Please note that the time zone for the programme is CEST.
|
Wednesday, 6 October 2021 |
|
|---|---|
|
09.55 hrs |
Introduction to the online session for new users |
|
10.00 hrs |
Opening of event and welcome to the day Moderator and Stephen Rowan, Vice-President, Patent Granting Process, EPO |
|
10.15-11.00 hrs |
Keynote speech Medical Technologies – The Future is Now Keynote speaker: Andrea Davis, Managing Director, Bodkin IP |
|
11.00 hrs |
Break |
|
11.05 hrs |
Workshop WS01 Adam Cohen, examiner and administrator, Directorate of Quality Audit, EPO Christoph Wirner, examiner, EPO |
| 11.35 hrs |
Break |
|
11.45-12.15 hrs |
Plenary A (further) help in challenging times: CPC and medical technologies Pierre Held, administrator, Directorate Classification and Documentation, EPO |
| 12.15-13.30 hrs |
Lunch |
|
13.30-14.00 hrs |
Workshop WS02 Joris Van Lith, administrator Directorate Quality Audit, EPO |
| 14.00 hrs |
Break |
|
14.05-14.35 hrs |
Workshop Paula Larisa Patras, examiner ICT, project manager Co-operation Search Project, EPO Barnaby Hoyal, team manager HBC, Co-operation Search Project, EPO |
| 14.35 hrs |
Break |
|
14.40-15.10 hrs |
Workshop WS03 Global Dossier and Common Citation Document Robert Pötzsch, examiner, EPO Alan Bacon, examiner, EPO |
| 15.10 hrs |
End of conference day |
|
15.30-17.00 hrs |
Espacenet search strategy parallel sessions
|
|
Thursday, 7 October 2021 |
|
|
09.55 hrs |
Introduction to the online session for new users |
|
10.00-10.30 hrs |
Workshop WS04 Robin Hofe, examiner, EPO Ueli Meier, examiner, EPO |
| 10.30 hrs |
Break |
|
10.35-11.05 hrs |
Workshop WS05 Searching AI related applications in medical technology Elena Virnik, examiner, EPO |
| 11.05 hrs |
Break |
|
11.10-11.40 hrs |
Plenary Helping creating the haystack and finding a needle in it: AI and medical technology Alexander Klenner-Bajaja, head of Department Data Science, EPO |
| 11.40 hrs |
Break |
|
11.45-12.15 hrs |
Workshop WS06 The problem-solution approach – a powerful search tool Anne-Cécile Derrien, examiner, EPO |
| 12.15-13.30 hrs |
Lunch |
|
13.30-14.00 hrs |
Workshop WS07 Searching Asian Non-Patent Literature Jenny Olausson Boulois, examiner, EPO Jutta Haußer, EPO |
| 14.00 hrs |
Break |
|
14.05-14.35 hrs |
Plenary Make the best out of Global Patent Index (GPI) Johannes Schaaf, administrator, Patent Knowledge Promotion, EPO |
| 14.35 hrs |
Break |
|
14.40-15.10 hrs |
Workshop WS08 Search matters? Search Matters! Hanno Schombacher, examiner, EPO Wolfram Meyer, examiner, EPO |
| 15.10 hrs |
End of conference day |
|
Friday, 8 October 2021 |
|
|
09.55 hrs |
Introduction to the online session for new users |
|
10.00-10.30 hrs |
Workshop WS09 Prior art cited from the internet David Wienema, examiner, EPO |
| 10.30 hrs |
Break |
|
10.35-11.05 hrs |
Workshop WS10 Inventor teams and their interrelated patents Gershom Sleightholme, senior expert/examiner, EPO Alain Materne, examiner, EPO |
| 11.05 hrs |
Break |
|
11.10-11.40 hrs |
Workshop WS11 Searching for non-medical features of medical inventions Anna Kajzar, examiner, EPO |
| 11.40 hrs |
Break |
|
11.45-12.15 hrs |
“Walk-in” session Paula Larisa Patras, examiner ICT, project manager Co-operation Search Project, EPO Barnaby Hoyal, team manager HBC, Co-operation Search Project, EPO |
| 12.15-13.30 hrs |
Lunch |
|
13.30-14.15 hrs |
Panel discussion Medical technology from today to tomorrow: how can patent searchers cope? Moderator: Anne-Mieke Reedijk, Principal Director operations, EPO Panellists: Keynote speaker: Andrea Davis, Managing Director, Bodkin IP Domenico Golzio, Director IT, EPO Gershom Sleightholme, senior expert HBC, EPO |
| 14.15-14.20 hrs |
Closing remarks and end of conference Telmo Vilela, Principal Director Co-operation and Patent Academy, EPO |
