JP2002189739A - Method and device for analyzing complaint of patent information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device for complaint analysis of patent information which enable accurate analysis of an omission or the like, of a complaint for a patent application of the same technical genre. SOLUTION: The complaint analysis method for patent information comprises extracting an object patent information group meeting a prescribed condition from prescribed patent information and analyzing a complaint for the extracted patent information group; and all claims are extracted from the patent information in the object patent information group, complaint terms in phrase terms are generated according to the extracted complaints, and a constitution item list based upon the complaint terms is generated to analyze the complaints. Further, complaint term lists for each attribute and a complaint term list in at least one of a time series and the JIS order are generated according to the constitution item list.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a patent information claim analysis method capable of checking the "claims" of a plurality of patent applications in the same technical genre and finding omissions of the applications. The present invention relates to a claim analyzer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when a new technology is developed, the technology is developed in chronological order or requires a large number of development staff. It is not practically possible to cover in the application,
The reality is that it is covered by several patent applications.

[0003] When a plurality of patent applications are filed in the same technical genre, the "claims"
It is preferred that the application be made in a state where there is no overlap (hereinafter referred to as “claims” for convenience) and the technical range can be covered as much as possible. For this reason, it is necessary to check and analyze the claims of a plurality of patent applications, but in the past, this claim analysis has been actually performed manually by individual inventors or patent staff.

[0004]

However, in such a method of manually analyzing the claims of a plurality of patent applications, it is difficult to accurately grasp the mutual relation between the claims, and the omission of patent applications may occur. There is a problem that claims may be duplicated. In particular, when there are a large number of inventors or the development period is long, it is difficult to accurately grasp the relationship with the claims of a patent application that has been filed, and the above-mentioned problem tends to become more remarkable.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the invention described in claims 1 to 4 is to provide a patent information which can accurately analyze the leakage of claims of patent applications in the same technical genre. It is an object of the present invention to provide a claim analysis method. Another object of the present invention is to provide a patent information claim analyzing apparatus capable of mechanically and accurately analyzing a leakage of claims of a patent application in the same technical genre.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a group of target patent information under predetermined conditions is extracted from predetermined patent information, and the extracted target patent information is extracted. Claims analysis method of patent information to analyze the claims of the group, and extract all claims from the patent information in the target patent information group, create a claim term in a phrase format based on the extracted claims, A feature list is created based on the claim terms and the claims are analyzed.

With such a configuration, for example, C
From the D-ROM patent publication, a target patent information group of a specific classification is extracted, and all claims of each patent information of the target patent information group are extracted to create a phrase-type claim term. Then, since the constituent requirement list is created based on the created claim terms, the constituent requirement list
The leakage state of the claim is analyzed with high accuracy, and the leakage of the patent application and the like can be easily grasped.

[0008] The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that an attribute-based claim term list is created based on the configuration requirement list. With this configuration, it is possible to more easily analyze the omission of a claim or the like, for example, by easily creating a claim term list for each attribute.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that at least one of a claim term list in chronological order and in JIS order is created based on the constituent requirement list. With such a configuration, for example, inconsistent attributes can be checked by creating a claim term list in chronological order or JIS order, and claims can be analyzed with higher accuracy.

[0010] The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the constituent requirement list has a function of checking the presence or absence of each constituent requirement and judging the novelty of each patent information. With this configuration, by adding the novelty judgment function of each claim of individual patent information to the constituent requirement list, it is possible to accurately check the state of duplication or similarity of patent applications, and further improve the claims. Analyze with high accuracy.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input means capable of inputting a predetermined condition, a patent information storage means having a predetermined storage medium and storing a large number of patent information in the storage medium, A target patent information group is extracted from the patent information in the patent information storage means based on predetermined conditions input by the means, and a claim term in a phrase format is created based on the claims of each patent information in the extracted target patent information group. And it is characterized by comprising a control means for creating a constituent requirement list based on the claim term, and an output means capable of outputting the list created by the control means.

With this configuration, when, for example, IPC as a predetermined condition is input by the input unit, the control unit converts the target patent information group from the patent information stored in the patent information storage unit based on the IPC. Is extracted. Then, the control means extracts all the claims of each patent information in the extracted target patent information group, creates a claim term in a phrase format, and creates a constituent requirement list based on the claim term. In this constituent requirement list, the leakage state of the claims and the like are analyzed mechanically with high accuracy, and the leakage of the patent application and the like can be easily grasped.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 show an embodiment of a patent information claim analyzing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram thereof, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a case where the claim analyzing apparatus is constructed using a personal computer. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation, and FIGS. 4 to 6 are conceptual diagrams of each list.

