Full-text prior art and chemical structure searching in e-journals and on the internet – A patent information professional’s perspective

In depth analysis of non-patent literature prior art is a crucial step in checking patentability of new inventions and validity of competitor’s patents, since by patent law relevant subject matter disclosed in non-patent literature is as important as any patent document. E-journal articles, as well as any scientific and technical information published on the web are an important source of prior art that is very often insufficiently covered and indexed by commercial databases. This article reviews search and display capabilities of e-journal search sites of different publishers and hosts, as well as their value for full-text prior art analysis to enhance retrieval from commercial databases. Moreover, current developments and future prospects of chemical structure searching both in e-journals and on the internet are discussed.