Cutting-Edge Efficiency with Patent Workbench™: An Interview with Product Manager George Shreck

We’ve already looked at some of the innovative features of Patent Workbench™ , a new productivity tool created by Landon IP. The Intellogist Blog team was lucky enough to score an interview with George Shreck, the product manager for Patent Workbench™. George told us about the process used to develop this breakthrough service, including how customer feedback helped to shape the main features of Patent Workbench™.

Continue reading to learn how the input of patent attorneys shaped the development of Patent Workbench™!

Joelle Mornini: Recent news releases describe Patent Workbench™ as a revolutionary service. Can you start by telling us what Patent Workbench™ is and what the components of the service are?

George Shreck: The Patent Workbench™ service is a combination support service and software tool. The support service is focused on providing and organizing patent file history information using a proprietary process exclusive to Landon IP. The end result of this process is a file package containing a Patent Workbench™ file and PDF files of the patent file history papers and cited references. Customers can then access these files using the free Patent Workbench™ Reader software, which includes a set of unique tools to review and analyze this information in different ways.

JM: Who is the target customer for Patent Workbench™?

GS: Target customers are patent attorneys who need to review patent file histories to understand the scope of a patent for litigation, patent valuation, or due diligence.

JM: How would this customer benefit from utilizing a Patent Workbench™ file?

GS: We have been told by patent attorneys that they analyze the patent claims and patent file history much more efficiently and accurately with a higher level of confidence using Patent Workbench™. Patent attorneys are often asked to review everything and to do it in record time. Patent Workbench™ is absolutely the most efficient way to review the claims, the file history and cited references.

JM: What process did you follow when creating and testing Patent Workbench™? Did you get any input from the target users during creation and testing?

GS: We began with a basic question: “How can we provide more value with patent file histories?” The only way we could answer that question was to talk with our customers who already use our Patent File Histories service and learn more about the way in which they work with patent file history papers. Patent attorneys were asked what they do with the patent file, what’s frustrating, and what they’d want to do more easily. We worked on identifying “pain points.”

We worked through a few different versions of the Reader software with patent attorneys to make sure that we were giving them exactly the tools they needed to make their jobs easier so that they can provide better value to their clients. We went through about three versions of the Reader software, and we’d tweak each version to make it easier to use and to advance the functionality.

JM: Which features of Patent Workbench™ best reflect the customer input?

GS: Some specific features reflecting what patent attorneys told us they wanted include:

• The fact that the Patent Workbench™ Reader is a desktop software application is a benefit to patent attorneys who want to add notes to a file on their own computer in a secure and confidential location, or attorneys who want to work on their laptop while traveling, even without internet access.
• The detailed breakdown of the many papers of the patent file history and the easy navigation to these papers and even specific sections of papers.
• The many Claims Tools, which allow for multiple ways to view, filter, sort and compare the different versions of claims from the patent prosecution.
• Our Search tool which provides advanced options to search all PDF files.
• The annotation capabilities which allow users to add comments to different information in the Patent Workbench™ file and PDF files.

JM: Which features of Patent Workbench™ do you think are most revolutionary?

GS: Features that aren’t available in any other software are:

• The Claims Tools, including the Claims Matrix and the Evolved Claim™ report.
• The detailed results using our Search tool.

JM: How can potential customers test Patent Workbench™ for themselves?

GS: Customers can request a sample file from the Patent Workbench™ website or contact us for an estimate. We’ll send a link to download the sample file and the Patent Workbench™ Reader software for free.

JM: What is the one thing you’d most like for customers to understand about Patent Workbench™?

GS: That, ultimately, Patent Workbench™ is designed as a set of tools to help patent attorneys do their work, not to replace the valuable review and analysis work that only an experienced patent professional can provide to their client.

JM: Are there any other facts that you’d like to share with potential customers?

GS: We are constantly asking for feedback from customers of Patent Workbench™, so we can work with our customers to create desired enhancements.

What features would make searching through a file history easier for you? Leave your ideas in the comments, or connect with Patent Workbench™ representatives through Twitter, Facebook, Patent Workbench™ blog, or the website. We hope to hear from you!