Generating patent family trees


ClaimMaster can generate a diagram of a family tree from the data scrubbed from EPO's service, as shown below. ClaimMaster will connect to EPO to reconstruct family tree for a given patent/application based on the family information available from these databases. 




Getting Started

To generate a patent family tree, perform the following steps:


  • From the ClaimMaster Ribbon, click on the Downloading Tools menu, then Visualize Patent Family Trees:


 


Feature Options

Once the dialog opens, the following operations are available:



    1. This is the section where you type in the patent/application/publication number(s).  You can specify one or more of patent #s, application #s, or publication #s as input, as long as the entries are separated by semicolons or spaces.
    2. This tab lists the download log for the specified items


    1. If this checkbox is enabled, ClaimMaster will also scrape additional biblio data for US items (e.g., examiner name, art unit, docket #s, etc.) from the Patent Center and include it in the family tree.
    2. Here you can select various bibliographic information (e.g., inventor names, examiner, art unit, etc.) that can be shown in the family tree graph. Some items, such as examiner name and art unit, are available only if you select to "supplement" your tree with Patent Center data (item 3).
    3. If you switch to "Graph options..." tab, you will also have access to the following additional graph options:

      1. If this checkbox is selected, ClaimMaster will mark in read all patent family relationships where the first inventor names of the parent application and child application do not match.
      2. If this checkbox is selected, ClaimMaster will insert a color legend into the family tree (this may reduce the resolution of the family tree image somewhat).
      3. If this checkbox is selected, the arrows will point from child applications to parent application in the family tree (i.e., in the direction of the claimed dependency).  By default, the arrows will point from the parent application to its children.
    1. If you switch to "Custom Tags" tab, you can specify the custom CSV tag file for the family tree.  Specifically, you can specify custom tags/comments for each application box, such as your internal matter number for an application. The tags will appear within the box when the family tree is generated. The tags must be specified in a CSV file, where the first column in the application number and the second column is the text of the tag. You can introduce line breaks in your tags by using "/n" expression between the lines. An example entry to the tag file would be: 99/1234567, MATTER-ID-11\nCLIENT-ID-12 

       

    1. You can specify a save directory where you want the generated patent family tree to be saved when the process completes. 
      • Note: when specifying multiple patent document #s, you will be expected to provide a valid save directory.
    1. Select this checkbox if you also want to download the patent family information & other bibliographic information in Excel format.  If this option is selected, an Excel file will be created in the specified "Save Directory" location after the family mapping process completes.  It will list all identified patent applications in the family, their direct children and relationships (e.g., DIV, CON, etc) and also other bibliographic data for each applications (e.g., title, issued patent #, examiner, docket number, status).
    2. Select this checkbox if you want ClaimMaster to download copies of the identified U.S. patents in the family into the Save directory (item #8).
    3. Click this button to edit the resulting patent family tree.  Here you can select all items to include in the tree. If you prune some application #s, they will not be included in the tree when it it regenerated.

       


    1. Click "Generate Family Tree" to begin the process. Once you click "Generate Family Tree" button, a  "Minimize to system tray" button will appear.  It will allow you to minimize this menu to system tray while the download/crawl is ongoing. You will be notified when the process completes with a balloon pop-up, at which point the menu will again resume its normal size.