Viewing Family and Generating Family Tree

You can view the Simple and Extended Family in the detailed view of a record. A patent family is a set of either patent applications or publications filed in multiple countries to protect a single invention by a common inventor and then patented in more than one country. A first application is made in one country, the priority and then can be extended to other offices.

To view family

1. On the Search Results screen, click on the Patent number (example. US10986481B2) or click window icon next to the number. (You can also view the family in a family Viewer by clicking on the appropriate icon next to the patent number. See details of Family Viewer below)
2. A single record will be displayed in a new web page.
3. Click the Family tab and then click Family Details tab.

The patent family details will be displayed including Record Number, Application and Publication Date, Application Number, and Priority Details.

Family Viewer

The Family viewer is similar to the Detailed View in functionality with the exception that it has a list of the family members in a column on the left. This makes it easy to go back and forth across different family members and compare their data.

An icon for the Family viewer is present in most views and clicking on the icon opens the Family Viewer in a new tab for the family of a record.

To view family tree

1. On the Search Results screen, click on the Patent number (example. US10986481B2) or click new window icon next to the number.
2. A single record will be displayed in a new web page.
3. Click the Family tab and then click Family Tree tab.

The patent family tree will be displayed. You can edit some of the features in a family tree.

Working with a Generated Family Tree

To change the font size

• Click (+) next to Font Size to increase the font size.
• Click (-) next to Font Size to decrease the font size.

The text in the node changes.

To change the brightness of the connector line

• Click (+) next to Line Color to increase the brightness of the line
• Click (-) next to Line Color to decrease the brightness of the line.

To add a new node in the family tree

1. Click on the new node icon next to Action.
2. A new node box will be displayed.
3. Double-click the node box to add or edit the text.
4. To move the node, place over mouse over the node and when the mouse pointer changes to a 4 arrow sign, drag the pointer to move it.

To add a new connector

1. Click on the Single Arrow icon in the Actions list
2. A new connector will be displayed within the tree
3. Double-Click the connector and drag to the desired location

To add a Comment in the Family Tree

1. Click the Comment icon in the Actions list
2. A new comment box will be displayed
3. Double-Click the comment box to add or edit text inside the box.

To clear changes and Regenerate the Family Tree

1. Click the reload icon
2. The Changes get cleared and the Family Tree will be regenerated

To download a family tree

1. Click Save Image.
2. Browse to location to save image.

The image will be saved in .png format.

To view an explanation of different nodes used in the Family Tree

• Click Legends

The family tree legends description will be displayed in a new web page.