Searching and Analyzing Patent-relevant COVID-19 Information

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted several institutions to offer free, dedicated websites and tools to foster research and access to urgently needed innovation by facilitating the search and analysis of information within the large amount of scientific and patent literature which was published in a very short period of time. This situation is clearly exceptional and challenging for patent information professionals searching for relevant disclosures at a given date in a reliable manner. This article provides an overview of search criteria and strategies, main databases and websites, number of publications, biological sequence information and experimental data sets covering Covid-19 findings within scientific and patent literature disclosed between January and August 2020. The analysis of non-patent literature has been focused on the identification, date assignment, disambiguation, and access to experimental data. The analysis of patent literature has been focused on the trends found within the earliest filed and published patent documents in representative jurisdictions worldwide. Some practical advice and strategies for technical, medical, or patentability assessment of Covid-19-related innovations across different information formats and resources are proposed.