Photo processing for use in patent applications
A method of preprocessing photographic images in the illustrations of patent applications with the aim of reducing information loss during their subsequent copying or scanning in black and white mode for placement in patent databases is proposed.
Photographic images (hereinafter referred to as photographs) are often used as illustrative material in patent applications for inventions, primarily in the fields of chemistry, biology, and nanotechnology. Patent specialists are well aware of the problem associated with the loss of a significant portion of photographic information after their automated processing by the patent office for placement in a patent database.
To reduce the loss of information when copying or scanning in black and white mode, you can use special preprocessing of photos. Such processing includes resizing the image in pixels, enhancing the contrast, gamma correction and stochastic screening. The image size in pixels, if necessary, is changed so that the optical printing resolution is 300 dpi or is a multiple of 300 dpi. Contrast enhancement and gamma correction are performed by an expert method. The type of stochastic screening is chosen experimentally to achieve the best result. If necessary, the processing process can be automated.
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In fig. 1-4, an example of image processing for visual assessment of its effectiveness is presented. Fig. 1 is an original photograph containing 256 shades of gray obtained using an electron microscope. Her printout, made on a laser printer with an optical resolution of 600 dpi, was filed as part of the graphic materials of the international patent application. Then the application materials were processed in the usual way by the patent office. The result of processing obtained from the WIPO patent database is presented in Fig. 2, which clearly shows that as a result of processing by the patent office, the image lost more than 70% of the information visible in the original photo. This is caused by the use of high-speed copying equipment and high-performance scanners that work in automatic mode and are primarily tuned to text images.
Photo from fig. 1, specially prepared for filing with the patent office as part of a patent application, is presented in Fig. 3. The image retained at least 95% of the information of the original photo, the loss of the order of 5% is caused by the narrowing of the dynamic range of the image and are not critical for the perception of information from the illustration. In this form, an illustration can be sent to the patent office in the form of a printout for traditional filing of an application or as a file or part of it in electronic filing.
In fig. 4 shows the photo from Fig. 3 after scanning in black and white mode with a resolution of 300 dpi and with other scanner settings set by default. This mode is usually used to scan text and mixed text-graphic images. In fig. 4 it is clearly seen that despite the binary nature of the image after scanning, it lost no more than 30% of the original photo information and has a much larger information capacity than the photo in fig. 2. Similar results were obtained when photocopying the image from fig. 3 with the default copier settings.
It should be noted that patent offices do not impose particularly stringent requirements for photographs in applications for patents for inventions. The regulations of Rospatent [1] do not contain requirements for the technical characteristics of images in photographs, except for the general requirement for all graphic images regarding suitability for photographic reproduction with a linear decrease in size to 2/3. The requirements for photographs on paper in the Patent Regulations for the Eurasian Patent Convention [2] coincide with the requirements of the Rospatent Regulations [1]. At the same time, Annex No. 2 to the Technical Regulations for the Operation of the EAPO-Online Electronic Exchange System [3] specifies that the drawings should be in PDF or TIFF format, and the documents in both formats should be black and white, and for TIFF format, permission is additionally specified 300 dpi and a type of compression V6.0 CCITT group 4, single strip, Intel encoded (which implies a binary image).
