Family

Family services provide methods for retrieving simple or extended family data.

/family/simple

The simple family service retrieves records which share the same family ID, as assigned by the EPO. Generally, simple families contain all records which share the same priority. IFI CLAIMS assigns a default family ID of -1 if we have not received a family ID from DOCDB. If you see this value, it means either that the record is not available in DOCDB or we have not yet received the DOCDB record. In the latter case, the family id is populated once we receive the DOCDB record. 

Method(s)GET

Path

/family/simple

Parameter
ValuesDescription

@ucidString: ex. US-5551212-AOne or more space or comma-separated ucids. There is a limit of 100 ucids per batch.


Example:

wget -O- -q \
  --header 'x-user:x' \
  --header 'x-password:y' \
'https://cdws21.ificlaims.com/family/simple?ucid=US-5551212-A'


Response JSON

{
   "time" : "0.279944",
   "status" : "success",
   "family" : {
      "members" : [
         "AT-96388-T",
         "AU-636238-B2",
         "AU-8174591-A",
         "CA-2050271-A1",
         "CA-2050271-C",
         "DE-4027762-C1",
         "DE-59100535-D1",
         "DK-0477487-T3",
         "EP-0477487-A1",
         "EP-0477487-B1",
         "ES-2046827-T3",
         "JP-2113465-C",
         "JP-H054613-A",
         "JP-H0825524-B2",
         "NO-913030-A",
         "NO-913030-D0",
         "TR-25401-A",
         "ZA-9106183-A"
      ],
      "family_id" : 6413406,
      "root" : "US-5551212-A"
   }
}


/family/extended

This service retrieves extended families, which include all documents containing one or more of the same priorities. Extended families are generated dynamically by a recursive function that traverses priority data to assemble the complete set of related documents. Unlike simple families, they do not have assigned family ID numbers.

Method(s)GET
Path/family/extended
Parameter
ValuesDescription

@ucidString: ex. US-5551212-AOne or more space or comma-separated ucids. There is a limit of 100 ucids per batch.


Example:

wget -O- -q \
  --header 'x-user:x' \
  --header 'x-password:y' \
'https://cdws21.ificlaims.com/family/extended?ucid=EP-0700000-B1'


Response JSON

{
   "time" : "2.128691",
   "status" : "success",
   "family" : {
      "members" : [
         "DE-69519006-D1",
         "EP-0700000-A2",
         "EP-0700000-A3",
         "EP-0700000-B1",
         "JP-2986075-B2",
         "JP-H0877023-A",
         "US-5581765-A"
      ],
      "root" : "EP-0700000-B1"
   }
}


/family/citations/forward

This service retrieves a unique set of ucids citing each member of the simple family.

Method(s)GET
Path/family/citations/forward
Parameter
ValuesDescription

@ucidString: ex. US-5551212-AUnique character identifier (publication)


Example:

wget -O- -q \
  --header 'x-user:x' --header 'x-password:y' \
"https://cdws21.ificlaims.com/family/citations/forward?ucid=US-5000000-A"


Response JSON:

{
   "citations" : {
      "ucids" : [
         "AU-753879-B2",
         "EP-0576621-A1",
         "EP-0576621-A4",
         "EP-0646645-A2",
         "EP-0646645-A3",
         "EP-0711832-A2",
         "EP-0786523-A2",
; etc.
      ],
      "count" : 346,
      "root" : "US-5000000-A",
      "family_id" : "26932266"
   },
   "time" : "0.202",
   "status" : "success"
}

/family/citations/backward

This service retrieves a unique set of ucids cited by each member of the simple family.

Method(s)GET
Path/family/citations/backward
Parameter
ValuesDescription

@ucidString: ex. US-5551212-AUnique character identifier (publication)


Example:

wget -O- -q \
  --header 'x-user:x' --header 'x-password:y' \
"https://cdws21.ificlaims.com/family/citations/backward?ucid=US-5000000-A"


Response JSON:

{
   "citations" : {
      "ucids" : [
         "EP-0047641-A2",
         "WO-1986001833-A1",
         "WO-1986004357-A1"
      ],
      "root" : "US-5000000-A",
      "family_id" : "26932266",
      "count" : 3
   },
   "time" : "0.187",
   "status" : "success"
}


/family/meta/dn

This service retrieves extended data for every member of the simple family. The available fields for each family member include:

MemberDescription
ucidUnique character identifier (publication)
anucidUnique character identifier (application)
publishedpublication date
filedfiling date
titletitle of document
ifi_statusIFI calculated patent status
ifi_anticipated_expirationIFI calculated expiration date
epo_legal_status

EPO Legal Status

MemberDescription
countryCountry is represented by a standard 2-character code based on WIPO ST.3
impact+ , -, or neutral

title

Description of the legal status code, e.g., LAPSED
code1-4 character code. Legal status codes are country-specific. See  https://www.epo.org/searching-for-patents/helpful-resources/data/tables/weekly.html for more information.
dateDate of public notification (YYYYMMDD), e.g., gazette date
Method(s)GET
Path/family/meta/dn
Parameter
ValuesDescription

@idString: ex. US-5551212-AOne or more space or comma-separated ucids. There is a limit of 100 ucids per batch.


Example:

wget -O- -q \
  --header 'x-user:x' \
  --header 'x-password:y' \
'https://cdws21.ificlaims.com/family/meta/dn?id=US-5551212-A'


Response JSON

{
   "content" : [
      {
         "members" : [
            {
               "ucid" : "AT-96388-T",
               "anucid" : "AT-91111453-T",
               "published" : 19931115,
               "title" : "VERFAHREN ZUR HERSTELLUNG EINER VERPACKUNG FUER STUECKIGES PACKGUT.",
               "filed" : 19910710
            },
            {
               "ifi_anticipated_expiration" : 20110812,
               "anucid" : "AU-8174591-A",
               "filed" : 19910812,
               "epo_legal_status" : [
                  {
                     "country" : "AU",
                     "impact" : "-",
                     "title" : "PATENT CEASED SECTION 143(A) (ANNUAL FEES NOT PAID) OR EXPIRED",
                     "code" : "MK14",
                     "date" : "20000316"
                  }
               ],
               "ifi_status" : "Ceased",
               "ucid" : "AU-636238-B2",
               "title" : "METHOD FOR FABRICATION OF A PACKAGING",
               "published" : 19930422
            },
; etc...