Information about American Online (AOM)
Table 1 - Service Available on CompuServe
Table 2 - Cost Comparision of IP Related Services on CompuServe/CompuServe's Database Supplier
CompuServe offers both general sources of information related to intellectual property as well as patent, copyright and trademark searches. In the Magazine Database Plus, several general journals are available that discuss intellectual property-related matters. Relevant information on this topic may be found and searched in journals such as Industry Week, Science, U.S. Department of State Dispatch, The Economist, U.S. News and World Report, Forbes and Fortune, to name a few. The charge for this database is $4.85 per hour with a $1.50 fee to view or download an article.
The Knowledge Index database is another general source of information which provides access to over 100 databases. The only intellectual property-related database found with this service is the Legal Resource Index which indexes over 750 law journals and reviews from 1980 to the present. The charge for this premium service is $24.00 per hour for modem speeds up to 14,400 bps and the hourly rate applies at all times (i.e., day, evening and weekends).
Another general source of information on intellectual property may be obtained in The Ideas and Invention Forum. This forum contains sections such as Ideas to Market, Nasa Technical Briefs, and Intellectual Property Protection/Legal. The Intellectual Property Protection/Legal section contains topics such as trademarks and intellectual property information sources. In these topics, one can, for example, read a document related to United Kingdom patent applications authored by an individual from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The charge for this extended service is $4.85 per hour for modem speeds up to 14,400 bps and the hourly rate applies at all times (i.e., day, evening and weekends). These sources of information may aid the practicing attorney, however, the databases offering patent, trademark and copyright searches would most likely be needed by the patent attorney.
The extent of CompuServe's database offerings which allow patent, copyright and trademark searches as well as the surcharge of the various services that is applied in addition to the $4.85/hour rate are shown in Table 1. Most of these services may be found in the Iquest Infocenter database, however, some of the databases may be found in other locations as well. For example, the patent information is also found in the Patent Research Center, and the Trademark information (Trademarkscan) may be found in the Trademarkscan database. There are many different ways to search for information in the various categories of intellectual property above.
In the patent area you can search by entering subject words, classification codes, inventors, patent assignees, patent numbers, country names, or patent issue dates. Moreover, you may also use a scan feature which allows you to search by subject words, inventor, patent assignee, or patent number. In the copyright area, one may search by copyright title, owner name, author name, copyright classification, renewal status and date of registration. Lastly, in the trademark area, one may search by trademark, application number, registration number, trademark status, international class code, goods/ services descriptions and by year. It must be kept in mind that an additional $9.95 charge per month for the standard service is also applied. Moreover, an additional $1.00 is charged for each search which obtains no information. The prices CompuServe charges for the various services were compared to the prices that the providers of the services on CompuServe charge.
The trademark information (Trademarkscan) is provided from Dialog through Thompson and Thompson. The prices Dialog charges when the databases are accessed directly are compared to those CompuServe charges in Table 2. It can be seen that the $120.00 hourly rate of Dialog is larger than the $4.85 hourly rate on CompuServe. However, CompuServe charges an additional fee based on the number of titles obtained per search. A fee of $20.00 is charged for one search that results in up to 5 records for the North American databases (Trademarkscan U.S. Federal, State and Canada). If more than five records are obtained, then another $20.00 is charged (i.e., even if six records are obtained, an individual will be charged another $20.00). A fee of $25.00 per five records is charged for the European databases. Dialog also charges a fee for looking at the information contained in a record. In order to see the record on the screen (Type command) or to print the record (Print command) the charge is $2.20 for the European databases and $1.20 for the North American databases. Moreover, when the databases offered by both services are compared, it was found that Dialog offered the trademark information from the following countries that CompuServe did not: Austria, Benelux, Denmark, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and Switzerland. In order to determine whether it would be less expensive to obtain the trademark information directly from the vendor who supplies the databases to Dialog, prices charged by Thompson and Thompson were examined.
Thompson and Thompson do not directly sell all of their databases on-line. They have "Compu-Mark" on-line which is a service which only gives access to U.S. Federal, U.S. State and Canada trademark databases. The charge for Compu-Mark is $120.00 per hour with a start-up fee of $125.00 and a record retrieval charge of $0.20-$3.00. However, design images can not be obtained from this service. These prices are comparable to those charged by Dialog, with the exception that the initial fee charged by Thompson and Thompson is $170.00 less than that charged by Dialog.
The remainder of the on-line databases Thompson and Thompson offers are available through Dialog. However, Thompson and Thompson provides several trademark searching services for those who do not want to perform their own searches. For example, the service "U.S. Full Search" offers a report on the availability of a trademark. Federal and state registers are examined as well as "common law" sources which are defined by Thompson and Thompson as trade journals and related industry directories and periodicals . The price varies depending on the speed with which the search is completed; $330 for the standard service (report completed within five business days for the date of order), $430.00 for two day service, $575.00 for next day service, $630.00 for same day service and $695.00 for four hour service. Many other research services are available.