| 14.20 hrs |
End of conference |
|
14.30-16.00 hrs |
Espacenet search strategy parallel sessions
|
Abbreviations:
Andrea Davis, US, is Managing Director for Bodkin IP and a patent information professional with expertise in medical devices and the mechanical sector. M.Sc. degree in Engineering Physics from Lund University, Sweden. Qualified Patent Information Professional QPIP, registered US patent agent. Over 20 years of experience, including at a leading spinal medical device corporation. Co-founder of the Patent Olympiad, an international patent searching competition. Actively involved in Patent Information Users Group (PIUG) and the QPIP certification efforts. Sough by database providers to develop the next generation of tools and analytics with an eye towards accuracy and efficiency. Frequent presenter of patent searching techniques at various conferences and training events.
Domenico Golzio holds a degree in Physics. After working as an electronic engineer in telecoms, automotive and aerospace industries he joined the EPO as a Patent Examiner in the field of ICT. He has been the Director of a Search and Examination Unit, led the Directorate developing tools for Prior Art Search and Patent Information and is currently a Director in the CIO/CTO Office. He has done research into various aspects of IPRs, including relationship between patents and innovation, patent information, international patent portfolios, comparison between different patent systems.
Anne-Cécile
Derrien, FR, examiner, Healthcare, Biotechnology and Chemistry, EPO The
Hague. PhD in biomaterials from the University of Rennes 1 (FR) in
2004. Joined the EPO as an examiner in 2005. Also active in opposition
proceedings. Involved in recruitment and coaching of new colleagues. Has been a
presenter at Search Matters and Examination Matters for several years.
Adam Cohen, GB, administrator (50%), Directorate of Quality Audit, examiner (50%), Mobility and Mechatronics, EPO The Hague. BA, MA and PhD in electrical and information sciences/photonic engineering from Cambridge University. Worked in Japan, Canada, the USA and the UK. Joined the EPO as an examiner in 2003. Also involved in EPO IT projects, geographical outreach and communication quality projects. Coaches new examiners and is an expert on Japanese translation queries. Former committee member of the Asian Patent Expert Group.
Pierre Held, FR, administrator, Directorate Prior Art and Classification, EPO The Hague. Pierre holds a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Strasbourg. He Joined the EPO in 1997 as a patent examiner and moved to Directorate Classification in 2004. He is a member of the EPO-USPTO bilateral Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) Joint Governance Board and of the Asian Patent Expert Group. As project leader of the CPC cooperation project under EPO's Strategic Plan, he manages EPO's international classification activities. Pierre is also a trainer and presenter at in-house and external events.
Anna
Kajzar, PL, examiner, Healthcare, Biotechnology and Chemistry, EPO Munich. PhD
in biophysics and worked as a scientist at a research institute (Forschungszentrum
Jülich, Germany) before joining the EPO as a patent examiner. Works
in the fields of particle and light therapy and surgery and is also active in opposition
proceedings.
Alain Materne, FR, examiner, Information and Communications Technology, EPO Berlin. Degree
in electronic engineering from ENSEA in Cergy-Pontoise (FR), completed with a thesis project at Berlin’s Technical University. Worked in the electronics industry at Wandel & Goltermann in Reutlingen, Germany, prior to joining the EPO in 1988. Develops various ranking scripts in ooRexx for retrieving related files and prior art.
