Overview
The user interface (UI) was designed to be intuitive. If something seems tedious, you are probably not doing it "naturally". Functions become available when you expect them and are just a click away. Many elements of the UI are clickable and give access to more detail and further functionality.
Upon logging in, you are directed to the dashboard. This page is also reached via the "Dashboard" tab on the top right navigation bar.
This dashboard shows the portfolio status and open tasks for all users, by default. Individual user portfolios can be selected by clicking on the corresponding users in the bottom left card.
- Categories: The top left card shows the different matter categories in the portfolio, and the count in each. Click on a category to display the corresponding list of matters.
From this card you can also create matters. Either click the "+" sign that appears next to a category when hovering the mouse over a category, or in the menu go to Matters->New.
- Open Tasks/Renewals: The most urgent open tasks are listed in the two cards on the right (renewals at the bottom, and tasks other than renewals at the top).
Here you can check the tasks you wish to clear and set the date at which they are cleared.
Clicking on a matter reference opens the matter's detail view.
Clicking on a task brings up a window allowing you to see related tasks and edit them.
The "Everyone" tab displays all the tasks in the portfolio, independently of the users, so that any user can view the tasks of the others to cross-check the deadlines. (This system is meant to be transparent so that anyone can check that deadlines are met.)
Users can view their own tasks by clicking their identifier in the "Users tasks" card.
Moreover, even if tasks are assigned by default to the matter responsible, tasks can be individually assigned to specific users through an assigned_to field of the task. Those tasks are displayed selectively upon clicking the tab with the user's identifier (for the logged-in user), and are also displayed when clicking on a user in the "Users tasks" card. So, for instance, all renewal tasks may be assigned to a renewal manager who is not the matter responsible.
The system can be configured to automatically reassign specific tasks to specific users. This is set in the default_responsible and use_matter_resp fields of the event_name table.
- Users tasks: The bottom left card lists all the users who have open tasks (including reassigned tasks). The numbers represent the open tasks each user has. The date is the most urgent deadline.
This page is reached via the "Matters" menu on the top right navigation bar. The Matter menu offers several items, currently All, Patents, Trademarks, and New. Each item encompasses "similar" IP categories, i.e. Patents also contains provisional applications, utility models, etc., Trademarks also contains designs, Litigation also contains oppositions - this is configurable in the matter_category table.
Clicking on "New" opens a popup window to create a new matter.
- Case reference and UID: Related matters, for instance patents of a same family, should share strictly the same case reference. This is how related matters are grouped in phpIP. If you are used to suffixing case references with a country code and other elements, read on.
The "UID" column displays a unique "human-readable" identifier of the matter, which is the sequence formed by the case reference, the country code, the origin (another country code), the type (divisional, continuation...), and an eventual index. The last two or three elements will be null most of the time, and will thus not be displayed. See the matter table details.
- Filtering: Note that you can type search terms in the "filter boxes" under the header names. The list will be dynamically updated to display only the matters that match the terms you type in the filter boxes. You can type terms in any number of filter boxes to further refine the displayed results - the conditions are ANDed. Except for the title field, the queries performed on the other fields are of the type "starts with...". The dates are therefore displayed in POSIX format (YYYY-MM-DD), so that you can easily filter by year and then month.
If you wish to filter on a term at any position in a field, add the wild character "%" at the beginning of the term.
- Show Containers: By default, this button is not pressed. The whole portfolio is displayed (or all matters corresponding to the item you selected in the "Matters" menu).
Pressing the "Show Containers" button displays only the container matters (identified in the list by the darker rows). A "container" is usually the first matter created in the family - this matter "contains" all the information that can be shared with later created matters in the same family, like the client, inventors, applicants, title...
Preferably, although this is not compulsory, ensure that the container is the matter having the earliest filing date, i.e. the "first filed" matter. You will thus be able to identify your "first filed" matters by simply displaying the containers. (Note however that, in rare circumstances, a family could have multiple containers, for instance if you need to change the inventor list in a CIP patent application, and that the new inventor list is shared with a later filed continuation of the CIP application.)
- Actor/Status View: By default, the display is in "Actor View" mode. This mode displays essentially parties, i.e. the client, the agent, and the first inventor, and title or description. Note that, although only the first inventor is displayed, the search term entered in the filter box operates on all inventors in the patents.
The "Status View" mode displays main event details, such as filing, publication, grant dates and numbers. The publication numbers, when available, link to the application information in Espacenet.
The "Status" column displays the last "status event" of the matter. Events you wish to show as "status events" are configured by setting the status_event flag in the event_name table.
Clicking on a specific matter in the list opens a view of the matter's details in a new window or tab.
This frame gathers all the actors involved in the matter, grouped by roles. You can add as many actors under as many roles as you need. The actor information is summary - mainly their names (or shorter "display names" when they are set in the actor table), and another piece of information you can configure for the role (reference, company, ownership ratio, date). Clicking on the name of an actor opens a modal box with the actor's personal information from the actor table (full name, address, person type, company relationships...). You can directly update the information in that box if necessary.
Clicking on the pen on the role row opens another modal box showing more information relating the actors to the matter, in particular the actor's reference, the actor's company, the ownership ratio, the date (for instance of entry into force of the ownership), and the sharing mode (i.e. if the actor pertains only to the current matter or if the actor is inherited by children matters). Note that the company is copied from the actor table upon adding the actor to the matter - changing the company later in the actor table will not affect this value, which allows tracing the actor's company at the date he was added to the matter. These elements can be changed in place, even the actor identity. If there are multiple actors under a role, this box also allows you to reorder them by drag-and-drop the icon at left.
A "+" sign next to a role name allows you to add an actor to the matter under that role. To add an actor with a new role, use the "Add Actor" button in the actor frame header.
In this place, you enter elements of the matter of these types:
- Title
- Official title
- Alt. title
- English title
- Description
- Trademark
The "Status" frame displays the main events related to the matter, with its name, its date and optionnaly information like number. The filing, publication and grant numbers, when available, link to the application information in Espacenet. Only events which are status events are displayed in this frame. Events you wish to show as "status events" are configured by setting the status_event flag in the event_name table. By clicking on the three points column, you open a popup window which contains all the events. You can edit them or add a new one. When the window is closed, rules to connect new tasks are processed and the tasks frame is updated according to modified or added events.
The "Open tasks" frame displays the tasks which are not yet marked as done. Each task is linked to an event and is created either according to rules after the creation of the related events, or freely by you. The task has a name selected in a list from event_name table. By clicking on the three points column, you open a popup window which contains all the tasks, grouped by events. You can edit them or add a new one. You can also delete an event.
By default, patent renewals tasks are recorded only for France and European applications. You can add rules for other countries. By clicking on the three points column, you can mark a renewal as done, or edit the cost and the fee.
Here you can add information like TM or patent classes, or abstract.
This field can contain any text.
This frame contains all the matters related to the same family. They are designed with the suffix comprising the country, the origin and the index, and can be clicked to open the related page.
You will find here a summary in English or in French of the matter to include in correspondence about this matter. The content goes in your clipboard.
This action create a new matter with a copy of the data of the cloned matter, except events and tasks, and with a new caseref. This new matter claims the priority of the parent one.
This action create a new matter with the same caseref as the parent and inheriting data from it, like actors and classifiers. This action is provided for extension of a matter claiming the priority of the parent.
This action is provided for new matters after a PCT application and validations of a European patent. You can build a list of countries by adding them one by one. A default list is provided, but you can delete countries you are not interested for.
More to come...