Often there are links between assets which go beyond the family definition. Maybe it is a contract which relates to a particular patent or, a trademark and a patent which both protect the same product.
It is possible to link and quickly access related families via the "family overview" view in Orbit Asset. It is possible to link 2 families with different types (patent, trademark, design, other or contract). This allows for great flexibility and many possibilities.
To link one family to another, simply go to the "Family Overview" and click on the "Related" tab. On this page, you will be able to see the families already linked and/or add another one. If you link a family to another family, this link will be available for both families. By simply clicking on the reference you will be directed to the linked family.
To remove a link, just click on "Remove link" (the link will be removed in both families).
Tips 1: A priority patent can be linked to several patent or design families, but you do not want to duplicate it. You can link the concerned families together and add in the note a remark about it.
Tips 2 : One or more patent families are linked to a know-how or a software stored in the "Other" section and you want to keep the link. You can link the patent families to this know-how to keep and quickly find the initial documents and information.
Tips 3 : When you add a license agreement in the contract module, it can be interesting to link this agreement to one or several related families (patents, know-how, trademark etc...). It will then be possible to quickly go to the linked families to check the status or have the information that a contract is linked to this asset.
Tips 4 : It is possible to associate a general matter with a trademark or a patent. This can be particularly interesting to manage your oppositions or litigations.