Import Prior Art References from a Spreadsheet

Last published at: July 21st, 2023

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As of March 2018, AppColl now integrates with EspaceNet allowing you to retrieve already filed prior art references for issued matters. Click here for more details. The below process is still available and is necessary for pending matters.


If you maintain prior art references in spreadsheets or other means outside of AppColl, you are able to import them into AppColl using the .CSV spreadsheet file, attached below. Here are the steps:  

  1. In the spreadsheet, fill in the mandatory columns, as indicated in Row 2. The remaining rows are optional, but the more data the better. Please Note: When you paste the data from another source, use Paste Values (Paste Special on Mac), and not just Ctrl-V or Cmd-V. Sometimes odd formatting characters can end up in the file after pasting; Paste Values will remove these potential issues.
  2. Remove Column A and Rows 2-6. Keep Row 1 intact, as this is needed by AppColl.
  3. Important: Save the file as .csv, not .xls.
  4. Go to the Prior Art module within AppColl.
  5. Click the Import CSV link in the upper right corner.
  6. From the popup window, select your .csv file and click the Import button.
  7. AppColl will check the file for any errors. If no errors are found, click the Import button in the left column and you're done.
  8. If there are errors, AppColl will indicate the problems. Repeat the steps until no more errors are reported.

Attachments

Prior Art Import Template.xlsx