Towards content-oriented patent document processing

In this article, we present ongoing work on an advanced patent processing service PATExpert. The central assumption underlying PATExpert is that in order to meet the needs of the users of patent processing services, recourse must be made to the content of patent material. We introduce a content representation schema for patent documentation and sketch the design of techniques that facilitate the integration of this schema into the patent processing cycle. Two types of techniques are discussed. Techniques of the first type facilitate the access to the content of patent documentation provided in a textual format - be it by the human reader or by the machine - in that they rephrase and summarize the documentation and map it onto a formal semantic representation. Techniques of the second type operate on the content representation. At this stage, PATExpert is explored in two technology areas - optical recording devices and machine tools. The work is being carried out in the framework of an R&D-project partially funded by the European Commission. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.