Comprehensive prior art searches that find all relevant documents are critical for innovators seeking patent protection. Incomplete prior art searches can result in rejected patent applications, invalidated patents, or lawsuits. However, conducting this type of search can be incredibly time-consuming. One of the challenges patent analysts face when conducting a search is selecting relevant databases to search and understanding the scope of potentially relevant records held within each.
Clusters in CAS STNext help searchers save time by combining a curated collection of databases by relevant subject (e.g., materials science, agriculture, pharmacology) or shared feature (e.g., numeric property search, full-text patents, journal articles, and chemical structures) and making it possible to search them simultaneously and reliably.
The materials cluster: Specifically designed to find materials patents and publications
The materials cluster is a grouping of 21 databases containing comprehensive materials science patent and non-patent technical content. These databases provide broad topic coverage across the materials innovation landscape with applications ranging from semiconductors to plastics.
- The CIN, CBNB, RAPRA, and TEMA databases cover business information.
- 1Mobility and 2Mobility cover automotive industry materials.
- Compendex, Inspec, PQSciTech, and SciSearch cover larger files.
- Inspec has an option to search for the composition of a material.
- Inspec, PQSciTech, and Compendex can also be searched by excitation wavelength or any other numeric properties of materials.
- SciSearch has extensive citation and grant donor information.
- CAplus can be used to search for specific molecular compositions.
Learn more about the materials cluster or other clusters within CAS STNext.
Find relevant results faster using the index command
The index command conducts a high-level search of each of the 21 databases and displays the counts of relevant records in each database. This allows you to preview the results of a full search without having to conduct individual full searches of each database.
For example, patent searchers in the electronics industry can use this function to review the results of an index command query for “quantum dot.”
The index command is a powerful discovery tool, allowing you to assess if a lesser-used database performs well for your IP of interest and helps you quickly identify terms that could lead to finding new records. It will be much easier to start your full search — honing in on specific chemical composition or numeric properties — once the most relevant search terms and databases have been identified.
Take advantage of database clusters to boost search efficiency and reliability
Database clusters and the index command are valuable tools within CAS STNext that can accelerate your prior art search without jeopardizing accuracy.
Learn more about leveraging the materials cluster for your next search by watching a recorded CAS STNext webinar and associated slides here.