Johannes Schaaf, DE, administrator, EPO Vienna. MBA
and master's degree in physics. Worked as an engineer and innovation consultant
in the corporate technology unit at Siemens and led the community of practice "innovation
management". Examiner in the area of laser technology at the German Patent and
Trade Mark Office. Joined the EPO in Vienna in 2005, and now works in the
directorate Patent Knowledge Promotion, PATLIB.
Gershom
Sleightholme, senior expert, Team Diagnosics and Electrical Automotive Parts, EPO Berlin. Holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Melbourne and a doctorate from the University of Cambridge. Worked for several years in the steel and automotive industries and in the British civil service prior to
joining the EPO in 1996.
Elena Virnik, DE, examiner, Information and
Communications Technology, EPO Berlin. PhD in applied mathematics. Joined the
EPO in 2009. Works in the field of complex mathematical methods and, in
particular, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Passed the EQE in
2017 and has been a CEIPI tutor since 2018.
Christoph Wirner, DE, examiner, sector Information and Communications Technology, EPO The Hague. In charge of prior art searches, examination and opposition procedures in the field of semiconductor technology. Member of the Asian Patent Expert group (APEG) Committee. Member of the CII group on computer implemented inventions. Member of the DG1-DG5 International Cooperation Taskforce on data exchange. Promoted the use of the Japanese Fi/F-term classification and the access to patent documentation from Asia. He is also a member of the EPO’s Japanese language expert group.
Joris van Lith, NL, Administrator Directorate Quality Audit, EPO The Hague. Obtained a PhD degree in integrated optics from Twente University. Joined the EPO in 2007 as an examiner. Coached many new examiners and is very active in knowledge sharing within the EPO. Current responsibilities include internal quality audits of search reports and grants.
Robert Pötzsch, DE, examiner, Healthcare, Biotechnology, Chemistry, EPO The Hague. Studied chemistry at TU Dresden, Germany, and ENSC Rennes, France. PhD from the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden. Research stays at McMaster University Hamilton, Canada, and UC Santa Barbara, USA. Joined the EPO as an examiner in 2013. Experience in opposition. Passed the EQE in 2018.
Alan Bacon, GB, examiner, Mobility and Mechatronics, EPO The Hague. MA in chemistry from the University of Oxford, St. Peter’s College, UK, 1982. PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Southampton, UK, 1985. Joined the EPO as an examiner in 1985 and has been working in the field of printing ever since. Member of the Classification Board since 1990. Tutor and trainer of new EPO examiners, lecturer with the European Patent Academy. Has given numerous presentations at Search Matters and Examination Matters, and has represented the EPO at various occasions worldwide.
Robin Hofe, DE, examiner in the Information and Communications Technology sector at the EPO, The Hague. Dipl.-Ing. Sound Engineering at the Graz University of Technology (Austria) and PhD in Computer Science at the University of Sheffield (UK). Joined the EPO 2013 as an examiner in speech processing.
Jenny Olausson Boulois, Patent Examiner, HBC, EPO Munich. Jenny studied pharmacy at the Universität des Saarlandes. After a completing her PhD at the medical faculty of the Universität des Saarlandes, she joined the EPO in 2006 as an examiner in the field of second medical use. Since 2016, Jenny is a member of the Asian Patent Expert Group at the EPO and frequently giving presentations on Asian prior art related matter.
Jutta Haußer, DE. Jutta studied Japanese and Chinese studies at the University of Munich (Germany) and holds a PhD in Japanese Studies. She has spent several years in Taiwan and Japan. From 1992 to 2005, she was assistant professor at the University of Munich, LMU. She joined the European Patent Office in 2007. As a member of the EPO's Asian patent information team, now Worldwide IP Knowledge, she is responsible for facilitating access to and monitoring patent information from Japan, China, Brazil and other jurisdictions. She regularly gives seminars on Asian patent information.