Clause 25 of the Recommendations on WIPO Patent Applications [4] contains a general requirement for graphic materials: “Drawings and drawings should be black and white (images with gray tones should be avoided, since when they are scanned or converted to black and white, this information is lost). Figures should be made with clear lines, the thickness of which should be sufficient for good reproduction at a resolution of 300 dpi. "
Paragraph 5.159 of the PCT Guidelines for an applicant in the international phase [5] provides the following recommendations: “Is it possible to submit photographs instead of a drawing? The PCT does not contain any provisions for photographs. However, their use is allowed if the depicted object cannot be represented by a drawing (for example, crystal structures). If, in exceptional cases, photographs are submitted, they must be black and white, made on A4 sheets, must meet the requirements for minimum field sizes (see paragraph 5.133) and allow their direct reproduction. No color photographs or color drawings are allowed. The photographs are stored at the International Bureau as part of the registration copy. ”
A more liberal position is taken by the European Patent Office. Clause 1.2 of Chapter IX of Part A of the Examination Guidelines at the European Patent Office [6] states: “The European Patent Convention has no special provisions for photographs. However, if a demonstration of an item cannot be provided in a drawing, then the presentation of photographs is permitted, provided that they are directly reproducible and meet the requirements that are set for the drawings (for example, paper size, edge margins, etc.). Color photographs are accepted, but subsequently scanned, printed and made available when checking materials in black and white. If a color image is necessary to distinguish the details in a photograph, it should be borne in mind that these details may be lost when converted to black and white for publication and verification of materials. ” And in paragraph 5.3 of Chapter II of Part F of the Guidelines [6] it is stated: “If the quality of the submitted photographs does not meet the requirements of printing, then the expert should not request the presentation of photographs of better quality, since the risk of violation of art. 123 (2). In this case, the unsatisfactory quality is accepted for reproduction. ”
From the above provisions of the regulatory documents of patent offices, it follows that these departments do not intend to take any action to ensure the preservation of the information in the photographs during their processing. Therefore, the initial representation of photographic images intended for use as illustrations in patent applications, in the form most appropriate for the format of their subsequent storage, would be in the interests of the global patent community, and the proposed special pre-processing can significantly increase the information capacity of photographic images that later appear in patent databases.
Bibliography
1. The administrative regulations of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks on the state function in organizing the receipt of applications for an invention and their consideration, examination and issuance of patents of the Russian Federation in the established manner. Rospatent, 2008 - Patents and licenses. 2009. № 8. S. 17.
2. Patent Regulations for the Eurasian Patent Convention. EAPO, 2012.
3. Technical regulations for the operation of the EAPO-online electronic exchange system. EAPO, 2013.
4. Guide to industrial property information and documentation. Standard ST.22. Recommendations for patent applications aimed at facilitating optical character recognition (OPC). WIPO 2008.
5. PCT Guide for Applicant - International Phase. WIPO, 2011.
6. Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office. EPO, 2012.
This article was originally published in the journal Patent Attorney No. 1, 2014, p. 17-20, and posted here with the kind permission of the journal.
Photographic images (hereinafter referred to as photographs) are often used as illustrative material in patent applications for inventions, primarily in the fields of chemistry, biology, and nanotechnology. Patent specialists are well aware of the problem associated with the loss of a significant portion of photographic information after their automated processing by the patent office for placement in a patent database.
To reduce the loss of information when copying or scanning in black and white mode, you can use special preprocessing of photos. Such processing includes resizing the image in pixels, enhancing the contrast, gamma correction and stochastic screening. The image size in pixels, if necessary, is changed so that the optical printing resolution is 300 dpi or is a multiple of 300 dpi. Contrast enhancement and gamma correction are performed by an expert method. The type of stochastic screening is chosen experimentally to achieve the best result. If necessary, the processing process can be automated.
')
In fig. 1-4, an example of image processing for visual assessment of its effectiveness is presented. Fig. 1 is an original photograph containing 256 shades of gray obtained using an electron microscope. Her printout, made on a laser printer with an optical resolution of 600 dpi, was filed as part of the graphic materials of the international patent application. Then the application materials were processed in the usual way by the patent office. The result of processing obtained from the WIPO patent database is presented in Fig. 2, which clearly shows that as a result of processing by the patent office, the image lost more than 70% of the information visible in the original photo. This is caused by the use of high-speed copying equipment and high-performance scanners that work in automatic mode and are primarily tuned to text images.
Photo from fig. 1, specially prepared for filing with the patent office as part of a patent application, is presented in Fig. 3. The image retained at least 95% of the information of the original photo, the loss of the order of 5% is caused by the narrowing of the dynamic range of the image and are not critical for the perception of information from the illustration. In this form, an illustration can be sent to the patent office in the form of a printout for traditional filing of an application or as a file or part of it in electronic filing.
