In patent
data, a CITATION is a reference to a
previous work which is relevant to the
current patent application . They can be provided by the applicant, the patent
examiner or sometimes third parties (typically during opposition phase).
The list of
relevant citations for one patent is included in the search report.
They are
documents the examiner is going to look closely at to establish the novelty of
the invention
The cited
document may be a patent or a non-patent (NPL) publication (e.g. a journal
article).
Documents
listed in the search report are also called backward
citations (since they have been made public before the given patent.
Further
applications that will cite the given patent will be addressed as forward citations.
Thus if
Patent Z contains in its search report a reference to Patent A, A will be a
backward citation for Z and Z a forward citation for A.
Other
information that can be retrieved from citations is:
Citation origin: at what phase of patent’s life the reference
has been introduced
APP citations introduced by the applicant
SEA citations introduced during search (from Search Report)
ISR citations from the International Search Report
SUP citations from the Supplementary Search Report
PRS "PRe-Search" citations (available before official
publication; only for US applications)
EXA citations introduced during examination
OPP citations introduced during opposition (citations by opponent
published with a European Patent Specification (EP-B2))
APL citations introduced when filed for appeal by applicant / proprietor
/ patentee
FOP citations introduced when filed opposition by any third party after
the publication of a European Patent Specification (EP- B1)
TPO citations introduced because of Third Party Observations (Art 115
EPC)
CH2 citations introduced during the Chapter 2 phase of the PCT
Citation origin suffers in many cases of an institutional bias in cases, like USPTO, where applicant is required to file all possible prior art for duty of candor.
Application Category: this flag shows
out how relevant is the citation regarding the limitation of novelty or claims.
X Particularly relevant if taken
alone.
Y Particularly relevant if combined
with another document of the same category.
A Defining the state of the art and
not prejudicing novelty or inventive step.
O Non-written
disclosure.
P Intermediate
document.
T Theory or principle underlying the
invention.
E Earlier patent application, but
published after the filing date of the application searched (potentially
conflicting patent documents).
D Document cited in the application.
L Document cited for other reasons.
