FAQs

What is our mission?

To publish a simple, free, human-readable, open format, for use in communicating patent identification information. We seek to define a minimum viable product for the clear exchange of patent asset lists as typically used in the patent market and communicating lists of patent assets.

What is are main issues SPIF is addressing?

The export from your docketing system probably will not work with someone else’s preferred tool. Similarly, the export of publication numbers from one analytics tool may be unreadable by another tool. Trying to clean up lists of patents to figure out what the actual assets are, and failing to optimize activity because you cannot obtain information from multiple tools, is frustrating and put simply - a waste of time and assets.

What are the key requirements for SPIF?

We have chosen Excel as the initial format because it is a broadly available tool and easily human-readable. We are defining specific columns and the basic format of the rows to reduce variability and increase the chances that the assets listed in the file can be identified successfully.

Where can I access older versions of the standard?

Current version:

0.3.0 - Download

Older versions can be accessed here:

0.2.0 -Download
0.1.1 - Download