In fig. 4 shows the photo from Fig. 3 after scanning in black and white mode with a resolution of 300 dpi and with other scanner settings set by default. This mode is usually used to scan text and mixed text-graphic images. In fig. 4 it is clearly seen that despite the binary nature of the image after scanning, it lost no more than 30% of the original photo information and has a much larger information capacity than the photo in fig. 2. Similar results were obtained when photocopying the image from fig. 3 with the default copier settings.
It should be noted that patent offices do not impose particularly stringent requirements for photographs in applications for patents for inventions. The regulations of Rospatent [1] do not contain requirements for the technical characteristics of images in photographs, except for the general requirement for all graphic images regarding suitability for photographic reproduction with a linear decrease in size to 2/3. The requirements for photographs on paper in the Patent Regulations for the Eurasian Patent Convention [2] coincide with the requirements of the Rospatent Regulations [1]. At the same time, Annex No. 2 to the Technical Regulations for the Operation of the EAPO-Online Electronic Exchange System [3] specifies that the drawings should be in PDF or TIFF format, and the documents in both formats should be black and white, and for TIFF format, permission is additionally specified 300 dpi and a type of compression V6.0 CCITT group 4, single strip, Intel encoded (which implies a binary image).
Clause 25 of the Recommendations on WIPO Patent Applications [4] contains a general requirement for graphic materials: “Drawings and drawings should be black and white (images with gray tones should be avoided, since when they are scanned or converted to black and white, this information is lost). Figures should be made with clear lines, the thickness of which should be sufficient for good reproduction at a resolution of 300 dpi. "
Paragraph 5.159 of the PCT Guidelines for an applicant in the international phase [5] provides the following recommendations: “Is it possible to submit photographs instead of a drawing? The PCT does not contain any provisions for photographs. However, their use is allowed if the depicted object cannot be represented by a drawing (for example, crystal structures). If, in exceptional cases, photographs are submitted, they must be black and white, made on A4 sheets, must meet the requirements for minimum field sizes (see paragraph 5.133) and allow their direct reproduction. No color photographs or color drawings are allowed. The photographs are stored at the International Bureau as part of the registration copy. ”
A more liberal position is taken by the European Patent Office. Clause 1.2 of Chapter IX of Part A of the Examination Guidelines at the European Patent Office [6] states: “The European Patent Convention has no special provisions for photographs. However, if a demonstration of an item cannot be provided in a drawing, then the presentation of photographs is permitted, provided that they are directly reproducible and meet the requirements that are set for the drawings (for example, paper size, edge margins, etc.). Color photographs are accepted, but subsequently scanned, printed and made available when checking materials in black and white. If a color image is necessary to distinguish the details in a photograph, it should be borne in mind that these details may be lost when converted to black and white for publication and verification of materials. ” And in paragraph 5.3 of Chapter II of Part F of the Guidelines [6] it is stated: “If the quality of the submitted photographs does not meet the requirements of printing, then the expert should not request the presentation of photographs of better quality, since the risk of violation of art. 123 (2). In this case, the unsatisfactory quality is accepted for reproduction. ”
From the above provisions of the regulatory documents of patent offices, it follows that these departments do not intend to take any action to ensure the preservation of the information in the photographs during their processing. Therefore, the initial representation of photographic images intended for use as illustrations in patent applications, in the form most appropriate for the format of their subsequent storage, would be in the interests of the global patent community, and the proposed special pre-processing can significantly increase the information capacity of photographic images that later appear in patent databases.
Bibliography
1. The administrative regulations of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks on the state function in organizing the receipt of applications for an invention and their consideration, examination and issuance of patents of the Russian Federation in the established manner. Rospatent, 2008 - Patents and licenses. 2009. № 8. S. 17.
2. Patent Regulations for the Eurasian Patent Convention. EAPO, 2012.
3. Technical regulations for the operation of the EAPO-online electronic exchange system. EAPO, 2013.
4. Guide to industrial property information and documentation. Standard ST.22. Recommendations for patent applications aimed at facilitating optical character recognition (OPC). WIPO 2008.
5. PCT Guide for Applicant - International Phase. WIPO, 2011.
6. Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office. EPO, 2012.
This article was originally published in the journal Patent Attorney No. 1, 2014, p. 17-20, and posted here with the kind permission of the journal.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/288414/
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