Hanno Schombacher, DE, Examiner and Gérant, sector Mobility and Mechatronics, EPO Munich. He is Knowledge Manager, Search Expert and Newcomers and Examiners Academy instructor. He also presents for the European Patent Academy and at Knowledge Management conferences. Passed EQE in 2009.
Wolfram Meyer, DE, Examiner Biotechnology, EPO Munich. Studied in Freiburg and graduated in cellular biology at the Basel Institute for Immunology in Basel. Made a postdoc at the Institut Suisse de Recherche Expérimentale sur le Cancer in Lausanne. Joined the EPO in 1998. Is a Coauthor of the book “Abenteuer Innovation” and the paper publication “Patents: a tool to bring innovation from the lab bench to the marketplace.” Wolfram is also the coordinator of the Continuous Knowledge Transfer team (CKT), in Munich of the sector Human Necessities, Biotechnology and Chemistry (HBC).
David Wienema, BE/NL, examiner, sector Information and Communications Technology, EPO The Hague. He obtained a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Leuven. Prior to joining the EPO in 2015, he worked for almost 6 years in the semiconductor industry developing integrated circuits for medical applications such as cochlear implants, X-ray imaging, deep brain stimulation, automotive applications such as inductive sensor readout circuits and consumer electronics. He currently works in the field of electronic circuits.
Paula Larisa Patras, Patent Examiner in ICT, wireless networks. Graduated from the Technical University “Gh. Asachi” Iasi, Romania, Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications in 2003. Continuous involvement in EPO IT activities including user acceptance testing and testing automation. Product manager of the internal non patent prior art (NPL) acquisition tool CiteNPL. Project manager IT Co-Operation Search Project since February 2021.
Ueli Meier, CH, examiner in Information and Communications Technology, EPO, The Hague. PhD in Seismology from Utrecht University. Performed research at the Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris and the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Joined the EPO in 2014 in the field of pattern recognition.
Alexander Klenner-Bajaja joined the EPO in 2014 as member of an IT team working on automated search. In 2019, he became the head of the newly created Data Science department. The data science team is creating solutions using artificial intelligence to solve challenges in the patent grant process such as automated classification of applications and automated prior art search.
Barnaby Hoyal joined the EPO in 2005. He is a chemical engineer. He currently leads a team of examiners working in the field of non-wovens and absorbents. He also supports a project bringing new search technology to the EPC contracting states. From 2012 to 2016 Barnaby worked for Directorate International Co-operation and was responsible for the co-ordination of IT-related activities in the IP5 programme.
Telmo Vilela has a degree in Law from the Law School of the University of Minho, in Portugal, and holds postgraduate qualifications in IP and Competition Law, Law and Genetics and Pharmaceutical law. In 2013 he joined the European Patent Office and in 2015 he was appointed Adviser to the President for Legal, International and Quality Affairs. He has been Principal Director Co-operation and Patent Academy since July 2019, overseeing all EPO's co-operation and external training activities.
The purpose of this workshop is to optimise prior art retrieval via Japanese FI classes and F-term indexing terms, alone and combined with keyword searches. Strategies are presented for efficient and complete searches in Japanese documentation using publicly available sources and search tools. Examples in the field of medical technologies will be discussed. The workshop is suitable for those who already have an understanding of the Fl classification and F-term indexing systems and at least basic experience of finding the appropriate codes and using them in simple search strategies.
The workshop will include the following topics:
Keywords: Asian prior art, FI classification, F-terms, keywords, J-PlatPat
Level of knowledge: intermediate / advanced
Are you a Searcher or a Finder? Find out in this workshop.
Being aware of your own mindset will make you a more efficient and better searcher. In this workshop two extreme mindsets are considered: the Searcher and the Finder. The approaches, advantages and disadvantages of each mindset will be discussed. Finally a search methodology leveraging the advantages of both mindsets is proposed.