In FIG. 1, a claim analyzing apparatus 1 basically includes an input means 2 for inputting various conditions relating to patent information, and a patent information storing a large number of patent information such as a CD-ROM patent publication. Storage means 3 and input means 2
The control means 4 performs various processes based on the conditions input from the control unit 4 as described later, and the output means 5 displays and prints the results processed by the control means 4.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram in the case where the claim analyzer 1 is constructed using a personal computer. The controller 7 as the control means 4 includes a CPU 8, a RAM 9,
It has an OM 10 and an I / O 11, which are connected via a bus line 12. I / O 11 of control device 7
On the input side, a keyboard 13 and a mouse 14 as input means 2 and a CD-RO as patent information storage means 3 are provided.
A drive 15 such as M is connected, and a CRT 16 and a printer 17 as output means 4 are connected to the output side of the I / O 11.

Next, an example of a specific claim analysis method of patent information by the claim analysis apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG.
When the personal computer is turned on, the program starts (S101), and a menu screen is displayed on the CRT 16 (S101).
102).

A plurality of selection items such as "start claim analysis", "display list setting", "list display", and "end claim analysis" are set on the menu screen. When selected, a condition setting screen corresponding to the selected item is displayed, and various conditions for claim analysis are input and set on this condition setting screen (S103). The various conditions include, for example, I
A PC, a specific technical field (a search formula combining keywords, and the like) are set.

When various conditions are input and set in step S103, for example, patent information corresponding to the input and set conditions is obtained from a large number of patent information in a CD-ROM patent publication set in the drive 15 such as a CD-ROM. It is extracted as a target patent information group (S104). Next, with respect to all the patent information of the extracted target patent information group, all the claims are extracted as constituent requirement data (S105).
Then, a configuration requirement list is created based on the extracted configuration requirement data (S106).

The extraction of the component requirement data in step S105 and the attributes of the component requirement list, which will be described later, are performed by an analyst (human), for example, but can also be performed by dedicated automatic extraction software. Step S10
The creation of the configuration requirement list in step 6 is performed, for example, in step
The configuration requirement data manually extracted at 105 is pasted to a predetermined cell using commercially available spreadsheet software or business comprehensive software. In this case also, the automatic creation software combined with the automatic extraction software is used. It is, of course, possible to automatically create it.

The configuration requirement list is, for example, a list in the format shown in FIG. , Claim terms, attributes, reference numbers, and judgments. Of these, claim no. Are described in chronological order based on the filing date, are encoded with CU1 to CUn (n is a positive number) for independent claims, and are CD1 to CD for dependent claims.
n (n is a positive number). The claim terms A to F are not words (keywords) but meaningful phrases, are shortened and nounized as much as possible, and their initials are devised and unified in consideration of indexing. In addition, attributes are coded according to viewpoint items (1 to n in the figure).
Number).

Further, the reference number of the constituent requirement list is the publication number, patent number, and application number of each patent information. However, if it is used, the number of digits increases. It is a number given for convenience in chronological order,
The novelty relating to the patent information of each serial number is indicated in the column of judgment, for example, ◎ = all of the new claim terms.
= Some existing claim terms are included, x = All are existing claim terms.
This determination of novelty is performed as follows.

That is, "." Is added to the claim term column of the patent information of each serial number, and the state of the "." Is checked in the order of the serial number (in chronological order). In the case of FIG. 4, the patent information of “001” has claim terms of A to C, and the patent information of “002” has claim terms of A, C, D, and F. Therefore, the patent information of “002” has the same claim terms A and C as the patent information of “001” which has already been filed, and the judgment of novelty is “△”.

The patent information of “004” is B, C,
E has a claim term, which has all the patent information of “001” to “003” already filed, and the judgment of novelty is “x”. In other words, the novelty of the patent information of a specific serial number is determined based on whether or not the claim term has the patent information of the serial number before the serial number, and all the claim terms are each Judgment "◎" only when there is no application,
For example, it is determined that there is a need for a patent application. The criteria can be further subdivided according to the number of appearances of existing claim terms.

After the constituent requirement list is created in step S106, a claim term list for each attribute is created based on the constituent requirement list (S107). The attribute-based claim term list is, for example, in a matrix format shown in FIG. 5, in which two series of attributes are selected, and the claim terms in each attribute are arranged on the vertical axis and the horizontal axis. In the case of FIG. 5, the patent information having the claim term D having the attribute 1 and the claim term C having the attribute 2 is the patent information having the serial number “002”.

According to this attribute-based claim term list,
It is possible to presume an application that seems to lack the claim terms. The creation of the attribute-based claim term list in step S107 can be performed by, for example, automatic claim map creation software (TECRES-C: product name).

When the attribute-based claim term list is created, a claim term list is created (S108).
Is done. This claim term list is, for example, a list of claim terms in the format shown in FIG. 6 arranged in chronological order, and a public number or a patent number (or application number or in-house serial number) having each claim term is described in a number column. Is done.

According to the claim term list, if there is no entry in the number column, for example, the claim term N, it is presumed that the application relating to the claim term N is omitted. Also, in this claim term list,
It can also be used to check for unbalanced attributes. In addition,
The claim term list is not limited to the list in chronological order shown in FIG. 6, and it is of course possible to employ a claim term list in JIS order. Further, a claim term list may be created in advance only for claim terms having the same attribute.

