A Markush structure is a type of generic chemical shorthand introduced in 1924 to describe a group of structurally similar substances in patent claims. These chemical structure representations can embody hundreds – even millions – of unique substances. When assessing patentability, freedom to operate and validity, searches must include Markush structures to be truly comprehensive. However, the growing complexity and volume of these generic representations presents challenges for chemical IP searching. In 1990, CAS introduced the MARPAT database, a collection Markush structures intellectually indexed from the world’s patents and patent applications. Today, MARPAT includes more than 500,000 records and is searchable via STNext and SciFinder<sup>n</sup>. In this presentation, we will highlight recent trends in MARPAT content and share techniques for effective searching.

Milestone for Markush searching: Celebrating 30 years of MARPAT

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.