Keywords: Mindset
Level of knowledge: general
This interactive online workshop focuses on efficiently retrieving documents and information that have been cited by other intellectual property offices (e.g. IP5) for patent family members or similar applications. This information can be helpful in searches done in order to prepare the filing of an opposition or a new patent application, for example. To this end, the possibilities of Global Dossier and Common Citation Document will be explored together with the audience. The audience will be shown using practical examples how and what kind of valuable (sometimes hidden) information can be retrieved and how this information should then be understood. This source of information is of high interest for search professionals, because it can deliver further relevant documents for the underlying case and allows the search professional, for instance, to fine-tune their search and focus on other key features. Selected examples will be given from the field of medical technology.
Keywords: search strategy, Asian prior art, CPC, Espacenet, hands-on, internet search, global dossier, common citation document, CCD, IP5
Level of knowledge: beginners / general
Search engines are a primary tool of patent searchers, yet many regard them as black boxes whose inner workings are a mystery. This workshop demystifies search engines by introducing some of the core concepts behind document retrieval. No background in computer science is required. The presentation explains how search engines compare keyword queries to millions of documents and rank them according to their relevance. By better understanding search engines, participants will be able to design more effective queries. The workshop will cover topics such as choosing keywords, indicating the importance of individual keywords, and the role of grammar in query construction. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the concepts covered using hands-on examples that illustrate tips and tricks for bridging the gap between the results returned by a search engine and the intended target of the search. The presentation will conclude by discussing recent trends in document retrieval and looking forward to the next generation of search engines, exploring topics such as semantic search, multilingual search and audio-visual search.
Keywords: search engine, computer algorithm, document retrieval
Level of knowledge: general
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are considered by many as being the most disruptive innovations in history. The number of applications involving AI and ML algorithms is mushrooming in many different technological fields. But searching these applications is challenging:
Firstly, AI/ML algorithms are essentially mathematical and computational methods. This makes it difficult to use the patent classification system to search them.
Secondly, a particular AI/ML algorithm may find applications in diverse technical areas ranging from chemistry to aerospace, which often necessitates a very complex and extensive search.
Thirdly, when searching for AI/ML methods, you are often faced with the additional problem of how to search for mathematical formulae or numerical algorithms.
Finally, a major part of the prior art is to be found in non-patent literature, which adds a further layer of complexity to the search.
So for AI/ML it is essential to develop efficient and effective search strategies, in particular using the World Wide Web.
In this interactive presentation based on examples and case studies, we will show you how to develop search strategies best suited to dealing with these challenges.
Keywords: AI (artificial intelligence), ML (machine learning), searching mathematical formulae, internet search, case studies (medical technologies)
Level of knowledge: field-specific, advanced
The problem-solution approach (PSA) is the key method used at the EPO to determine if an application is inventive. It provides for objectivity and reduces the risk of using ex post facto analysis in the assessment of inventive step. While this approach is well known to applicants in the context of the examination procedure, the aim is to show that it is also a powerful tool at the search stage. In this presentation we will discuss the impact of the PSA for evaluating and adapting a search strategy, bearing in mind the following two questions:
What are the important conditions for correctly assessing inventive step? How can the PSA be used at the search stage?
In order to answer these questions, we will focus on the following points:
Developing the problem solution approach using examples but also starting from your expertise in search, we will explain how the search strategy can be refocused, resulting in increased efficiency and reactivity in the search strategy.
Keywords: PSA (problem-solution approach), closest prior art, inventive step
Level of knowledge: general
Searching non-patent literature (NPL) is indispensable for questions of patentability, opposition or validity.
Contrary to other parts of the world, the majority of academic journals published in China, Japan and Korea (CJK) are still only in one of the CJK languages with no English fulltext, although more and more journals provide English abstracts. For this reason, there is no way around searching Asian NPL databases. This may seem like a very challenging task, as one has to find out which Asian language databases exist. There is also the concern that Asian NPL databases can only be efficiently searched using these Asian languages.
