Patent ID: 6694331
Filing Date: 2004-02-17
Classification: G06F,G06Q,Y10S

Abstract:
A method of searching for intellectual property information utilizing an intellectual property classification system, the method comprising:(A) defining search criteria by selecting at least one search classification containing intellectual property information to be searched, wherein the documents searched are in a data set including at least one of: at least a portion of a database of documents, an updated portion of the database, previous search results stored in a local memory, previous search results stored in a remote memory, previous search results stored in a workspace, and previous search results in at least one folder in the workspace; (B) searching at least a portion of the documents based on the search criteria, wherein the search criteria are obtained from at least one of: input from the user, imported from the local memory, imported from the remote memory, imported from the workspace, and imported from the at least one folder in the workspace; (C) providing search results, of the searching, wherein the results include a list of located documents corresponding to the search criteria, and a result item for at least one of the located documents includes a link to the at least one of the located documents and a link to at least one of a government storage of the document, a commercial storage of the document, and a physical address of the located document, and a reference to a subsequent history of the at least one of the located documents, wherein the subsequent history includes information representative of a plurality of: a pending re-examination, a completed re-examination, a reissue, an opposition, an arbitration, a litigation; and the result item includes a reference to a document in the subsequent history, including at least one of: a re-examination certificate, a file history, a complaint, and a notice; and (D) refining the search criteria, including selecting a different one of the data sets and performing a further search on the different one of the data sets, where the data set includes at least one of: the database, stored search results from a prior search; and including performing a further search on the different one of the data sets.