Cassis Currents NO. 15
January 2002

HAPPY 2002!

The Information Products Division staff wishes all of our customers a happy, healthy, and peaceful new year!

Cassis2 UPDATE

Two enhancements were recently added to the Cassis2 user interface. The Cassis2 Development Team has developed an improvement to the custom display option and added a Table of Contents to the Classification Definitions file on the Patents ASSIST disc. An article on page 3 highlights the Classification Definitions Table of Contents.

The improvement to the custom display option makes it possible to only display the fields that contain information. Previously, if selected display fields did not contain data, the field name was displayed in the retrieved database records but there was a blank space where the data was expected to be. This could cause confusion to users who were not certain if the field was actually empty or if data was missing from the display.

A check box to select "Only display fields that contain data" has been added to the Display Field Selection window (Figure 1). Check the box after you have selected all of the desired fields and arranged them in the desired order. The results screen will now only display fields with data. This can be especially useful if a record includes multiple occurrences of a field and not all of the occurrences contain data. This could mean a long list of repeated field names with no data.

If the box is left unchecked, the default display will be used - the field name without data.

Figure 1 Display Field Selection Window

USAPat BACK FILE UPDATE

The USAPat Back File project is now two-thirds complete! EPB distributed the sixth set of discs, discs 251-300, early this month. These discs contain patent images for the years 1980 through 1989.

Be watching for the next set, expected in 2002 March. This set will contain part of the year in which USAPat began - 1994. Patent images from 1994 through 1999 were previously issued on CD.

SPOTLIGHT ON Cassis CUSTOMERS

In this issue we meet Ted Cebula, Coordinator of Business, Science, Technology and Periodicals at Milwaukee Public Library, one of the 87 Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs). Ted offers us a somewhat unique perspective on the Cassis products since his PTDL was one of the ten test sites in the Cassis CD-ROM pilot in 1987. Ted has seen Cassis migrate from an on-line system to CD-ROM, seen the DocDW products added, and recently watched the move to DVD-ROM and the new Cassis2 interface.

Ted believes that the Cassis optical disc products have been a major reason for the success of the partnership between the PTDLs and the USPTO. "The Cassis optical disc products have proven to be an effective, efficient search tool," according to Ted.

His PTDL receives frequent positive feedback from patrons about the user-friendly capabilities of the Cassis products. Ted says, "Most users think it is wonderful to be able to search by classification, subject or individual in a matter of minutes." Users have also been impressed with the new options provided by the Cassis2 software. Ted also states that "There is no doubt in my mind that the merging and enhancing of Cassis databases has made this product easier, better and faster to use."

The Cassis products get heavy usage in Milwaukee. During the week, ten to fifteen individuals access the products each day and on Saturday and Sundays the Cassis workstation is used continuously. Ted says that the PTDL’s patrons most often use Trademarks BIB, Patents BIB, Patents and Trademarks ASSIGN, and USAPat. In addition to novelty and patentability searches, the Cassis products are used for a variety of other purposes including: to identify suppliers of certain items from the Goods and Services field on Trademarks BIB, and to evaluate a specific technology and identify possible licensors as well as identify alternate technology and its sources from Patents BIB.

Ted wants to thank the USPTO for making the USAPat back file available in DVD-ROM format. This has made service to the public more efficient. Combining a search on Cassis2 products with USAPat and USAMark for the images provides a means for the public to conduct a proper and effective search and then review patents and trademarks or obtain copies in a very timely fashion. Ted notes that "Patrons are really happy to no longer handle paper copy or deal with microfilm machines and the output from USAPat and USAMark is clear to read and the drawings are crisp and sharp."

Ted has been with the Milwaukee Public Library for 28 years and continues to enjoy working with patent and trademark information and the public. He served as the Chairperson of the PTDL Association in 1990. He also holds a record for attending all but one of the 24 annual PTDL Training Seminars. Ted and his wife, Virginia, have three children.

Ed. note: Thank you to Ted for his input to this article.

Cassis2 TIP - HOW TO LIMIT YOUR SEARCH

Three of the new Cassis2 products, Patents and Trademarks ASSIGN, Trademarks BIB, and Patents BIB, contain multiple files that have been merged to create one database. In addition to the usual search fields, these databases include fields that enable you to restrict your search to a particular type of document.

Patents and Trademarks ASSIGN includes both patent and trademark assignment information in one database. If you are only concerned with searching for patent or trademark data, limit your search by using the Document Type Field. Type "Patent" or "Trademark" to restrict your search.

Trademarks BIB combines data from registered, pending, and dead U.S. trademark documents. Use the Live/Dead Indicator Field to restrict your search to a specific type of record. Entries in this field are "Registered," "Pending," or "Dead." To restrict a search of dead marks to an exact cause of death, use the Status Field. Since there are many reasons for the death of a trademark registration or application, refer to that field’s index for the proper entry format.

