PriorIP is a powerful research website that organizes the world's IP. PriorIP’s advanced algorithms organize the world’s patents into related categories called clusters. These clusters are calculated ahead of time and are based on citation analysis, not textual analysis. When you use our search engine, our visual search results allow you to view the matched patents within their clusters and also view the clusters in a dynamically-generated set of cluster maps that contain all the clusters with matched patents. These maps present an overview of the technical areas containing your search results, allowing you to contextualize the results before viewing their details. Using these clusters you can find related patents, whether or not they contain the words you searched on, allowing you to find results often missed through text-only research tools. The same holds true for our advanced search capabilities. Find patents similar to patents owned by a particular assignee or cross reference IPC and National Class searches against our clusters.

There are two ways to take advantage of our clusters and visualizations; using our search engine, or simply browsing the full network of over 50,000 clusters. Both are explained below.

With regard to searching, on the search results page following a search, select the ’Visualize IP Search Results’ thumbnail image to the right of the search results. You are presented with the Search Cluster Landscape page, which contains a collection of cluster maps, four to a page. The search results are partitioned across the collection of maps. If a search result has 100 patents, the first map might contain 20 patents, the second map might contain 15 patents, and so on. The 20 patents in the first map are all related because the clusters that contain them are related. We know this from the PriorIP algorithms. Select a particular map to zoom into its clusters. To gain access to the patents, use the tabs across the top of the maps.

With regard to browsing, you can also view the content of our clusters in ’browse mode’. Start by searching for an interesting patent and viewing the patent detail page by selecting the link from the search results page. From the patent detail page, select the link on the right side of the page under ’Visually Browse Related IP’. The Cluster Neighborhood Map is presented. The central cluster, containing the just-viewed patent, is colored blue and related clusters are colored gold. To view all patents contained in the blue cluster, select the ’Patents’ tab above the map. To research related clusters displayed in the map, hover the mouse over an interesting cluster. Two choices are presented. View a pop-up window containing summary information about the cluster or re-center the map to the selected cluster.