The aim of this presentation is to show how to lower the threshold for searching Asian NPL for non-CJK speakers. We will show where to find information about NPL publishing activities for specific fields in Asia. The most important free-of-charge NPL CJK databases will be presented, and we will give a short overview how to use them. Finally, we will highlight how efficient and high quality search in Asian NPL at the EPO is achieved by cooperation between various experts in Asian documentation.
Keywords: Asian NPL
Level of knowledge: general
Applicants are not required to search the prior art before filing a patent application with the European Patent Office. However, knowledge of the literature and the market that exists in a field can help you understand the strength or weakness of an invention. A thorough search improves the credibility rating afforded to the patent application by investors and thus the chances of receiving funding. It gives you information about market potential by revealing other ideas. More generally, it can help you to determine whether or not to spend further time and money on an idea.
In this interactive workshop we will present real case studies to reveal the importance of a high quality search.
You will discover that a good search does indeed matter!
Keywords: Search, Strategy, Innovation
Level of knowledge: general
Over the last years, the number of citations relating to internet e.g. YouTube videos, Wikipedia and archive websites has significantly increased. Searching on the internet is often an efficient way for examiners and patent information professionals to find relevant prior art in the form of a pdf, a website, a video, an oral disclosure or a prior use. In this workshop, general guidance will be provided as to the applicable legal framework regarding standard and burden of proof according to EPO practice. We will analyse the conditions under which these different kinds of prior art may be relevant and how to search each of them efficiently. We will explore ways of citing YouTube videos; citing an exhibition which is later substantiated by a written disclosure; and considering an existing product as closest prior art by combining several documents. A number of practical methods and computer tools for determining the publication date of an internet disclosure will be presented. The information and practical tips provided in this workshop will make you better equipped to meet the challenges posed by this particular type of prior art.
Keywords: Internet citations, YouTube videos, Exhibitions, proof of publication date
Level of knowledge: general
Beyond patent families, there are other closely interrelated patents and patent applications. Firms who wish to be active in a particular area of technology need to ensure that their products will not infringe existing patents or existing patent applications which might later be granted. This requires an adequate patent search to uncover all interrelated patents and applications. Frequently, these are from a single applicant, but often with multiple inventors, or networks of inventors, and concern similar, but not identical subject-matter. This workshop presents simple-to-use but effective techniques which anyone can apply, using inventor names to retrieve such related applications. Since for prior art searches, the inventor names can also be used to search for academic literature by the inventors as authors, techniques for finding related scientific articles will also be demonstrated. These techniques are based on ones used at the EPO to find similar applications at the pre-search stage, which have proven their value in widespread systematic use for over twenty years using tools the Office has developed. Examples from various fields of technology, including medical devices, will be presented using Espacenet. A novel use of figures in determining relationships will also be shown.
Keywords: Multiple inventors, Single applicant, related applications
Level of knowledge: general
Artificial intelligence, internet of things, image processing, data encryption… Medical technology embraces modern information technology. Moreover, genetics, biotech, chemical and electronic features are frequently elements of medical devices. Cross-technology inventions, more and more numerous, pose a challenge for search.
Keywords: medical technologies, non-medical features, finding relevant classification
Level of knowledge: general
The vast field of medical devices and technologies presents some areas that are exploding with innovation, while others haven’t changed in centuries. We’ll take a look at a few examples, explore the patent data behind some of the trends and reflect on what our role as patent information professionals is in the innovation cycle.
Keywords: medical technologies
Level of knowledge: general
Search.epo.org is a patent prior art search tool aimed at patent search professionals. Search.epo.org is a result of the EPO’s technology jump to a state-of-the-art patent search platform for patent examiners at the EPO and national patent offices. The tool leverages the scalability of the cloud and has the potential to offer significantly improved services to patent examiners worlwide.
During the workshop interested users will be introduced to the tool in action.
The project team developing search.epo.org will be investigating the potential for engaging with the patent search professional community
Keywords: search tool, patent professionals
Level of knowledge: general
