{"id":55627,"date":"2022-12-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/35.208.6.27\/xlscout_new\/non-patent-literature-importance-in-patent-research\/"},"modified":"2024-10-29T06:58:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T06:58:18","slug":"non-patent-literature-importance-in-patent-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xlscout.ai\/de\/non-patent-literature-importance-in-patent-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-Patent Literature: What Is It and Why Is It Important in Patent Research?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scholarly publications have always served as the go-to source of information for cutting-edge research in academia. These publications are commonly referred to as „non-patent literature,“ or NPL, in the context of intellectual property. NPL has a wide range of IP applications, from being a valuable source of prior art for invalidity<\/a> or novelty searches<\/a> to competitive intelligence<\/a>. Within the document, the inventor\u00a0cites any NPL that is closely related to the subject matter of a patent filing. These citations are critical in future patent evaluations. Many competitive intelligence workflows rely on NPL citations to gather information about the breadth of the patenting entity’s research.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Non-Patent Literature Types and Their Sources<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

NPL is divided into two categories: journal references and non-journal references.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Journal References: <\/span><\/b>Scientific publications, sources: IEEE,<\/a> Springer,<\/a> Research Gate<\/a>, Wiley Online Library<\/a>, etc.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Non-Journal References: <\/span><\/b>Conference proceedings, company newsletters, reference books, blogs, social media, announcements, YouTube, magazines, patent related documents, books, sources: Darwent Innovation Index<\/a>, Google Scholar<\/a>, Google Patents<\/a>, lens.org,<\/a> etc.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What Role does Non-Patent Literature Plays in IP Processes?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

    A. Novelty\/Invalidation Search<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

    NPL, in addition to patents, counts as valid prior art for invalidity or novelty searches. Because NPL is published before patents (which can take anywhere between 12 and 24 months from the filing date to publication), it should be a part of your prior art searches, particularly in projects where future investments are high and the risk of spending resources and time on inventions that may not receive patent protection needs to be mitigated ahead of time.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"non-patent
    Fig.1: NPL tab in XLSCOUT’s Novelty Checker<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, Source: xlscout.ai<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    <\/h3>\n

    B. Technology Analysis and Competitive Intelligence <\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

    NPL has a lot of potential for competitive intelligence. Some notable competitive intelligence activities are:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n