Search filters are found on the left hand side panel in Search cases.

(In case the left side panel is hidden on your screen, it could be because of its size - increase the window width or resize it using CTRL + minus (-))

The filters offer a wide variety of data fields that support Boolean expressions for powerful filtering. The boolean syntax is explained in more detail in this article.

There are different filters which you can choose from: dates, IPC & CPC class, applicant, inventor, data sources, keywords as well as legal status and publication type.

In addition, you can also focus the AI to search in the full specification of the documents or only in the claims (more about it below).

You can choose the relevant date for your search: publication, application or priority date:

A fIlter is added by writing the value of the filter to the corresponding field and pressing Add filter on the right side of the input field. In the example below, the search is limited to documents published on or before 2001-09-25, classified to one or more of the IPC classes G04, G03G and H01A 10 (including subclasses), and being issued by the USPTO or EPO.

Active filters are shown in lime green colored labels below the filter fields and can be removed by clicking the X thereon.

Also, you can exclude search fields through negative filters. In the example below, you want to see all patents excluding the ones having Apple as an applicant. For that you first add "Apple" as an applicant filter and then, upon hoovering above the lime green label you see the stop sign before the word - clicking on it turns the label to red.

The data sources reflect the current data coverage and include the biggest patent databases (US, European Patent Office (EP), WIPO (WO), China, Japan and Korea) always visible and numerous others upon pressing "more".

Using the Keywords filter will let you limit the results to hits containing a required keyword inside their full specification. Separate the synonyms with comma in one filter field (OR logic). Add new fields if multiple keywords are required (AND logic). There is no need to use wildcards - the filter does automatic truncation at the beginning and end of a word.

As an example, using two fields “airplane, aerial vehicle” and "turbine" corresponds to the Boolean expression “(airplane OR aerial vehicle) AND turbine”.

In addition, there is also a filter to exclude keywords - in the example below it corresponds to the boolean expression "NOT ((motor OR engine) AND vehicle)"

You don't need to remember these hints, when you click on "included" or "excluded", you get a helper info:

If you run the search with activated included keyword filter and you don't see the keyword in the shown hit, there can be following reasons for it: the keyword appears in the background section of the document which is not shown or in the description which is shown truncated. The keyword could also be in a family member of the shown hit.

You can also direct the AI to search through the content of claims only, instead of the full specification. The claims search will provide more relevant results for the technology defined in the query graph from risk management or FTO perspective.

You can also filter the results based on the legal status of the documents. There are three options to choose from: ACTIVE, UNKNOWN and INACTIVE (multiple selection allowed). Please refer to our Legal status article for more information.

You can also choose the publication type of the results (APPLICATION and/or GRANT).

Note: We rely on legal status data that we obtain from out data provider (IFI Claims). IPRally takes no responsibility on the accuracy of the data. Please refer to official sources in cases of legal importance.

Zoom to favorites activates an iterative search after you have chosen Favorites and is explained in detail here.

Lastly, in this panel you can choose how many results you want to receive from the search. Depending on how restrictive filters you use, you may receive less hits.

When using filters, remember to press the blue button "Search patents" below them in order to apply them and get the desired results.

You can also change the defaults of the search filters through the User settings->Search settings.