Since there's been some talk recently on the BB about QPat, I got permission
to let you see in advance what's coming out in a month or so in my next
SEARCHER "Better Mousetrap" column. This was my 1995 year-end round-up, and
I had a couple of paragraphs about QPat. Here they are:
"Coming soon on the Internet: QPAT-U.S., the full-text file of U.S.
patents, 1975-date. I was pushing Questel-Orbit to put the file on Orbit so
that we could cross-file search it along with the enhanced and indexed
patent databases. But I can understand their Internet strategy. First,
they really want to attract searchers who don't do indexed files, and maybe
don't do Orbit or Questel at all just yet. This would include end-users.
So they're putting lots of explanatory material into the file. Second --
let's face it -- text-crunching in huge files is not one of Orbit's strong
points. I have trouble enough making free-text searches run in Derwent's
World Patents Index; a big full-text file would just about deep-six Orbit's
capabilities.
"But the clock doesn't tick on the Internet. Q-O will price QPAT for
all-you-can-eat, at a fairly reasonable level: around $2000/year for the
first searcher, $1000/year for the second, and $500/year for the third and
any subsequent searchers in one organization. I've taken a look at the
file's search capabilities, and they are certainly far more sophisticated
than those of any of the free patent files currently on the Internet. But
more later, when QPAT is up and running."
I'm also writing an article about QPat for DATABASE Magazine, scheduled for
the June/July issue. I'd be VERY interested in collecting input from any of
you who have tried the file and have observations and opinions. My deadline
is early April.
Nancy Lambert
nela@chevron.com