Listen carefully. Can you hear it? That is the sound of a revolutionary change in Westlaw. By Fall 2010 the old Westlaw format will be replaced with the new Westlaw Next.

In brief this new format will offer:

One search box searching (kind of like a certain website that rhythms with Ooogle.)

Improved search results

Easier to read documents with ample white space and spacing

Kindle support, with iPhone and Blackberry support forthcoming

According to Francis Gurry, deputy director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), "'[n]ew centres of innovation—in particular in north-east Asia—are emerging and this is transforming both the geography of the patent system and of future global economic growth.'" Peter Ollier and Emma Barraclough, Meeting Asia's Patent Boom Challenge, MANAGING INTELL. PROP., Mar. 1, 2007.

Creating links to Westlaw and LexisNexis can be tricky. Copying and pasting the long URL will not work. Luckily both Westlaw and LexisNexis have developed solutions for this problem. Information on creating links in LexisNexis is available here and information on creating Westlaw links is available here. Enjoy!

The FORMFINDER-PAT database contains patent-related text forms, fillable PDF forms, clauses and checklists available on Westlaw from numerous national and state form sets, including legal and business, transactional, litigation and pleading and practice forms.

The ABA Journal unveiled exclusive screenshots of the upcoming new versions of LexisNexis and Westlaw.

Both Westlaw and LexisNexis continually evolve each year but the new format of both reflects a revolutionary change based on the format of a certain search engine. (that sounds like Ooogle). Boolean searching (and, and not, or) is no longer necessary to effectively search and the design of both websites is much simplified.  

Read more. . .

Westlaw has implemented a new password system called OnePass. If you have not updated your password you should do so before May 2010.

For additional information on the OnePass system see this webpage or stop by the library. There is also a detailed screenshot by screenshot guide available here.

It is easy to rely only on Westlaw and LexisNexis in law school but there are many many more resources available. Below are three useful, yet overlooked resources that can give you the edge in preparing for class or for practice.

Read more

This month Westlaw rolled out the State trademark court filing rules (TMRULES-XX) database outlining trademark statutes and applicable rules of practice. Individual state materials are found in databases with the identifier TMRULES-XX, where XX is a state's two-letter postal abbreviation. Databases were released for nine additional states (AZ, LA, MN, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX, and WA).

As the library blog migrates to a new format I am reposting the "greatest hits" from the old blog. These entries have been updated with new web links where appropriate and reformatted for the new blog. Think of these entries as catching up with old friends or learning about a resource that you missed the first time.

The entry below was originally published by Roberta Woods on April 9, 2009.