Thomson Scientific Broadens Chinese Patent Coverage in Derwent World Patents Index Manual Code Index in Derwent World Patents Index Enhanced with Thesaurus Functionality Keeping an Eye on the Competition Protecting Intellectual Property Worldwide Announcements Search Techniques

Coming Soon: More Patent How Do I...? Applications

The Dialog Patent How Do I...? series continues to grow with additional patent applications soon to be added including: Finding patent litigation Locating pending patents Finding atypical patents And many more Take advantage of these step-by-step instructions for the most common patent, trademark and copyright searches on Dialog. Using Manual Code Thesaurus Functionality EXPANDing on MC= now provides all of the value-added information for Manual Codes, including dates of coverage, titles, scope notes, related items and key words. Enter EXPAND MC for details of the new Thesaurus entries. See a complete example of searching for related terms, titles, key words and scope notes.

Protecting Intellectual Property Worldwide

Professor Ruth Taplin, Director of the Centre for Japanese and East Asian Studies, focuses her latest article on transforming intellectual property in China and Taiwan.

Read this informative article describing how China plans to amend its patent law to meet requirements of the international IP community and about Taiwan's focus on nanotechnology.

Two other articles by Professor Taplin, one on intellectual property in Japan and the other on Korea may also be of interest.

Dear Colleague

2007 has seen Dialog's Intellectual Property collection broaden with an enhanced INPADOC/Family and Legal Status database, new trademark files and more.

In this issue read about the addition of English-translated Chinese Utility Model Registrations and 2007 manual coding. You may also want to take advantage of the Dialog experts who will help you with your competitive intelligence needs and view articles on patent activity in Asian countries.

Enjoy your holidays and be ready for a 2008 packed with more content, enhancements and special features in Dialog and DataStar.

Happy Holidays!

Ron Kaminecki, Director
Intellectual Property Applications

Thomson Scientific Broadens Chinese Patent Coverage in Derwent World Patents Index

Derwent World Patents Index® (DWPI®) (File 350, 351, 352) has broadened its coverage of China’s growing patent activity with the addition of English-translated Chinese Utility Model Registrations. Thomson Scientific is the first patent information provider to offer weekly coverage of all Chinese Utility Model Registrations in English. Utility models are similar to patents, but require a less stringent review process and offer a shorter protection period. Like conventional patents, utility models reveal important new technology advances and are a significant part of any prior art search.

The Chinese Utility Model Registrations, beginning with records published on October 3, 2007, are initially available in Derwent World Patents Index First View™ (File 331), the companion file to DWPI. Records in DWPI First View include human translation of the author's title, abstract and first claim. Each record is then reviewed by one of Thomson Scientific's expert analysts before it is uploaded into DWPI, where Chinese Utility Registration records have the same benefits that are available for all DWPI patent records, including an alerting abstract and manual coding.

Read more about Chinese utility models.

DWPI Manual Code Index in Derwent World Patents Index Enhanced with Thesaurus Functionality

The Manual Code Index in Derwent World Patents Index® on Dialog has been enhanced with new Thesaurus functionality. The Manual Code Thesaurus was developed to make it easier to access full details of each Manual Code, as well as providing a direct guide to related terms and key words for additional precision searching.

Once a year the Manual Codes are reviewed because Thomson Scientific believes that it is critical to index our patent information in line with technological developments, to help you find the information you need as easily as possible. Click here for more information about Manual Codes.

Also, review the 2008 codes and, if you have a suggestion for a revision to the codes for 2009, please send an email to mcr.dwpi@thomson.com or use one of the links for 2009 codes.

Keeping an Eye on the Competition

To maintain a competitive edge in any industry, companies have to keep a close eye on the competition. That's why access to competitive intelligence is critical to the success of any organization. For many, however, researching competitors falls low on the priority list for several reasons: they are short-staffed, short on time or simply lack the resources and expertise needed to conduct actionable research.

That's where Thomson Scientific can help. The company recently added Competitive Intelligence research to its Search Services offerings, a service that will nicely complement the Intellectual Property research service currently provided to customers. Professional researchers utilize their expert knowledge and search skills to provide information that companies can use to make faster, more knowledgeable decisions. Read the article: "Extend Your Search Services with Competitive Intelligence Searching" for more information.

Visit the website to learn more about the services and to sign up.