Thompson and Thompson also offers Trademarkscan on CD-ROM. However, as of the time of this publication, only U.S. Federal and State databases are offered. The licensing fee is as follows: U.S. Federal - $7500.00 per year, U.S. State - $3500.00 per year and both U.S. Federal and State - $9900.00 per year. Apparently there is not much demand for the international databases on CD-ROM. The annual subscription comes with monthly updates, documentation, a design code manual as well as toll-free customer support.
The Claims/Citation, Claims/Reassignment and Reexamination, and Claims/U.S. Patent Abstracts databases are also offered through Dialog. With the exception of Claims/U.S. Patent Abstracts ($120.00 per hour) the charge for the other databases mentioned above is $90.00 per hour. It can be seen in Table 2 that the price for the Claims/Citation database offered by CompuServe is $45.00 for one search yielding one record and is the most expensive intellectual property-related database CompuServe offers. Therefore, if two records are found in one search, a $90.00 charge is already applied for a search that could take minutes whereas Dialog offers the database at a charge of $90.00 per hour. One of the least expensive databases offered by CompuServe is Claims/U.S. Patent Abstracts. A search yielding five titles is only $7.50 and a patent summary is $5.00. It can be seen that, for those individuals who expect to see many search results with their queries, CompuServe can be very expensive as they charge for the number of records found per search.
The other databases that can be obtained from sources other than Dialog are Derwent World Patents Index (from Derwent) and Patent Abstracts of China (from Orbit). There are no differences between the charges for Patent Abstracts of China when supplied by either Dialog or directly from Orbit. However, Derwent World Patents Index may be obtained from Dialog at a reduced price if one becomes a subscriber. In order to become a subscriber, over $10,770 must be spent per year on World Patents Index products and services. If this qualification is met, the preferential rate for World Patents Index is $130.00 per hour and the retrieval charges vary depending on the format ($0.80 for offline print which is mailed to you and contains items such as the Derwent accession number, patent assignee, title, abstract etc., $0.55 for an image and $1.35 for the record and image). If one does not become a subscriber, the hourly rate is the same as that of Dialog and the retrieval charges do not vary much from Dialog but are approximately twice as much as the preferential rate (i.e., $1.80 for an offline print, $1.05 for an image and $2.85 for both the image and record).
AOL's technical service department was first contacted to determine what areas on the service may be searched to locate intellectual property-related information. Three different technicians were not aware of any intellectual property sources on AOL. They suggested leaving a message on the Members Helping Members forum (MHM). Moreover, they also suggested contacting the TechLive forum because it provides on-line assistance from the AOL staff. Neither of these options lead to any intellectual property (IP) materials.
Different menu options were investigated to determine whether any relevant material was available. The Reference Desk provided many basic services such as Compton's Encyclopedia, News Search, Searchable Publications and West's Legal Directory. No searchable databases dealing with IP materials were located.
The Capital Connection option was chosen under the Clubs and Interests section in which one can access United States Supreme Court decisions. Moreover, the White House Forum and the Congressional Quarterly online was searched. A keyword search of these sources found general intellectual property-related materials.
Using the quickfind feature of AOL, the term "patents" was searched. This search resulted in 89 entries. None of these entries consisted of searchable databases; the list contained demonstrations, samples and miscellaneous files of no interest to the intellectual property researcher.
A search with the keywords "trademark" and "copyright" resulted in large numbers of matches. This large number resulted because the words "trademark" and "copyright" are used extensively in non-IP related materials. However, no searchable databases of interest were located.
A search using "inventor" as keyword generated 15 matches. Many of these matches related to shareware. Moreover, "searchable databases" was used as a keyword and 14 matches were obtained. There was an extensive database for searching fruit and nut plants but none related to IP.
Lastly, The search term "dialog" was used and obtained 86 matches. These matches contained a lot of shareware, but nothing of interest to the IP researcher.
The last location on AOL investigated was the private rooms listing of the People Connection in an attempt to locate an inventor's forum. No such forum exists.
The cost of this service is $9.95 per month for five hours of access. Additional online time is $2.95 per hour. You can use AOL anytime and there are no restrictive areas with higher costs.
Intellectual property-related materials offered by AOL and CompuServe were examined. It was found that intellectual property-related materials on AOL are extremely limited. While internet access is available on AOL which could lead to relevant sources of IP information, there are still glitches in the connection as the attached MacWorld article authored by Joanna Pearlstein discusses. This article, as well as the other attached article authored by Jim Heid, clearly points out the superiority of CompuServe's resources.
