Best practices

This article outlines best practices for Relativity Patents. The Relativity Patents workflow has three primary steps: setting up your search, reviewing your search results, and creating the final work product.

This page contains the following information:

Setting up your search

After you create a project in your Relativity Patents workspace, set up one or more concept-based queries.

Note: For the most flexibility in creating search queries, use either the Search by Patent or Search by Concept options.

To search based off of a target patent:

1. Click Search.
2. Click Search by Patent.
3. Enter the Patent Number and Select Section claims of interest. The Name and Concept Text fields auto-complete with the section selection and concept description.



Note: Where possible, break claims into elements to focus on specific limitations. Note that not all claims have elements.

To search based off of an existing claim or disclosure:

1. Click Search.
2. Click Search by Concept.
3. Enter a Name. Enter your Concept Text.



Note: The algorithm uses the text you enter to identify relevant results, so it is important to provide appropriate context. The algorithm looks at the concept or idea described in your query and does not focus on any specific terms.

Note:
For the more relevant results:
• Use multiple sentences when entering concepts. The more detail you provide, the greater relevancy in results returned.
• When entering a target patent number, you can manually add additional context to the auto-complete concept text for a more defined search scope.
• Enter multiple concept-based queries. It can be helpful to see how the results overlap among your various queries. For example:
  • If you are interested in specific elements of a claim, search the entire Claim 1, and add the specific elements of interest as separate queries.
  • In addition to entering Claim 1 as issued, you may want to describe the point of novelty in your own words in a separate query.
• Add the abstract as a separate query. The broad description of the invention can generate additional relevant results.
• Using keyword filters to ensure your queries contain specific terms.

Resources

For details on running a search or applying filters, Search.

Supplement your concept-based search with filters

Use filters to refine concept-based queries for more relevant results.

To use keyword filters:

1. Click Add Filter.
2. Select a Field.
   1. Keyword—use this option to ensure your results contain a specific term or combination of terms.
      1. You can create simple term searches or more complex searches using search operators.
   2. Country—use this filter to focus your results on a particular country. Note that you must enter a two-letter country code.

Note: There is no limit on the number of filters you can apply to a search.

Note: Remember to click Apply Filter. The List view regenerates after you apply filters, displaying only the results that meet your criteria.

Resources

• For complete details on using filters, see Add a Filter.
• For details on search operators, see Search operators.

Importing references from another platform

In addition to search queries, you can also import patent references obtained outside of Relativity Patents. To import patents:

1. Click Search.
2. Click Import Patents.
3. Enter one or more patent numbers and click Save.

Resources

For complete details on importing patents, see Search (Import Patents).

Reviewing your search results

There are a number of things you can do to speed up your review process:

• Figures—use the Figures toggle to show or hide patent images and drawings directly in the List view, eliminating the need to open patents individually in the viewer. Hover over the figures to zoom in.
• Relevancy scores—if conceptual similarities are important, refer to the scores in the List view. The List view has columns that correspond to each search query. The column contains scores where the higher the score, the more relevant the patent is to your search query. Click a column heading to sort by that column.

Note: Scores are meant to help you prioritize your review. Try not to focus too much on a specific score. Instead, look for patents that have multiple scores across columns. This indicates the patent is relevant to multiple search queries.

• Patent (number)—click the patent number to open it in the Patent Viewer. Arrows next to the patent number indicate the patent has family patents. Click the arrow to expand or collapse the family sections.
• Snippets—snippets are the results of your search queries. Click the Snippet tab to view the snippets saved as a result of your search queries. Snippet scores are shown in a colored box on the right side of the snippet card. The box color matches the search query highlight color.
• .Save Patent—located at the top of the Patent Viewer, use this option to save the patent for future reference. Once saved, the patent is visible from the Saved tab.

Resources

• For details on managing the List view, see Workspace tabs (List).
• For details on creating and managing snippets, see Workspace tabs (Snippet).
• For details on saving patents for future reference, see Workspace tabs (Saved).
• For details on saving and organizing content as a claim chart, see Workspace tabs (Chart).

Creating the final work product

Often, the final work product is in the form of a claim chart, exported to your local drive as a Microsoft Excel file. To create and export a claim chart:

1. With the Chart tab active, drag your mouse over text from within a patent (in the Patent Viewer) to highlight it. Release the mouse. A modal appears where you can add notes and link the note to a concept. Once saved, the highlighted text appears on a card in the Chart view.
2. From the Chart view, click Export. The export contains all of the key metadata, along with the text selected in the viewer.
3. Enter a Report Name.
4. Select the Report Format. Options include Excel - Column, Excel - Row, and Word.
   1. Excel – Column—this is a traditional claim chart for an invalidity search, where each reference appears in a separate column.
   2. Excel – Row—this is a prior art chart, where each reference appears in a separate row. You can customize this report.
   3. Word—this chart lists claims in separate rows.

Resources

For details on creating and exporting claim charts, see Workspace tabs (Chart).