About China Patent Document Service

In 1999, SIPO received 1.32 million full-text patent specifications from 25 countries and international organizations. Among them,267,000 were in paper form,992,000 were on CD-ROMs (3,548 pieces) and 61,000 were on microfilms. In 1999, SIPO received 1,100 search CD-ROMs and 17,261 search microfilms, covering patent data from 49 countries and international organizations. In the same year, SIPO also received 3,146 search publications, such as the patent gazettes and annual indexes and abstracts, from 34 countries and international organizations. In addition, SIPO received 4,712 books in Chinese, 138 books in foreign languages, 4,287 periodicals in Chinese, and 3,284 in foreign languages.
The year 1999 saw the establishment of search patent documents for 30 PCT applications falling into 130 IPC sub-classes and the availability of newly established 6,860 search files.
In 1999,SIPO classified 465,000 full-text patent specifications from four countries. By the end of 1999, search patent documents totaled 15.14 million, among which 7.97 million were full-text specifications. The search file library was visited 3,316 times by examiners, and approximately 30,000 pages of patent documents were copied or printed. The Internet reading room, opened in October 1999, was visited 344 times by readers; total on-line time reached 255 hours.
The Patent Document Library was visited 35,000 times by readers in 1999,and the Non-Patent Literature Library was visited 942 times. By the end of 1999,1.18 million photocopies were provided for both SIPO and external users. The Library also conducted 1,635 searches based on readers' specific requests. Around 200 participants attended five separate training seminars on patent documentation.
In 1999,the Patent Document Library developed and implemented the Japanese Patent Full-Text Search System. As a sub-system of the Chinese Patent Information System, it makes the search of Japanese Full-Text Specifications possible for SIPO and external users through the Office's mainframe system. This sub-search system supplements SIPO's full-text database within the Office's automated search system. In order to further improve the automated search system, the Library, in cooperation with other related entities, developed a database on Chinese and foreign periodicals. This database has turned the searching of non-patent literature and the viewing of full-text on the LAN into reality for SIPO. Because more non-patent literature is now available in electronic form and on the net, searching capacity has been greatly enhanced and more thorough documentation has become more readily available for patent examination purposes.
To better serve patent examination, SIPO's patent document department enhanced its services. It downloaded patent and non-patent documentation materials from the Internet and also borrowed such materials from other libraries, and provided them to examiners.
In 1999, SIPO delivered the second batch of 48 ESPACE/ACCESS CD-ROMs to local patent authorities and key enterprises and institutions throughout China. Training sessions on the use of the CD-ROMs for patent search were delivered to 46 entities simultaneously.
To date, 83 sets of ACCESS CD-ROMs have been distributed in two batches to local institutions, including 32 provincial and municipal patent authorities(including Tibet),3 patent authorities of municipalities under special state plans, 32 patent authorities of municipalities(above county level), and 16 enterprises and institutions. SIPO also delivered PAJ CD-ROMs to 3l local patent authorities (Tibet not included).