The classification of plants in the United States Patent Classification system

More than 11 100 plant patents have been granted US Patent and Trademark Office since 1931. The system for classifying such patents for efficient retrieval is a specialized part of the United States Patent Classification. It is described here under the following topics: purpose, the classification schedule, schedule organisation, relationship to design and utility patent classification, class definition, search notes, line notes, hierarchy, and special features of plant patents, such as coloration and the effect of commercial or market practice. The article then considers placement rules for consistent classification of such patents, searching for a patented plant, and aids for such searching. Illustrative examples of the schedule, and of the placement of and retrieval of plant patents are provided.     

The use of mindmapping software for patent search and management

Modern information technologies and in particular the internet have revolutionized the patent information professionals' work in terms of speed of access and information comprehensiveness from both company internal and external digital sources. Here, I describe how the digital mindmapping technique can be used to complement existing intellectual property management software solutions to meet the challenge of optimizing and managing patent search workflows as well as to rapidly organise and access highly dynamic, heterogeneous and scattered patent information sources. Both eye catching and highly memorable and at the same time self-explanatory mindmapping examples are presented. These were designed to include basic and advanced level digital mindmapping features tailored to significantly speed up and maintain a high work quality level of patent search professionals. A special emphasis is put on the great benefit of organising and accessing the plethora of internet-based worldwide online patent registers through mindmapping, both in terms of managing the constantly changing deep links to the actual search options for e.g., legal status information, and keeping track of the offered level of content.