In co-operation with Minesoft® ...
How to import and analyze PatBase data with VantagePoint

PatBase is a search-able patent database covering over 30 million patent families with historical information dating back to the early 1900s. Developed in partnership by Minesoft Ltd and RWS Group, PatBase is relied upon by many of the world’s leading patenting organizations and legal firms to provide in-house patent information across all areas of industry.

Now data from PatBase can be more easily analyzed in VantagePoint to aid executive decision-making in the increasingly important field of Intellectual Property.

Exporting PatBase records

The following five steps illustrate how to export records from PatBase in a convenient format for importing them into VantagePoint.

Export - Step 1: From the Search Results page click more to expand the Search Options menu. In the more options menu, select Export search results.

Export - Step 2: Select the VantagePoint file format. The page changes to show check boxes for the optional Claims and Description fields. Click these boxes on if you want to include them in your export. Choose the range of records to export and click Export. In the illustration, the records are downloaded in groups of 100. You can immediately download 100 records at a time, or you can have 500 records at a time e-mailed to you.

Export - Step 3: After the records are accumulated into a file, click the VantagePoint link to save the file locally on your computer.

Export - Step 4: Save the data file in a convenient location, and rename the file to help keep track of the partial downloads.

Export - Step 5: Step through the search results until all records have been downloaded.

Importing PatBase records

One of the big payoffs from this co-operation is standardization of the data interface between PatBase and VantagePoint.  We can have one export format and one import filter, simplifying the data bridge between the data provider and analytical tools.

The VantagePoint import sequence for PatBase records is illustrated in the following paragraphs.

VantagePoint Import Wizard: Step 1 of 3: Choose raw data files

Open the Import Wizard from the opening dialog box or under the File menu select Import Raw Data File.  Click Select Files, and navigate to the files you downloaded from PatBase.  You can multi-select the raw data files using Click and Shift/Click.

When you have selected all of the raw data files, click Open and then Next > in the Import Wizard.

VantagePoint: Import Wizard: Step 2 of 3: Choose the import filter

Select the Minesoft PatBase Document (XML) import filter. It is probably auto-sensed and selected by default. If the PatBase filter is not in the list, you can download it from theVantagePoint.com downloads link in the Analyst Guide.

VantagePoint Import Wizard: Step 3 of 3: Choose fields

Select the fields to import. The primary fields are already selected, and you can change the selection using Control/Click. Fields you choose not to import now can easily be imported later.

VantagePoint: View Results

After the records have been imported into VantagePoint, you will see the VP Summary Sheet, which lists the fields, the number of unique items in each field, the percent coverage for each field (what percentage of the records contain information in the field), data type, and metatags.

Combining Patent Families 

The VantagePoint PatBase import filter brings in each publication as a record - in our example, there are 3,349 individual publications (records).  The dataset can be analyzed at the level of individual publications, but frequently you want to combine publications into Patent Families for analysis.  Doing this with PatBase data in VantagePoint is a one-step process.     

VantagePoint's Combine Duplicates tool will merge all of the data from individual publications into a "super record," salvaging all of the data from the individual publications.  Combine Duplicates is found under the Tools menu.  In Combine Duplicates, the criteria for declaring a duplicate record can be a complex combination of Exact or Fuzzy matches across multiple fields.  But PatBase Families can be combined using a simple Exact match on Family Accession Number, as shown in this illustration - after collapsing Patent Families, the 3,349 records become 669.

Accessing PatBase resources

VantagePoint provides a powerful suite of tools and visualizations for analyzing PatBase data.  When you are ready to dig into the source records, the PatBase PDF documents and on-line records are only a couple of clicks away.

VantagePoint's Fielded Record View

The Fielded Record View in VantagePoint offers direct access to on-line PatBase resources.  You can open the Record View by double-clicking on a title in the Title View.  A single title is highlighted in yellow in this illustration.  If VantagePoint defaults to the Raw Record View (viewing the raw XML record), you can access the Fielded Record View by clicking the Fields button in the Record Display toolbar.

Three types of external links are available from PatBase: PDF links, Image links, and PatBase Records links.  When you click one of the links, VantagePoint opens the document in your default browser.

Accessing PDF documents in PatBase

When you click on one of the PDF links in VantagePoint's Fielded Record view, the PDF is downloaded from Minesoft PatentOrder™ and opened in a browser.

Accessing On-line records in PatBase

When you click on a Record link in VantagePoint's Fielded Record view, the on-line PatBase record is opened in a browser.  If you are not logged into PatBase, you will be prompted for your login credentials.