IPO: patent data explained
Updated 17 August 2018
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ipo-patent-data/ipo-patent-data-explained--2
1. Details of columns and their description
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Application number | The reference number given to a patent at application. |
| Publication number | The reference number given to a patent when published. |
| IPSUM | Hyperlink to the given record on the Intellectual Property Offices’ online patent information and document inspection service. Some earlier patent applications have no information available online. For these this link will not work. |
| Earliest application date | The date of an earlier application (often called the priority application) containing a disclosure of the invention. If there are no earlier patent applications then the earliest application date is the same as the filing date. |
| Filing date | The date the patent application was filed. |
| Lodged date | The date the patent application was lodged (recorded) at the IPO. |
| A publication date | The date the patent was published. |
| B publication date | The date the patent was granted. |
| Applicant name | The name of the current proprietor/s of this patent. The proprietor could be the same as the applicant but will differ if the applicant has changed name or ownership of the patent application has changed hands. Proprietors are separated by ; |
| Applicant country code | The country/ies of the current proprietor/s. Countries are separated by ; |
| Applicant postcode | The postcode/s of the current proprietor/s that are based in the UK. Postcodes are separated by ; |
| Applicant region | The region/s of the current proprietor/s that are based in the UK. Regions are separated by ; |
| Applicant country | The country/ies of the current proprietor/s that are based in the UK. Countries are separated by ; |
| IPC7 | International Patent Classification (IPC) 7 shows the technology areas of the invention the subclass level, the first four digits (IPC definitions), version 7). This version of the IPC covers patents from January 2000 to December 2005. Some applications may be classified under both IPC7 and IPC8. |
| IPC8 | International Patent Classification (IPC) 8 shows the technology areas of the invention the subclass level, the first four digits (IPC definitions), see the most recent version). Before this version the IPC would be subject to large changes every few years. This version is updated annually. |
| PCT filing date | The date the application was originally filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. PCT patent are originally filed at the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). |
| PCT publication date | The date the PCT application was originally published. |
| Last renewal date | The date that the patent was last renewed. |
| Annuity year | The number of years the patent has/was renewed. |
| Date not in force | The date the patent ceased being in force. |
| Reason not in force | The reason why the patent ceased being in force. |
| Status | The status of the patent at date of extraction. |
2. Coverage
Bibliographic data for patents filed between 1978 and January 2018 and subsequently published at the Intellectual Property Office. A patent is normally published 18 months after filing. Applications filed but not published are not included in this dataset.
3. Comparison to other releases
Online registers are dynamic and alter as the patents’ status changes. As this data is a snapshot taken at the date of extraction, it may not be directly comparable with official publications such as the facts and figures, online registers and search tools.
4. Open Government Licence
Provision and use of this data is defined under an Open Government Licence.
5. Earliest application date
As defined above, the priority date is the date of an earlier patent application containing a disclosure of the invention. If there are no such earlier patent applications then the priority date is the same as the filing date. The following are examples of patent applications that will have an earlier priority date.
5.1 Priority applications
Priority applications can be present when:
a) an applicant seeks protection for the same invention in multiple jurisdictions (including international treaty applications),
b) an applicant seeks protection for a difference invention that builds upon their previous inventions or
c) a combination of the previous two.
5.2 International Treaty application
An international application may be filed to obtain patent protection in multiple countries through the Patent Cooperation Treaty. The international application subsequently enters the national/regional phase to be processed in each country to grant. The national/regional phase applications are ante-dated to keep the filing date of the international application.
5.3 Divisional
A patent may protect only a single inventive concept. Further inventive concepts may be divided out into new applications (‘divisional’ applications) which keep the filing date of the original application (the ‘parent’ application).