| Elsevier Science has announced that it has widened the scope of its
Scirus search engine to include searches for patents from the databases
of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This extra functionality
is part of a new release of the science-specific search tool. According
to the company, the new version contains enhancements aimed at providing
Scirus users with even greater search options. These include a sort-by-date
function, extra searchable subject areas, and a tool for finding scientific
conferences and abstracts.
Through a linkup with the USPTO, Scirus will now cover more than 650,000
patents. The new release of the search engine contains a tool for searching
the USPTO databases of granted patents and published patent applications.
Information can be gathered on U.S. patents issued since 1976, including
bibliographic data, abstracts, and invention and claims details.
Scirus users can now receive results sorted by date and have four more
subject areas through which to search for information: psychology, language
and linguistics, law, and sociology. Searchers can also use Scirus to find
science-related conferences and abstracts. In addition, the "more like
this" tool has now been set up to provide narrower and more focused results.
Further enhancements to the search engine include improvements to the e-mail
results tool and the FAQs section.
To coincide with the new version of Scirus, Elsevier has launched an
affiliate program that lets Web site owners add the Scirus search tool
to their home pages for free. In exchange for placing Scirus on their sites,
Web site owners get a tailor-made tool for meeting the research needs of
their visitors, thus enhancing the user's experience and encouraging repeat
visits, according to the announcement.
Source: Elsevier Science, Amsterdam,
Netherlands, 011-31-20-485-3851; http://www.elsevier.com. |
