CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, recently completed a major project with The National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) of Brazil to implement an enhanced examination workflow solution for chemistry patent applications using a unique blend of technology, artificial intelligence, data, and expertise. The new solution reduced application examination times by up to 50%, helping the office achieve their goal of clearing 80% of their multi-year application backlog.
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“Overcoming delays in the patent cycle has a significant, positive impact on innovation and economic growth in Brazil. Quickly granting patent rights accelerates investment, because applicants are confident their products will not be copied, which is the inventor’s greatest fear. A structured, predictable and strong IP ecosystem helps ensure investment,” said Gabriel Di Blasi, Founding Partner, Di Blasi, Parente & Associates, of Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil’s rapid growth caused patent application volume to outpace the patent office’s examination capacity. The new, optimized examination workflow uses CAS’s AI technology and eliminates a significant number of examiner search steps, allowing the office to better keep pace with projected application volumes.
“The challenges faced by INPI Brazil reflect the unprecedented demands on patent offices around the world. As the largest economy in Latin America, the imperative to improve patent pendency was clear,” said CAS President Manuel Guzman. “We are proud of the meaningful impact our work with INPI has already achieved and believe this solution provides an excellent starting point to help other patent offices optimize resources and ensure sustainable growth.”
CAS worked with INPI Brazil to tailor a solution to their unique needs. By employing multiple AI algorithms trained with patent office data and the scientist-curated CAS Content Collection™, the approach meaningfully increased examiner productivity. INPI Brazil reported that the CAS solution significantly reduced examiner search times for 77% of national applications processed, and that 29% of national applications processed required little or no additional search.
“Our solution is designed to transform the prior art search process. Chemistry patent applications are very complex, requiring searches of both text and chemical structures within patent and non-patent publications. This is a unique capability of the CAS-designed solution,” said CAS Chief Product Officer Tim Wahlberg.
In 2021, CAS received the Stu Kaback Business Impact Award from the Patent Information Users Group (PIUG) recognizing the solution’s impact on INPI Brazil’s success. The underlying prior art search technology is implemented in CAS’s flagship solutions, STNext® and CAS SciFindern, to support more efficient and comprehensive prior art searching across the innovation journey.