Family Monitoring

Patent families consist of a set of patents filed in different countries _or regions to protect the same invention.
Patent family monitoring involves** tracking and analyzing the patents within a particular family** to gain a comprehensive understanding of the global patent landscape for a specific technology or invention.

By monitoring patent families, businesses can identify the countries or regions where their competitors are seeking patent protection, as well as potential markets for their own inventions. Additionally, patent family monitoring helps businesses identify potential licensing opportunities and monitor potential patent infringement across multiple jurisdictions.
This type of monitoring provides a broader perspective on the global reach and impact of a particular patent and allows businesses to make informed decisions regarding their patent strategies and international market expansion.

How to switch it on

In order to switch on family monitoring for a patent in PATOffice please navigate to an according patent's detail view:



The column on the right side of the detail view is the place where you can actually work with the patent by rating, commenting or adjust monitoring settings.
To activate the family monitoring for the patent, you can simply set the controller "Status" to green. Next to it, on the left hand side you can see the number of tracked patent family members to in relation to all family members. Once new family members are added you will be notified accordingly.
It is then your decision, which of the family members you want to track in the future.



Of course you can always deactivate the family monitoring again by simply setting the controller back to grey.

How do I find an overview of patents with switched on family monitoring?

You can also access your IP rights that you have included in the citation monitoring via your personal dashboard.



All new family member changes, that you should take a look at, can be found here ("New")



All patents that the status monitoring is switched on for can be found here ("Active")



Once you click here, you will be directed to a filtered list in your search console, showing only patents you switch family monitoring on for.

Updated on: 31/05/2023