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Congratulations to  Peter Vanderheyden and our friends and associates at LexisNexis on the launch of their transparent semantic search technology announced today in this press release: 

LexisNexis, a leading global provider of content-enabled workflow solutions, today announced the availability of transparent semantic search technology for its full complement of intellectual property (IP) research products – enabling users to find the most precise and relevant patent search results.

Through a development alliance with Dallas-based Pure Discovery, LexisNexis has become the first provider of legal information services to integrate the power of semantic search technology with familiar Boolean search technology, giving the user greater control over the patent research process via a simple, streamlined user interface that matches their typical daily workflow.

Semantic search uses the science of meaning in language ("semantics”) to produce highly relevant search results. While semantic search engines are not uncommon, most contain limitations – including lack of transparency and user control – which can ultimately undermine the overall value of results. For example, they typically do not show precisely how search results are generated and the user must simply trust that the right relevance between the original query and the semantic application are, in fact, appropriate to the intent of the searcher.

The new semantic search solution from LexisNexis and Pure Discovery, however, overcomes such challenges to accomplish four breakthrough objectives in online search:

• Transparency: Each query is enhanced by the machine intelligence and shown to the user for their complete understanding and engagement.
• Increased control: Not only is the semantic search transparent, but users are in control with the ability to add, delete, increase or decrease the importance of all query words (concepts) in a unique visual query interface called a "querycloud.”
• Fully federated: While LexisNexis maintains one of the largest full-text patent and non-patent literature databases in the world, its semantic search platform can associate semantic searches to virtually any index, whether it resides internally or on the web.
• Scalability: The LexisNexis index includes semantic intelligence from more than 10 million full-text patent documents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s patent index, as well as Elsevier journal articles and other documents.

"With semantic search technology we have changed the very nature of online patent research by providing users with an additional means of researching patent and non-patent prior art,” said Peter Vanderheyden, LexisNexis vice president of Global Intellectual Property. "This alliance will provide users with tools to create more meaningful queries, allowing them to obtain more precise results by using semantic technology to enhance their Boolean search strategies.”

The new technology is now available through the patent research and retrieval service LexisNexis® TotalPatent™ and the automated patent application and analysis product LexisNexis® PatentOptimizer™. In addition, the functionality is also available through lexis.com®, the flagship online legal research service from LexisNexis, for full-text non-patent prior art and other patent-related content.

Technical Disclosures from IP.com's Prior Art Database are also accessible to users of LexisNexis.

New Content for Patent Research: Technical Disclosures from IP.com and Research Disclosure!

Two premium sources for non-patent prior art research have been added to "Select a Source > Law by Topic > Prior Art/Non-Patent". Why are technical disclosures important to patent researchers? Obtaining a patent is very expensive.

Only a small number of possible inventions are worth such a large investment. An innovation that is not patented is in danger of being patented by a competitor. The only way to prevent this is to prove that the idea already existed and was available to the public. When an innovation is published as a technical disclosure, it is no longer at risk of being patented by others. Publishing the innovation establishes a clear trail of evidence that the inventor originated the idea and made it available to the public. The inventor, in effect, retains the right to use his or her own innovation, without the difficulty and expense of obtaining patent protection.

LexisNexis is the only platform where the full text of both IP.com and Research Disclosure Technical Disclosures can be found! A searcher on LexisNexis® TotalPatent™ can highlight a patent claim and launch a Freestyle search directly into IP.com or Research Disclosure Technical Disclosures on lexis.com®.

LexisNexis Toolbar users may activate access to IP.com and research Disclosure Technical Disclosures by re-downloading the Toolbar. Just click this link: "Download the LexisNexis Toolbar Today."