Common Syntax Mistakes and their Corrections

WRONG USAGE

CORRECT USAGE

Not using parentheses properly across operators

E.g., TAC:(mobile OR cellphone AND network)

A query like A OR B AND C is ambiguous. With varying operators each query portion must be enclosed in brackets.

E.g., TAC:((mobile OR cellphone) AND network)

E.g. TAC:(mobile OR (cellphone AND network))

Using $ or ! for truncation

You should use * for truncation and ? as a single character wildcard.

Using ? to represent 0 or 1 character

? in PatSeer stands for exactly one character wildcard and does not match 0 characters. Use *1 instead to match 0 or 1 characters.

Using w/2, w~2, 2d or 2w for proximity

You should use w2 for unordered proximity and wd2 for left->right ordered proximity

Using ADJ or NEAR operators for proximity

You should use w1 and wd1 for unordered and left->right ordered proximity. Here ‘1’is the number of words to span across. 

For example: w2, w5, wd50 etc.

Using SAME operator for same paragraph search

You should use wp for same paragraph search. If you want to search within same sentence you can also use the ws operator. Optionally a number can also be given to restrict the number of words to span across. For example: wp30 will mean within the same paragraph and within 30 words.

 Entering a portion of the IPC or CPC class without a wildcard

 E.g IC:A61K

Use the wildcard * at the end of the class if you are giving only a portion of the full class. Do not use wildcard within double-quotes. If you are entering classes within double quotes make sure there are no spaces between the main and subclass.

E.g IC:A61K*   UC:235*

E.g IC:A61K05*

E.g. IC: A61K05/21

Using & in company name.

E.g ASN:(AT&T)

In case you want to use & then the term must be enclosed in Double quotes. So the correct query will be ASN: "AT&T"

This is true for text field too. So if you are searching for space & aviation in text, then it should be enclosed in double quotes. & is not searchable outside double quotes.

Using semi-colon or comma to separate OR’ed terms

E.g. TAC: mobile, cellphone, pda

Please use OR between the terms.

E.g. TAC:(mobile or cellphone or pda)

Searching inventor name by first-name surname.

E.g.  INV:(John Smith)

Most inventor names can be surname first. Also, some may have an initial. So you will miss out on “Smith John” or “Smith John R” or “John R Smith”. The best way to search is using bidirectional proximity with scope for accommodating 1 more initial/middle name in between.

E.g.  INV:(John w1 smith)