Patent Search Fundamentals: CPC/IPC, Fields & Families

Description

* Description: This fundamentals course shows exactly how to find relevant patents using both keywords and classifications. You will learn CPC/IPC basics and how to pivot from a text query to the right classes using representative records. Hands-on demos cover Patent Public Search, Espacenet, and Patentscope with fielded search, proximity, and citation tools. You will practice assignee, inventor, and priority date filters to control scope and find families that matter. A claims-first reading method helps you decide quickly whether to keep, tag for later, or exclude. Legal-status overviews (INPADOC) show how to identify lapsed, expired, or pending rights without misinterpretation. Family views help you trace geography and continuations so you understand coverage. You will build a search log that records strings, classes, fields, and reasons—so another analyst can repeat your work. Common pitfalls—over-broad keywords, noisy assignee names, novelty vs. non-obviousness confusion—are addressed with examples. You finish with a compact, defendable set of records and a method you can reuse on adjacent inventions.

* Format: Screencasts, CPC/IPC quick cards, search log template, claims triage sheet, and status cheat sheet.
* Duration: 2 hours of instruction plus 60 minutes of practice.
* What You’ll Learn: CPC/IPC use, fielded search, citation tools, family/status interpretation, and claims triage.
* Target Audience: New patent researchers, product teams, and innovators exploring prior art.