Patent Images - a Glass encased Tool / Opening the case

The paper discusses the problem of patent image retrieval. It describes the issues faced when extracting semantic data of images in patents, as well as an integration framework between the data thus extracted and semantic information extracted from text. Combining the two sources of knowledge is on the wish list of many patent information users, as current systems either search only the textual data, or have extremely limited image processing functionality. In practice in the patent domain, depictions of the product or method are often vital to the understanding of the invention. Yet they are almost completely unsearchable. They are tools enclosed in a glass case, at which we can look, but of which we cannot really make use. The IMPEx Project (Image Mining for Patent Exploration) cracks open this case with a new focus on processing this particular type of images. This paper presents the motivations, status and aims of the project.