The Better Mousetrap Column: That Was the Year That Was – Patents, 2002 Appears in April 2003 Issue of Searcher Magazine


Abstract
Nancy Lambert has published her yearly musings on the world of patent information as it unfolded during 2002. In the article she provides an overview of the major advances by each of the significant players in the patent information field and provides commentary on a few of the looming issues that face the industry.

Nancy’s yearly look back at the world of patent information is always an informative and entertaining read and this year’s installment is no exception. She covers major events from the past year from Dialog, Questel-Orbit, STN, Chemical Abstracts, Derwent, IFI/CLAIMS, Inpadoc, Delphion, MicroPatent, Minesoft, BizInt, Current Patents and USPTO. I am a little surprised that the European Patent Office was not on the list since Nancy included USPTO but perhaps there was nothing particularly newsworthy to note.

The article also includes several interesting side bars that address specific issues dealing with the training of new searchers, working with Chemical Abstracts subject sections and the much discussed USPTO 21st Century Strategic Plan. The “graying” of the patent information world is a particular concern and frank discussion on the topic is long overdue.

Unfortunately, the article is not available online so interested parties will need to contact their favorite document delivery service or periodicals library for a copy. Nancy is happy however to answer questions on this topic and can be reached by email (NELA@chevrontexaco.com).

It is a shame that Nancy Lambert’s “The Better Mousetrap” column is not featured in Searcher magazine as often as it used to be. Nancy is writing a similar column for the quarterly Patent Information Users Group (PIUG) newsletter but one has to wonder wither it is reaching as large or as broad of an audience as their appearance in Searcher once provided. It does provide a good reason for becoming a PIUG subscriber however.

Posted: Wed - April 9, 2003 at 07:27 PM   Patinformatics   Interesting Reference Articles   Email Comments

© Anthony Trippe