As the USPTO began publishing patent applications in 2001 March, this published application data was added to the Patents BIB database. To restrict your search to a particular type of patent grant or patent application, use the Document Type Field. Input formats for this field include "Utility," "Design," or "Application." Figure 2 displays the Index for this field with a complete listing of searchable document types in the database.

Figure 2 Index of Document Type Field on Patents BIB

TABLE OF CONTENTS ADDED TO THE CLASSIFICATION DEFINITIONS FILE

A Table of Contents option was added to the Classification Definitions File on the 2001 September issue of Patents ASSIST. The table of contents gives the user a second way to access the information included in the Classification Definitions file in addition to searchable text. This option for the Cassis2 user interface was already available with the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure file on Patents ASSIST and many of the files on Trademarks ASSIST.

To use the table of contents, click on the icon located on the Cassis2 toolbar (shown in Figure 3). This will change the display in the top window of the Result Screen to resemble a table of contents. Click on the plus sign to the left of the class number to display the individual subclasses. After opening the table of contents, the Results tab will display "Contents" to alert you that you have entered the table of contents.

Figure 3 Table of Contents Icon

Clicking on the class number will take you to the beginning of the definitions for that class. The definition for that classification will be displayed in the bottom window, as shown in Figure 4. You can then scroll through the subclasses by using the scroll bars. To jump to a specific subclass, click on that subclass number in the table of contents.

This enhancement gives the user the ability to view the definition at the beginning of a class. This was previously difficult to do because you cannot search by a class without a subclass using the text searching method.

Figure 4 Classification Definitions in Table of Contents Format

Tip: The Table of Contents icon is only activated if it is available in the current file.

Cassis2 FAQs

Q: How can I find out the number of records in a specific database?

A: Select the AllFields Field. Type @docn in the text box. This will search the entire database and give you the number of individually indexed records.

Q: The Patents CLASS by Subclass file does not display the number of patents in a particular subclass. How can I determine how many patents are in a classification?

A: Open the Patents CLASS by Patent Number file. Enter your Class/Subclass in the Classification Field. The number of documents found is the number of patents in that classification.

Q: I want to export patent numbers from a search in Patents BIB into Patents and Trademarks ASSIGN, but I keep getting error messages. What is the limit of characters that can be imported?

A: The input limit is approximately 2500 characters or approximately 349 patent numbers. When copying the patent numbers from an Excel spreadsheet, it may also be copying a line return, which could cause a problem. The line return adds characters and submits a character that the search engine is not expecting. We have written a file that works around the problem by stripping out the line returns. Using the file enables you to import approximately 349 document numbers at a time to another database. You will want to "OR" the patent numbers together. Submit your search query from the Command Search because "OR" is the default operator on this screen.

To request this file, please send an e-mail to us at cassis@uspto.gov and we will send you the file with instructions.

USPTO WELCOMES NEW DIRECTOR

James E. Rogan was sworn in as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on December 7, 2001, becoming the 55th head of the agency (see Figure 5).

Judge Rogan manages USPTO’s operations and is the principal policy advisor to the Bush Administration on all domestic and international intellectual property matters. He also co-chairs the National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council, which oversees domestic and international intellectual property enforcement among federal and foreign entities.

Judge Rogan was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1997 to 2001. He was one of only two members of the House of Representatives to serve on both the prestigious House Commerce Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. He also served on the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property.

Judge Rogan has a distinguished career in public service. He was a gang murder prosecutor in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. He became California’s youngest sitting state court judge in 1990, and served as presiding judge of his court until his election to the California State Assembly in 1994. Elected to Congress in 1996, Judge Rogan served two terms in the House of Representatives.

Judge Rogan earned a B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1979, and his J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1983, where he was a member of the UCLA Law Review. He and his wife Christine have twin daughters Dana and Claire.

Figure 5 New USPTO Director James E. Rogan Being Sworn into Office by Commerce Secretary Don Evans

Ed. note: Article and photo are reprinted with permission from the PTO Pulse

Cassis Currents is published by the Electronic Products Branch (EPB) of the Information Products Division (IPD) under the Office of Chief Information Officer at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), an agency of the United States Department of Commerce.
Back issues are available on the USPTO Website at http://www.uspto.gov/.
Contact us at:
Electronic Products Branch
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Crystal Park 3, Suite 441
Washington, D.C. 20231
cassis@uspto.gov
Fax: (703)306-2737
Phone: (703)306-2600 or (800)786-9199 (identify yourself as a Cassis subscriber and ask to be transferred to IPD)