PatBase Reviews

Pros

It really stands out for how fast new publications are added, which makes the research feel much more current and dependable. The platform itself performs quickly and running searches is efficient. One feature I value a lot is being able to combine multiple parameters in a single search command, since that makes it possible to build very detailed research strategies around specific topics. It is also helpful that studies can be saved by search, results or history, that keeps everything better organized. The citation search is particularly strong and useful and the patent class detection wizard gives extra support when working on classification tasks. The analysis tools are a helpful addition and the company tree service is practical as well. Another major benefit is that results are counted by invention family, so filings for the same invention across multiple countries are treated as one result, which makes analysis much clearer.

Cons

This tool has plenty of functionality but those features are distributed across different menus so the interface ends up feeling complex and not very adaptive. A simpler layout would make a big difference, cause right now it can take weeks to learn, which means staff cannot start using it effectively right away. The analysis service also feels fairly superficial, since it is focused mostly on classes and does not provide much deeper insight. Keyword analysis is not strong enough either, it reduces its value for landscape analysis. the analysis tools are not sufficient for identifying empty technical areas and having a dedicated FTO analysis tool would be highly beneficial.