The prices charged for intellectual property-related databases on CompuServe, those charged by CompuServe's database suppliers as well those charged by direct suppliers were examined. It was found that, while vendors such as Dialog charge a premium hourly rate for the respective databases, this may be a better option for a medium to large size company interested in the information when compared to CompuServe due to the fact that CompuServe charges based on the number of records found per search. CompuServe may be an alternative for the lone inventor if many search results are not expected, however, this is most likely not a viable option for a lone practitioner dealing in intellectual property-related matters on a daily basis. Moreover, with the exception of an alternative pricing plan available from Derwent, the price for the vendors who supply their product directly charge similar prices as Dialog. Moreover, Dialog also offers a volume purchase plan based on the amount of charges accrued per time period (minimum expenditure must be $1,000 for this plan) as well as a discount if money is deposited in the company's Dialog account (i.e., 1% discount for $1,000 deposit, 2% for $5,000 and 3% for $10,000) which could further decrease costs incurred on Dialog.
Service Description* Dates of Updated Vendor
Coverage†
Claims/Citation Report for U.S. and 1971-present Quarterly Dialog
foreign patents which
subsequent patents
cite
Claims/ contains U.S. patents 1980-present Every 2 Dialog
Reassignment in which 1) ownership with months
and has been reassigned, exceptions:
Reexamination 2) patent has been patent
reexamined, 3) patent re-examined-
expired due to from
non-payment of fees 1981-present,
and 4) patent has been patent
granted a expired-from
re-examination Sept.
1985-present
and patent
granted
re-examinatio
n - April
1986-present
Claims/Referenc Index of U.S. Patent N/A Yearly Dialog
e Classification Codes
Claims/U.S. Covers U.S. patents 1950-present Weekly Dialog
Patent including the areas of with the
Abstracts general, chemical, following
electrical & exceptions:
mechanical and chemical-sinc
design. No plant e 1950
patents are available. electrical &
Records from mechanical
1971-present contains engineering
abstracts, - since
1982-present contain 1963,
claims (except design design -
patents) since 1980.
Claims/U.S. Holding file for the most current Weekly Dialog
Patent newest U.S. patent six weeks
Abstracts records - eventually
Weekly added to Claims/U.S.
Patent Abstracts
*these descriptions were taken from the descriptions available on Compuserve and were only minimally changed.
†when the dates of coverage of the database are not listed on Compuserve, the dates of coverage were taken from
information obtained from Compuserve's database supplier.
Table 1, continued. Services available on Compuserve.
Service Description Dates of Coverage Updated Vendor
Copyrights - U.S. copyright registration 1978 - present Weekly Dialog
records - can search by
copyright title, owner
name, copyright
classification, renewal
status and date of
registration
Derwent World Summaries of patents 1963-1980 and Pre-1981 Dialog
Patents Index from more than 33 1981-present: Patent
patent issuing agencies pharmaceuticals - family
worldwide. Records 1963-present, records
after 1981 contain agricultural updated
complete patent chemicals, monthly,
abstracts. Covers 1965-present, after 1981
pharmaceuticals, polymers, weekly.
polymers, all chemicals 1966-present, all
and all patents chemicals
(1974-present) (1970-present) and
all patents
without regard to
subject
(1974-present)
Japio References (with 1976-present Monthly Dialog
abstracts) to
unexamined, published
Japanese patents.
Patent Abstracts Index of patents issued 1985-present Weekly Orbit
of China by the patent office of
the People's Republic
of China
U.S. Patents Full complete text (no 1971-present, Weekly or Dialog
Text drawings) as it appears divided into: monthly
in the original 1971-1979
document of all patents 1980-1989
issued by the U.S. 1990-present
Patent and Trademark (only partial
Office coverage of
1971-1973
available)
Table 1, continued. Services available on Compuserve.
Service Description Dates of Coverage Updated Vendor
British contains all registered all registered UK Weekly Waterlow
Trademarks UK trademarks and trademarks and Signature
pending applications. pending
Also contains lapsed applications.
trademarks & Lapsed trademarks
applications from 1976 and applications
to the present that from 1976-present.
have been filed with
the Patent Office of
the United Kingdom's
Trade Marks Registry
Trademarkscan-Cana Trademarks and All active records Monthly Dialog
da applications filed at from 1867 - through
Consumer and Corporate present. Inactive Thompson
Affairs Canada as well records from 1978 and
as inactive to present. Thompson
registrations.
Contains inactive
registrations form
1978-present.
Trademarkscan-Fran All active trademarks All active Monthly Dialog
ce and applications filed records. Inactive through
with the Institut records from 1989 Thompson
National de la - present. and
Propriete Industrielle. Thompson
Also includes inactive
registrations from
1989-present.
