TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• What are the differences between these document types?
• Why some Designs and Plant variety rights are also present in a patent database?

Introduction

In FAMPAT and FULLPAT, publications/documents might be categorised into 4 types :

• Patent applications or granted patents
• Utility models
• Patent Designs
• Plan variety rights 

Questel's 50 years experience in data, allows to map corresponding country codes and related kind codes, to these 4 different types. A family could have several document types in the related field /DT.

Values for each type are stored such as following :

PATENT/DT
DESIGN/DT
UTILITYMODEL/DT
PLANT/DT

(DESIGN OR UTILITYMODEL)/DT
(PATENT NOT UTILITYMODEL)/DT

What are the differences between these document types?

As these types here described may be new to some users, please find below a swift definition for each. This not intends to cover all the complexity and intricacies behind. The main purpose is clarity and dissemination of such IP concepts.

Patent applications or granted patents, where an examination should take place (or has been done) by an patent office. Rights given by this type of documents mainly relate to "right to forbid". 

Utility models, which are not examined prior to their publication. They could be roughly seen as public disclosures, but might be closely reviewed by a patent office, and if validated by this office, grant some rights to the assignee.

Patent Designs: some offices publish a document with drawings and few words, describing to what it relates to, with no technical effects on something. There is a examination about novelty here, and offices grant rights to use and trade based on this design.

Plan variety rights: to certify who has created a new vegetal breed. More details about this element here.

Why some Designs and Plant variety rights are also present in a patent database?

Questel is updating a worldwide patents database, from more than 100 sources. Among these different data flows / sources, the patent offices are the preferred providers.

When an office includes into its data flow, Designs and Plan variety rights, we process this data like a patent data : formatting numbers, date standardisation, assignee names, text etc... As they have their own kind codes, Designs and Plan variety rights do not interfere with the regular patent data processing. 

Questel is pleased to bring this data to you, and make it visible to all our clients in Orbit Intelligence.