| Feature |
Comments |
| Browser-based or Desktop interface: |
Browser-based. |
| Data Coverage |
| Literature collections created by topic: |
None. Content in the IP.com Prior Art Database is divided up into channels, most of which are based on the corporation or organization submitting the technical disclosures. |
| Contains value-added indexing data (e.g. Derwent Manual Codes): |
No. |
| Contains Patent Content in addition to Non-Patent Literature: |
In December 2009, IP.com introduced a free patent search from the IP.com Intellectual Property Library. From this free search interface, users can run search queries through both the free full text patent collections and the IP.com Prior Art Database simultaneously. |
| Search Capabilities |
| Date-limited searching: |
Yes, by publication date. |
| Section-specific Text Searching (e.g. a search in “claims only”?): |
Yes, this is done using the "contains" operator. |
| Country/Collection-specific searching: |
The IP.com Prior Art Database is made up of technical disclosures from various company sources. Users can select specific company collections when searching the database, but country-by-country division is not possible. |
| Chemical Structure Draw/Search Tool: |
No. |
| Command line interface: |
No. |
| Web-Browser Search Form: Yes |
Yes. |
| Combining (stacking) Search Queries: |
No. |
| Viewing Results |
| Uses a relevancy ranking when listing search results: |
Yes, the Prior Art Database ranks the relevancy of a document from one to five stars. When searching via the free Intellectual Property Library interface, the hit list display includes a relevance score bar. |
| Keyword Highlighting: |
Yes. |
| Advanced Keyword Highlighting (the ability to define terms to be highlighted when viewing full text results): |
The Prior Art Database allows users to display keywords highlighted in up to 6 colors. Multiple keywords can be highlighted using the same color. |
| Keyword In Context Display (generates excerpts containing searched-for terms for quick review): |
No. Search terms are highlighted in the abstract and also in Text Preview mode. However, there is no user-defined highlighting feature. |
| Linear Reference Viewing (clicking “Next” takes you to the next patent in the hitlist): |
Yes, linear result viewing is possible using the interface’s First, Back, Next, and Last navigation buttons while viewing results. |
| Saving Results |
| Saving Results Sets: |
No, however, individual results can be placed into a “Briefcase” for later viewing/downloading. |
| Flagging Individual Results: |
Yes, individual results may be added to a “Briefcase” for later viewing/downloading. |
| Saving Search Histories: |
No. |
| Analyzing Results |
| Statistical Analysis: |
No. |
| Other (In-Program) Analysis Tools: |
No. |
| Import/Export/Document Delivery |
| PDF Document Delivery: (Direct/Indirect - external link to publisher) |
Yes, direct individual or batch delivery |
| Data Export: |
No. |
| Data Import: |
Yes, users can search for document by IP.com Document ID number, but only one number at a time can be searched. |
| Alerts |
| Alerts: |
Yes. |
| Customer Support |
| Online Help Guide: |
Cursory, a FAQ page and a brief PDF document outlining the search syntax are available. |
| Web Seminars: |
No. |
| Live Help: |
Yes, live help is available through a toll-free telephone help line. |
| Security |
| Automatic Logoff: |
Yes, users are automatically logged off after several minutes of inactivity. |
| Secure Connection Option: |
Yes, IP.com uses an https:// secure connection. |
| Pricing |
| Pricing: |
Pay-per-use and subscription options are available. |
