Patent Olympiad 2024 Search Strategy Case

In August 2024, during Singapore’s IP Week, the prestigious patent search competition or Patent Olympiad was organized by the Patent Olympiad Team. The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the Qualified Patent Information Professionals (QPIP) all had a supporting role in facilitating the competition. Twenty-five professional Patent searchers from around the world registered and competed in the competition.

During the Patent Olympiad, all competitors were given the opportunity to try Ambercite. Eleven participants, including the Gold and Silver medalists, took advantage of this offer. While we don't have insight into how they used Ambercite during the competition, our platform would have provided them with distinct advantages.

The competition comprised three segments: a validity search, a novelty search, and a theoretical knowledge test. This article focuses on the novelty search, exploring how competitors could have combined Ambercite with other search tools—such as freely available platforms like Espacenet, Google Patents, Lens, and Patentscope, or professional services like Orbit, Clarivate, IPScreener, and Patsnap—to craft effective search strategies.

What sets Ambercite apart from other search engines? Unlike traditional tools that rely heavily on keyword matching, Ambercite uses a sophisticated computational AI to analyze patent citation networks. It evaluates two types of citations: known citations (directly linked to the seed patent) and unknown citations (indirectly connected patents). Ambercite’s AI calculates the probability that two patents are similar by assessing factors such as citation direction, centrality, structure, and more. This approach helps uncover relevant patents even when they use different terminology.

In the following sections, we’ll show how competitors could have used Ambercite in a novelty search portion of the competition, combining it with both freely available and professional search tools to create a comprehensive and effective search strategy.

Note: To avoid infringing on the competition's copyright, we will not display the original innovation text. Instead, we will present an example used during training at the IPI Academy.


Ambercite Use Case: Patentability search for the umbrella folding mechanism

Description of the Innovation for conducting a Novelty Search :

This innovation presents a lightweight, foldable umbrella made from durable stainless steel. Featuring a telescopic design, the umbrella is optimized for portability through miniaturization. Its collapsible structure allows for easy opening and closing, offering both convenience and space-saving benefits. Suitable for both rain protection and as a sunshade, this umbrella combines functionality with a sleek design, making it ideal for on-the-go use.

Many people ask, "Which patent should I use as a seed patent in Ambercite to start my search?" The same question often arises when beginning with keywords. While both approaches are valid, starting with keywords could be more intuitive, especially when the search space is unfamiliar. Using keywords helps identify relevant patents based on initial search terms, allowing us to better understand the concept area and identify the first relevant patents. Once we have identified some key patents through keyword searches, we can then use Ambercite’s advanced capabilities to further refine and enhance our search strategy.

Note: In real life, people often know their competitors and the key patents within their industry, which can guide their initial search efforts and seed patent selection.

In this example, where the subject is unfamiliar, we will start with a keyword search and use a concept table to manage and ensure that each concept (feature) is thoroughly explored; this table will be updated with additional synonyms for each search term as the search progresses.

Concept Table Example Template
From Jane List's patent search training modules . The query and search strategy will naturally be conceptualized from this first step. Contact  us  if you’re interested to learn more about putting search strategies together in her training courses or book directly at  https://ipi.academy/faculty/details/3826/jane-list.

Part 1: Use Traditional Search Tools to Identify Seed Patents for Ambercite

Step 1: Broad Keyword Search

  • Initial Search: Begin by using broad keywords related each concept e.g. to the object, technology, and function

  • Example Query: (umbrella OR parasol OR sunshade OR sun shade*) AND (fold* OR telescopic OR collapsible OR light-weigth OR mini*  or “stainless steel”*)      

    Note: Best practices include using plurals (e.g., "umbrella" or "umbrellas") and wildcard characters such as "umbrella*" or "umbrella#."


Step 2: Refine Your Search Using Classification Codes (Optional)

  • Apply Relevant IPC/CPC Codes: Use specific classification codes that match your invention’s technology.

    • Example Codes:

      • A45B 19/00 (Umbrellas)

      • A45B 25/14 (Opening / Closing)

  • Combine with Keywords: Pair these codes with the relevant keywords.

    • Example Query: (A45B25/14) AND (umbrella OR A45B19/00 OR parasol OR sunshade OR sun shade*) AND (fold* OR telescopic OR collapsible OR light-weigth OR mini*  or “stainless steel”*)    


Step 3: Review and Select Key Patents

  • Analyze the Results: Look at the titles, abstracts, and classifications of the patents to determine their relevance.

