions about the functionality of the References Tool, let us know in the comments below.

Head over to the Request page and request a sample file to get the Patent Workbench® Reader and the References Tool today!

On January 18, 2012 from 2:00 to 3:00pm EST, Landon IP will be hosting a FREE WEBINAR providing a demo of the features and functionality of Patent Workbench®. You’ll learn how Patent Workbench® can help you begin Unleashing the Potential Within File Histories.

Spaces are limited, so act now! Learn more about this FREE WEBINAR and register today.

Read on for more info about Patent Workbench®!

We know you’re busy. We know your clients are pressuring you to complete more work more quickly. But current methods for working with file histories require spending many hours on tedious and time-consuming tasks before you can even begin your legal analysis. And you don’t have any tools that facilitate your analysis once you get started.

Landon IP has the solution.

Patent Workbench® is a productivity tool that helps you work faster, smarter, and more efficiently whenever you need to review and analyze patent file histories and understand the scope of a patent’s claims. It provides easy file navigation and powerful search, export, annotation, and claims analysis tools that free you to focus on what you do best — practicing law.

Patent Workbench® gives you the power to:

• Eliminate nearly 100% of your up-front organizational tasks
• Review a file at least 30% to 50% faster than you can today
• Expedite claim construction by navigating the intrinsic evidence more thoroughly and more quickly than ever before
• Increase the efficiency and accuracy of your legal analysis
• Be more confident in the quality of your work products

Read more about Patent Workbench® at PatentWorkbench.com and our Patent Workbench® Blog. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn!

The Claims Matrix tab within the Patent Workbench™ Reader allows you to see every iteration of every claim throughout the patent prosecution history–side by side and with text comparison notation. This allows you to see how a specific claim changed over the course of the prosecution with the convenience of having the original document (such as the Application or an Amendment) one click away. The table format of the Claims Matrix tab facilitates your analysis in an easy to understand manner.

Read more after the jump for an explanation of how the Claims Matrix works!

On the table, each row designates a single claim number and each column designates a single paper in the file history. The papers are displayed in reverse chronological order. This means, the patent claims (if applicable) are shown in the first, or left-most, column on the table and the application claims are displayed in the last, or right-most column, on the table. Depending on the number of papers in the file, you may have to scroll horizontally to see the earlier papers.

The default Claims Matrix view shows all versions of a claim side-by-side.

From here, you can click on “Add Comparisons” to get the following view…

Two versions of the same claim shown side by side with the comparison between them on the row below.

The column headers appear in blue text and are underlined. These headers are links that, when clicked, will open the selected paper in the .PDF of the file history, using the embedded PDF viewer. There’s no need to try and have multiple documents open at once and try to keep your place–the Patent Workbench™ Reader does it for you.

When a number appears in parentheses next to a patent claim number (left-most column) this indicates that the claim is dependent upon another claim. Numbers with parentheses denote the claim to which the claims in question depends. It can be an independent claim or another dependent claim.

The left column shows the patent claim number and indicates if the claim is dependent or not. This example shows that Claim 22 is dependent on Claim 1.

There are several presentation options available to you, to suit whatever claims analysis needs you might be facing. The Claims Matrix can be loaded with:

• All Claims – this is the default view. When chosen, this filter loads the Claims Matrix with all versions of every claim.
• All Claims (sorted by dependency) – When chosen, this filter loads the Claims Matrix with all claims in order of dependency.
• Patent Claims – When chosen, this filter loads the Claims Matrix with only claims that appear on the patent. Any cancelled claims will be excluded.
• Patent Claims (sorted by dependency) – When chosen, this filter loads the Claims Matrix with only claims that appear on the patent in order of dependency. Any cancelled claims will be excluded
• Independent Patent Claims only – When chosen, this filter loads the Claims Matrix with only independent claims that appear on the patent.

The Patent Workbench™ Reader also provides a tool that allows you to create a chain of dependency for the claims in the file history and load the Claims Matrix with a particular claim’s dependencies only. The operation of this helpful feature is as simple as clicking on the Chain of Dependency button, expanding/collapsing the claims tree as you prefer, and selecting the appropriate claim.

The Chain of Dependency selection displays a claims tree. A selection of a dependent claim will build the Claims Matrix to include the appropriate independent claims.

This claim tree view can also be used to handily export and save the claims tree itself.

Other highly requested features of the Claims Matrix include the ability to add and view notes on any specific claim within the Claims Matrix, and the ability to export and save the currently displayed Claims Matrix or the previously discussed chain of dependency.

Head over to the Request page and request a sample file to get the Patent Workbench™ Reader and the Claims Matrix tool today!

Today we’ll show you how you can harness the power of Patent Workbench™ — even if you never spend a red cent!

Learn how you can download the Patent Workbench™ Reader for free today to take advantage of our helpful Text Comparison tool without ever requiring any further commitment. You’ll be amazed how much this could help your patent practice!

Text Comparison within the Patent Workbench™ Reader is the underlying technology that the Patent Workbench™ Reader uses to compare different versions of the same claim across the history of the patent application process. For the sake of brevity, we won’t get into how the Claims Matrix, Evolved Claims, and Claim Comparison features work (don’t worry, we’ll cover those in a future post!) but here’s a quick look at how the comparison feature acts in the Claims Matrix:

This example of the comparison functionality shows added text in green underline and deleted text in red strikethrough.

The great thing about Text Comparison is that you can use it as a freestanding tool to compare any two sections of text you want–without having to purchase anything from us!

The first step to getting access to the Text Comparison tool is downloading the free within Patent Workbench™ Reader and the free Patent Workbench™ sample file:

Step 1: Head over to the Request page.
Step 2: Request a free sample of a Patent Workbench™ file package by typing “SAMPLE” in the file number field.
Step 3: After you click submit, you will see an on-screen message confirming successful submission and will receive a confirmation email. A Landon IP representative will then contact you to discuss your request and to provide instructions on how to download the Reader and the sample file package.

It’s that easy!

Now that you have the Patent Workbench™ Reader, let’s investigate the Text Comparison tool…

Open the Patent Workbench™ Reader and click on the Text Comparison tab

The Text Comparison tab will open the freestanding Text Comparison tool.

Copy and paste whatever text you desire into the Text 1 and Text 2 boxes, click “Compare” and the Patent Workbench™ Reader will compare the two bodies of text in a way that can help you analyze your own claims (as you draft them), see differences in versions of contracts, or even to verify that two sections of text are the same.

The Text Comparison tool can be used to compare any two bodies of text--just copy and paste and let the system do its magic.

The Text Comparison tool will show you on the right which words were added and deleted (going from Text 1 to Text 2) as well as letting you see what exactly what has changed (red strike-through text has been removed, green underline text has been added). Text comparison will be performed on a “word-by-word” basis. A “word” is defined as a string of text surrounded by blank spaces. Changing case and/or adding/deleting multiple spaces do not register as changes, so these minor changes will not affect the Comparison Tool’s ability to do its job. Punctuation included within a word or string will be considered part of the word or string (for example: “three-colored”; “20<100”).

Again, you're free to use the Text Comparison tool for your patent practice (or whatever other need you may have) completely free and without obligation to buy anything else. We've had many practitioners tell us that the Text Comparison tool alone will dramatically improve their efficiency in preparing their work…don't you want to see if you can do the same?

Head over to the Request page and request a sample file to get the Patent Workbench™ Reader and the Text Comparison tool today!