July 2020: Source attribution added to on-site instances
As required by the French Patent and Trademark office (INPI), we have released a patch which adds a source attribution. The patch is available through the following link:
Installation instructions and further details are included in the README file. On-site installations must apply this patch before August 1, 2020.
June 2020: Support for RHEL/CentOS 8
CLAIMS Direct now supports RHEL/CentOS 8. Instructions for new instances have been incorporated into the PostgreSQL Installation Instructions and the repository information is provided in the Software Requirements on our PostgreSQL page.
June 2020: New PostgreSQL schema and tools package
In an effort to further streamline CLAIMS Direct PostgreSQL schema versioning, we are introducing a schema and tools package into the CLAIMS Direct yum repository. The new package will offer the main CLAIMS Direct database schema as well as the supporting users database to support deployment of on-site web services. The package contains the SQL to create the database(s) supporting PostgreSQL versions 9.2 - 10.x, as well as tools to check installation, populate the tables, perform extracts, and more. See PostgreSQL Schema and Tools for more information about the package, including instructions on how to install it.
April 2020: CDWS/CDWI report expirations
Going forward, reports created using the CDWS endpoint /reports and CDWI reporting interface will expire after 6 months and will be automatically removed. We intend to begin the pruning on June 6, 2020. Please download any reports older than 6 months that you wish to keep.
April 2020: Client Tools 2.5.3 release notes
Changes
This release contains changes pertaining to how the software is deployed on the system. At the end of 2017, we moved to an RPM-based software distribution by introducing the IFI CLAIMS Direct repository. This release further aligns the installation with distribution standards. The following enhancements are included in v.2.5.3:
- An unprivileged service account is created and controls processes and configuration files.
The new useralexandriawill be created on installation or upgrade whosehomedirectory will be/var/lib/alexandria. - Configuration files are located in the standard system configuration directory.
All tools included in the Client::Tools package require a validalexandria.xmlfile for database and index settings. This file is now located in the standard system configuration directory/etc.In addition, configuration files pertaining tosystemdandinit.dcontrol are located in the directory/etc/alexandria. - Log files are located in standard system logging directory
( /var/log/alexandria ).
By default, this will be/var/log/alexandria/alexandria.log. - Data warehouse updating and SOLR indexing daemons are controlled through
systemdandinit.d.
For CentOS 8 and RHEL 7, the service filesapgupd.serviceandaidxd.servicewill be installed in thesystemdservice file directory toenable,disable,startandstopthe services. For Amazon (amz1), the service filesapgupd.initandaidxd.initwill be installed in/etc/rc.d/init.dto enable standardchkconfigandservicestart, stop, restart and status commands.
Upgrade Paths
- Upgrading Alexandria-Client-Tools from versions earlier than 2.1.1 (non-repository versions):
Please contact support@ificlaims.com. Upgrading Alexandria-Client-Tools from version 2.1.1 and above (repository-controlled versions):
yum update perl-Alexandria-Library yum update perl-Alexandria-Client-Tools
Please note there are two new configuration files
/etc/alexandria/apgupd.confand/etc/alexandria/aidxd.confwhich require editing for appropriate user name and password to interact with the CLAIMS Direct primary update server. See Client Tools documentation for details.
January 2020: On-site citation and family functionality
With the deployment of the cumulative patch alexandria-sql-patch-alpa-3636-20191101, on-site CLAIMS Direct installations gained the ability to utilize family and citation functionality in-house. We are now offering a supplemental patch which will allow bulk loading of the tables needed to support these new functions. The new patch also expands the available functionality to make citation and family data easier to access. The supplemental patch is available through the following link: http://alexandria.fairviewresearch.com/software/patches/alexandria-sql-patch-alpa-3636-x-20191215.tar.gz. For a full discussion of how to use these new functions, see Leveraging On-Site Citation and Family Functionality.