  • Identify Key Patents: Select patents that closely match the folding mechanism or innovative aspects of your invention.




Part 2: Transition to Ambercite for Conducting a Novelty Search



Step 1: Use the Seed Patents Identified in Part 1 to Initiate Your Search in Ambercite

  • Input Key Patents: Take the most relevant patents identified in the traditional search tool and input them into Ambercite. Show 100 results and click on “Find Similar Patents”


Step 2: Analyze the Results and Identify Additional Relevant Seed Patents

Understanding Ranking and Scores in Ambercite

In Ambercite, two key scores help evaluate patents: the Similarity Score and the AmberScore.

The Similarity Score reflects how closely a patent relates to your seed patents. Ambercite’s AI calculates this score by running a probability analysis based on various criteria such as citation networks, citation direction, centrality, and the structure of citation relationships between patents.

The AmberScore, on the other hand, indicates the patent's personal value within the network, reflecting its popularity and significance. This score shows how influential or valuable the patent is in the broader context of the citation network.

By analyzing both scores, you can select the most relevant patents to reinforce your seed patents. Up to 200 additional patents can be included based on their similarity and AmberScores, helping to create a well-rounded and effective search strategy.

  • Explore Similar Patents: Ambercite will suggest similar patents within the network that may be relevant.

  • Identify Influential Patents: Focus on patents that are highly connected within the network and closer to your invention. Click on like to organize them into a folder.

To facilitate analysis, consider highlighting key terms : fold* umbrella open* telescopic

The patent results will then appear in a list.

You can click on the description to open the summary panel and quickly review each one to identify the most relevant hits you'd like to keep. Once open, you can navigate from one invention to another and mark the patents that are relevant to your search by clicking the "like" button.

All the patents you've liked will be saved in the "Liked" folder.

For further analysis, you can open the full text in Google Patents or Espacenet.



Step 3: Promote patents that are highly relevant and specific to the search criteria.

By clicking on the title or description of a patent, the summary panel will open. From there, you can review each result individually and click the "Promote" button to include the patent as a seed patent in your next search. For more detailed information, such as the full text of the patent, click on the "Google Patent" or "Espacenet" button to access the complete document and make more informed decisions.

Once promoted, these patents will be highlighted in the input field. Click on "Find Similar Patents" to refine the search with additional inputs, enhancing both recall and precision. By exploring the citation network of these patents, you'll gain a more comprehensive view compared to relying on a single patent. The AI will then be able to run more accurate probability analyses on the similarity. 

You can then review the patents in the "New Patents" category, which includes only the newly discovered patents since the previous search. This allows you to focus on new findings without reanalyzing patents you’ve already reviewed. In our case, new patents have been discovered.

Iterative Search: Cross-Validation Between Tools

Incorporate New Keywords: Update your search in traditional tools using new terms and technologies identified through Ambercite.

Adjust Classification Codes: Include related classification codes discovered through Ambercite to broaden your search.

Cross-Validate Between Tools: Feed newly found patents from your traditional tools back into Ambercite. Use Ambercite to analyze these patents further.

Iterate until saturation to uncover additional relevant patents.




Final Analysis and Reporting

Prioritize Findings: Combine and assess key patents from both your traditional tools and Ambercite.

Prepare Report: Document your findings and recommendations.


Overview of search strategy combining Ambercite and a traditional search method : 

Step 1: Start with a generic query
Step 2: Refine the query using relevant classification codes
Step 3: Conduct a similar search in Ambercite
Step 4: Strengthen the Ambercite search by adding extra seed patents
Step 5: Repeat Step 2 as needed until satisfied, then select and document all relevant patents

Benefits of Iterative Searching with Ambercite

Ambercite excels at finding relevant patents where keywords and semantic searching fails because of imprecise language, and class codes are too inconsistent. Providing you have a reasonable starting patent, you can iterate your way towards the best patents. The “New Patents” button makes this process easier than ever before.




How can I start using Ambercite?

You can try Ambercite yourself in our no-cost trial version, found here:

However, to run these sorts of analyses discussed in our blog, you will need to contact us about a corporate subscription. If you do contact us, we would be very happy to provide an online demonstration of the above approach on one of your subject.

Eric Deleglise