Patent Family Searches :

This kind of search is carried out to identify a member of a “patent family.” Patent family searches are used in order to:

• find the countries in which a given patent application has been filed (if published);

• find a “patent family member” that is written in a desired language;

• obtain a list of prior art documents or “References Cited”; and

• estimate the importance of the invention (by number of patent documents relating to the same invention and being published in different countries or by industrial property organisations).