Thus, the creation of each list is completed, and various data including these lists are output as needed (S
109) is displayed on the CRT 16 or the printer 1
7 is printed. When various data are output, it is determined whether or not the analysis work is completed (S110).
If "YES" in this determination S110, a series of programs is ended (S111). If “NO” in determination S110, that is, if similar analysis is performed in another technical field, the process returns to step S102, and
Step S103 is repeated.

The display format of the component requirement list, the attribute-based claim term list, and the claim term list in the above-described flowcharts is merely an example, and various display formats can be adopted. Instead of requiring all of the lists, it is sufficient to create one of the constituent requirement lists and the claim term list.
Also, the display of each list on the CRT 16 may be changed to 3
At least one of the types of lists can be appropriately selected and output. When a plurality of lists are output, for example, windows can be displayed on the screen of the CRT 16.

As described above, according to the claim analyzing apparatus 1 of the above embodiment, all the claims of each patent information of the target patent information group are extracted, and each claim is formed into a claim term in a phrase format which is not a keyword. Since the requirement list is created and the component requirement list is provided with a function to determine novelty, it is possible to grasp at a glance the status of the claim terms of each patent information arranged in chronological order, and determine the novelty. It can be performed. As a result, it is possible to accurately analyze (check) the leakage of claims of each patent information of the target patent information group, and to easily grasp, for example, duplication or omission of patent applications,
Efficient and strategic patent applications are possible.

In addition, since a claim term list for each attribute is created based on the configuration requirement list, missing claim terms can be easily grasped. Missing checks and claim terms can be easily grasped. From these, by effectively using the three lists,
More accurate claim analysis can be performed.

Further, since claims and attributes are encoded and patent information is encoded in chronological order, mechanical processing can be easily performed, and each list can be created easily and quickly. The workability of the analysis work can be improved. Further, since the claim analyzer 1 can be constructed using a personal computer, it is possible to obtain a user-friendly and inexpensive apparatus 1, which is very effective when applied to a development section, a patent section, or a research company of a company. Can be expected.

In the above embodiment, the claim analyzer 1 using a personal computer has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a general-purpose computer or its terminal may be used. It is also possible to construct a claim analyzer 1 having the same function.

[0034]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, from each patent information of a specific target patent information group,
Since all the claims are extracted and a constituent requirement list composed of phrase-type claim terms is created, it is possible to accurately analyze the omission of the claims and to easily grasp the omission of the patent application, for example.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, a claim term list for each attribute is created based on the constituent requirement list. Can be analyzed with higher accuracy.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second aspect, at least one of a claim term list in chronological order and JIS order is created based on the constituent requirement list. For this reason, it is possible to check for ununiformity of attributes in this list, and to analyze leakage of complaints and the like more accurately.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first to third aspects of the present invention, a function for determining the novelty of each patent information is added to the constituent requirement list.
The state of duplication or similarity of patent applications can be easily checked, and claims can be analyzed more accurately.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the control means extracts the target patent information group related to the predetermined condition input by the input means from the patent information storage means, and also obtains the information of each patent information. Since all claims are extracted to create a claim form in a phrase form and a constituent requirement list based on this claim term is created, it is possible to mechanically and accurately analyze the leakage state of the claim in the constituent requirement list, It is possible to obtain an effect such that leakage of a patent application can be easily grasped.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a patent information claim analyzing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram when the claim analyzer is constructed using a personal computer.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration requirement list.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a claim term list by attribute.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a simultaneous series claim term list.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Claim analysis device 2 Input means 3 Patent information storage means 4 Control means 5 Output means 7 Control device 8 CPU 9 RAM 10 ROM 13 Keyboard 14 Mouse 15 CD-ROM drive 16 CRT 17 Printer

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A patent information claim analysis method for extracting a target patent information group under predetermined conditions from predetermined patent information and analyzing the claims of the extracted target patent information group, comprising: Patent information wherein all claims are extracted from patent information, a claim term in a phrase format is created based on the extracted claims, and a claim list based on the claim terms is created to analyze the claims. Claim analysis method. 2. A claim analysis method for patent information according to claim 1, wherein a claim term list for each attribute is created based on the constituent requirement list. 3. The claim analysis method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a claim term list in chronological order and JIS order is created based on the constituent requirement list. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the constituent requirement list has a function of judging the novelty of each patent information by checking the presence or absence of each claim term. Patent information claim analysis method. 5. An input means capable of inputting a predetermined condition, a patent information storage means provided with a predetermined storage medium and storing a large number of patent information in said storage medium, and a predetermined condition input by said input means. A target patent information group is extracted from the patent information in the patent information storage means based on the patent information, and a claim term in a phrase format is created based on all the claims of each of the extracted patent information in the target patent information group, based on the claim term. Claims analysis apparatus comprising: control means for creating a list of constituent requirements, and output means for outputting the list created by the control means.