Trademarkscan-Germ All active trademarks All active Monthly Dialog
any and applications filed records. Inactive through
with Deutches records from 1989 Thompson
Patentamt. Inactive - present. and
registrations from 1989 Thompson?
forward
Trademarkscan-Inte All active trademarks All active Monthly Dialog
rnational Report registered with the records. Inactive through
World Intellectual records from 1989 Thompson
property Organization - present and
as well as inactive Thompson
registrations
(1989-present)
Table 1, continued. Services available on Compuserve.
Service Description Dates of Coverage Updated Vendor
Trademarkscan-Ital All active trademarks All active Monthly Dialog
y and applications filed records. Inactive through
with the Ufficio records from 1989 Thompson
Italiano Brevette - present. and
marchi. Also includes Thompson
inactive registrations
from 1989-present
Trademarkscan-U.K. All active trademarks All active Monthly Dialog
and applications filed records. Includes through
with the Trade Marks inactive records Thompson
Branch of the Patent from July 1983 - and
Office of the United present. Thompson
Kingdom. Inactive
registrations from
July, 1983-present.
Trademarkscan-U.S. All active trademark All active marks Every 2-4 Dialog
Federal registrations, from 1884 - days through
servicemarks and present. Inactive Thompson
pending applications marks from 1984 - and
filed with the United present Thompson
States Patent and
Trademark Office as
well as inactive
registrations and
applications from 1984
forward
Trademarkscan-U.S. trademark registration All active records Weekly Dialog
State information obtained from 1900 to the through
from the secretary of present. Inactive Thompson
states' offices in all records from and
50 U.S. states and December 1986 to Thompson
Puerto Rico the present
Service Dialog Price
Compuserve
Claims $90.00/hour 1 Search and 1 Heading
Citation Type** or Print** - - $45.00
$20.00 for 1971 -
Present, $50.00 for
pre 1947
Claims/ $90.00/hour 1 Search and up to 5
Reassignment Type or Print - Headings - $45.00.
and $3.50
Reexamination
Claims/ $90.00/hour 1 Search and up to 5
Reference Type or Print - Headings - $4.00
$0.20
Claims/U.S. $120.00/hour Search - $7.50 per 5
Patent Type or Print - 1.70 titles
Abstracts Patent Summary
(selected from the
titles) - $5.00
Claims/U.S. $120.00/hour 1 Search and up to 5
Patent Type or Print - 1.70 headings - 7.50
Abstracts 1 Abstract - $6.00
Weekly
Copyrights - $90.00/hour 1 Search and up to 5
U.S. Type or Print (full headings - $7.50
record) - $0.40
Derwent World $222.00/hour† Search, $5.00 up to
Patents Index Type - $2.00 five headings,
Type - with image - Abstract - $10.00
$2.55 1 Regular Reprint -
Print - $2.45 $18.00,
Print with image 1 Express Reprint,
-$3.50 $42.00
Japio $120.00/hour 1 Search with 5
Type or Print Full abstracts, $10.00
Record - $0.80
†Price from direct supplier (Derwent) - $222.00/hour standard rate or $130/hour
preferential rate (must spend more than $10,000 each year on Derwent World
Patents Index products and services).
** Please see text for description of Type and Print command.
Table 2, continued. Comparison between cost of intellectual property-related
services on Compuserve and Compuserve's database supplier.
Dialog
Service Compuserve Price
Patent $120.00/hour* 1 Search and up to 5
Abstracts of Download/Full headings, $10.00
China record - $0.60 5 additional
headings, $10.00
U.S. Patents $120.00/hour Search - $10 per 5
Full Text Type or print - titles
$4.00 Full text patent
(selected from
titles): $15.00
Note: $1.00 charge
for search that
retrieves no
references
British Not Available 1 Search and up to 10
Trademarks abbreviated records -
$4.00
Full Record (selected
from abbreviated
records - $6.00 each
Trademarkscan- $120.00/hour $20 per 5 records
Canada Type or Print
$1.20
Trademarkscan- $60.00/hour 1 Search and 5 full
France Type or Print - text records - $25.00
$2.20
Trademarkscan- $60.00/hour 1 Search and 5 full
Germany Type or Print - text records - $25.00
$2.20
Trademarkscan- $60.00/hour 1 Search and 5 full
International Type or Print - text records - $25.00
Report $2.20
Trademarkscan- $60.00/hour 1 Search and 5 full
Italy Type or Print - text records - $25.00
$2.20
Trademarkscan- $60.00/hour 1 Search and 5 full
U.K. Type or Print - text records - $25.00
$2.20
Trademarkscan- $120.00/hour 1 Search and 5 full
U.S. Federal Type or Print - text records - $20.00
$1.20
Trademarkscan- $120.00/hour 1 Search and 5 full
U.S. State Type or Print - text records - $20.00
$1.20
* same price as direct supplier (Orbit)
July 21, 1995
Written by: Tina Jerome and Jason Schwartz
Created on 9/29/95.