Derwent World Patents Index on Dialog (Implementation)

 

Q: How is the data organized within the new DWPI? What are the Invention and Member Patent (publication) Levels?

A: Two “levels” of data are now available within DWPI. The Invention Level is the traditional view of DWPI comprising bibliographic data, Thomson Scientific value-add title and abstracts, and general and, where appropriate, in-depth indexing. The Member Patent Level allows users to search and display bibliographic data and general indexing information associated with individual documents that make up the patent family Invention Level. Additional data elements such as original titles and abstracts, claims, addresses and agent information are also present at the Member Patent Level.

Q: How do I search these Invention and Member Patent Levels?

A: You can continue to search DWPI as you have always done, using most of the same search qualifiers to search across both the Invention and Member Patent Levels. For example PA= will search for patent assignees across both levels of data. Additional display qualifiers have been introduced for some of the specific data elements unique to the Member Patent Level (e.g. country display codes).

Q: What fields make up the Basic Index?

A: In general the standard Basic Index comprises Thomson Scientific value-add fields and the First Level data, as follows:

  • Thomson Scientific value-add title, title terms, additional words and all abstract words (including Equivalent Abstracts, excluding Extension Abstracts and Documentation Abstracts).
  • Original title, abstract and first claim (in English, German and French), where available.

Q: What will I retrieve and display now if I use the abstract AB index/display field?

A: The AB index contains a mixture of Thomson Scientific value-add and original First Level data. You will therefore retrieve both the Thomson Scientific value-add abstracts available for the Basic and equivalents of the patent family plus any available original author abstracts.

The AB display qualifier will display the Thomson Scientific value-add abstract which is available for the Basic of the patent family, plus the original abstracts and abstracts for the equivalents of the patent family.

The Thomson Scientific Technology Focus field is indexed under AB for search and display, but the value-add Documentation and Extension Abstracts are not and can only be searched using DO and XA search qualifiers. In addition, these abstracts can only be displayed in File 350.

Q: Can I search DWPI as I did before?

A: If you are only interested in the traditional view of DWPI, you can restrict searches to the Invention Level and new search and display qualifiers have been introduced to enable this. The new qualifiers for the Thomson Scientific value-add titles and abstracts include:

  • /TD – DWPI Enhanced Title
  • /DA – DWPI Enhanced Abstract
  • /NV – Novelty section of the DWPI Enhanced Abstract
  • /TF – Technology Focus section of the DWPI Enhanced Abstract
  • /DO – DWPI Documentation Abstract
  • /TA – DWPI Data ( /TD, /DA, /DO); in File 350, the /DD field also includes the /XA (Extension Abstract) field

Q: Can I choose to display just the Member Patent Level data from specific countries?

A: Yes, you can select from a range of two-letter country code display codes to permit the display of first-level data by specific country.

The introduction of these country codes means changes for two codes that were previously used to denote Inventor and Descriptor (DWPI Title Terms) fields.

Yes, these changes have been made to accommodate country code display codes, used for displaying Member Patent Level data for specific countries.

AU is now the display code for Australia and inventor names are now displayed using IV.

(AU= is still used to search the DWPI standardized Inventor names (plus complete name from original filings) and there is a new IV= field that just searches the complete name from original filings.)

DE is now the display code for Germany and Title Terms are now searchable using the /TT suffix and can be displayed using TT.

Q: Can I display the 750,000 value-add Documentation Abstracts even though I am not a Thomson Scientific subscriber?

A: No, even though the text of these abstracts is now available for searching within Files 350, 351 and 352 the abstracts can still only be viewed by eligible subscribers within File 350 (subscriber file with Documentation Abstracts). Please contact your nearest Thomson Scientific office if you wish to discuss becoming an eligible subscriber to this data.

Q: Can I search in German and French language?

A: Yes, German and French language First Level data is available for some patent issuing authorities (original titles, abstracts and claims).

Q: How have umlauts and accents been handled?

A: Neither umlauts and accents are required for searching German or French-language First Level data.

Q: Have there been any changes to the format of application and priority numbers are now indexed?

A: Yes, all Patent Numbers and Accession Numbers that include a year, have the 4-digit year for search and display. For Patent Numbers and Accession Numbers before 2000, the format with 2-digit year is also searchable.