The Inspec implementation of IPC codes will be a valuable tool for the prior art searcher, allowing the ready clustering of relevant non-patent literature within the same familiar code structure used for patents. This functionality can be used for Inspec records all the way back to 1969. Learn more about Inspec and International Patent Classification.
The addition of narrower terms for a controlled term allows users to automatically add more specific thesaurus terms to a query, expanding result sets so that a search for ‘stars’ can automatically expand to include ‘brown dwarfs,’ ‘supernovae’ and ‘pulsars.’