It is sad to see its demise, because we relied on it for convenient,
up-to-date classification information.
Kenneth Gural
PATENTEC
Referencing Mr. Gural's note about the EDS Shadow Patent Office
(SPO)
that closed on December 31, 1998.
People who require up-to-date classification information for US
patents
may wish to know that Chemical Abstracts Service offers three ways
to
get such information. In all three ways, US patent information in
the
USPATFULL database is updated weekly and the classification
assignments
(NCLs) are updated every two months.
The USPATFULL database is at the heart of Chemical Patents Plus
(CPP),
a web-based search tool found at http://casweb.cas.org/chempatplus/
.
Although registration is required, all searching is free, and
displays
of patent titles and abstracts are free. Low display fees are
charged
for various other patent formats, including individual patent page
images for recent years.
Another web-based search tool, STN Easy, provides access to several
patent databases in the Intellectual Property category, including
USPATFULL. STN Easy has a user-friendly graphical interface, a
pay-as-you-go price structure, and new accounts can be opened within
minutes. A free interactive demo and other information can be found
at http://stneasy.cas.org/ .
Patent information is also available through STN, the Scientific and
Technical Information Network. USPATFULL is one of the more than
200
databases that can be searched through STN. Using traditional STN,
searchers can use command line language to find patent information.
More information about STN can be found at
http://www.cas.org/prod.html .
Rebecca Wolff
Chemical Abstracts Service
2540 Olentangy River Road
Columbus, OH 43202-1505
w) 614-447-3600
f) 614-461-7149