November 2019: Cumulative data warehouse update for on-site installations
We have prepared a new PostgreSQL configuration to ensure that on-site CLAIMS Direct installations are up-to-date and providing optimal performance and reliability. This is a critical update that needs to be applied to all CLAIMS Direct PostgreSQL servers. Features include:
- on-site lookups for forward and backward patent citations
- on-site lookups for simple and extended families
- support for data source attribution notices in order to comply with new data license requirements from some publishing authorities
- changes to
ifi-annotated-contentcontainer - additional
ifi-keywords/ifi-statistical-informationcontainers - critical enhancements and fixes supporting improved data loading
The patch is available through the link below:
Inside the package, there is a README file (README.alpa-3636-20191101) describing patch application as well as notes as to what has been changed. On-site installations must apply this patch before December 1, 2019 to prevent errors in the update process.
September 2019: DTD v2.5 released, CPCI added, and bulk attachments service released
1) We have released v2.5 of the DTD. This release includes the following changes (see the XML DTD and Schemas for more details):
- added CPCI value to schema attribute on
classification-cpc - made
classification-cpcunbounded (*) as child ofclassifications-cpc
2) The EPO has announced that CPC-International will be rolled out starting with the next DocDB data delivery. From week 2019/36 onward all CPC classifications will have classification-scheme=“CPCI”. Classification-schemes “CPC” and “CPCNO” will be discontinued from that week onward. More information about this change can be found in Content Notifications.
3) We are releasing a new bulk attachments web service on September 1. This service is an interface to download attachments in bulk format. It is modeled on the existing XML update service which is used by on-site customers to manage updates to their CLAIMS Direct instance. Please see Bulk Attachments for full details.
July 2019: Soviet Union data added
In July we processed full text data from the former Soviet Union. IFI's collection now includes Author Certificates and Patents from 1924 to 1993.
June 2019: Six new full text countries added
Over the past few weeks we have added full text and PDF files for ARIPO, Bulgaria, Eurasia, OAPI and Romania to our Premium+ collection. Subscribers to either Premium or Premium+ also now have access to full text for Slovakia. Details can be seen in our data coverage table.
May 2019: Full text added for Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia
Full text and PDF files for Czech Republic (CZ) and the former Czechoslovakia (CS) are now available for Premium and Premium+ subscribers, respectively.
May 2019: Kind code changes in Norway and the Netherlands
Following EPO recommendations, we have changed the kind codes of some NL and NO records as follows:
| Country Code | Old Kind Code | New Kind Code |
|---|---|---|
| NL | C | C1 or C2 |
| NO | A | L |
May 2019: Change in CS and CZ document numbers
As announced in April, CS and CZ records changed the format of their patent numbers following DocDB recommendations. Some of the changes included moving the year to the end for CZ publication numbers dating prior to 2000 and suppressing embedded zeroes for CZ publication numbers, applications, and priority numbers dating from 2000 onward. The following table illustrates the changes.
| Country Code | Kind/Year | Old Format | New Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS | A1, A2, A3 | YYnnnnn | (nnnnn)nYY |
| CZ | publications before 2000 | YYnnnnn | (nnnn)nYY |
| CZ | publications from 2000 onward | CCYYnnnn | CCYY(nnn)n |
| CZ | applications and priorities from 2000 onward | CCYYnnnn | CCYY(nnn)n |
The rekey, as initially described by the EPO, would have resulted in collisions. For example:
- CZ-9102003-A3 (published 19930113) would have been rekeyed as CZ-200391-A3
- CZ-20030091-A3 (published 20030618) would have been rekeyed as CZ-200391-A3
To avoid these collisions, the rekeyed ucids of 104 CS records delivered by the EPO match the application number and don't follow the rules above.
April 2019: Referenced images now available in Spanish front file
Beginning in January 2019, image files in our attachment server will include referenced images in TIFF format for ES patents and utility models.
April 2019: Five new full text countries added
Over the past week we have added full text and PDF files for Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Portugal, and Slovenia to our Premium+ collection. Details can be seen in our data coverage table.
April 2019: East German patents added
We have added description, claims and full document PDFs of DD granted patents published by the former East German patent office between 1980 and 2003. This content is available to Premium and Premium+ subscription levels.
March 2019: Canadian PDF backfile extended
Over the past few weeks we have expanded our collection of Canadian PDFs. Although there are still a few gaps, the addition extends our Canadian PDF coverage back to publication year 2000.
Earlier Release Notes
Release notes prior to 2019 can be seen in the Archived Release Notes section.