“To America, one schoolmaster is worth a dozen poets, and the invention of a machine or the improvement of an implement is of more importance than a masterpiece of Raphael.” – Benjamin Franklin

“America is a nation that conceives many odd inventions for getting somewhere, but it can think of nothing to do once it gets there.” – Will Rogers

America has always prided itself as a land of innovation, with numbers to back up that claim. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved more than 167,000 utility patents in 2009 – a rate of more than 19 patents an hour, 24 hours a day.

If your work involves patent prosecution or litigation, Westlaw Patents has the content and tools to help you keep pace. And now there’s a quick, easy way to get up to speed on Westlaw Patents content and tools: Short online lessons for our most popular products.

We came up with the eLearning series after hearing a handful of customers confess that they don’t always understand what some of our patent products are intended to do or how to use them. And we took their advice and kept the lessons short and sweet: Most lessons require just 2 or 3 minutes of your time.

To access these lessons, sign on to the West eLearning Center, then click on the Westlaw Patents link on the left side of the page. (It’s the last item in the list.)

We’ve divided the self-paced lessons into two categories – litigation and prosecution – with several choices in each list. Two of the most popular modules include

• Using KeyCite to Verify and Expand Patent Research – Learn how to use KeyCite to go beyond the text of a patent and view its context.
• Searching Markman Orders – Save hours of work and frustration by searching and finding claim construction orders on Westlaw.

And check back later this summer for a new self-paced lesson on Claims Locator, our latest “invention” that will enable you to search for claims without knowing the exact terminology.

More info on Westlaw Patents is available on the West website. And we didn’t invent the quotes above – we found them in Uncle Anthony’s Unabridged Analogies, which is available at a 10% discount to Westlaw Insider readers. Check it out!

Back by Popular Demand!!! Case Notebook Series: Top 5 Things To Get You Started:

• Get the most out of Your subscription
• Learn how to create cases and import documents including transcripts, documents, pleadings and research
• Create issues, characters and key facts
• Annotate and search documents and issue reports

It’s interactive – ask questions along the way!

Register Now: Thursday, March 25th, 2:00 PM CDT

We keep having great response to our West Case Notebook Webinar Series! Please join us once again on March 18th at 2:00 p.m. CDT to learn how West Case Notebook helps you become more efficient during your discovery phase:

• Send documents directly from Microsoft Outlook and Windows Explorer to Case Notebook
• Load large groups of documents
• Create groups

It’s interactive – ask questions along the way!

Register Now: Thursday, March 18th, 2:00 PM CDT

Online legal research took a giant leap forward with the recent introduction of WestlawNext^™. The West eLearning Center has scheduled several lessons and webinars to introduce you to this new product.

Lessons:

You can find the on-demand lessons on the site after you login or create a new account. Topics include:

• The Power of WestSearch
• Finding Documents
• Searching Specific ContentLesson
• Inclusive and Relevant Results
• Viewing Documents
• Document Review Tools

WestlawNext Webinars

Each webinar session lasts 30 minutes. Click on a date below to register.

Top 4 Things You Need to Know about WestlawNext
Find out which features are the “Top 4 Things” that you absolutely have to know about WestlawNext.

• Friday, Feb. 26 – 2:00 p.m. CST
• Tuesday, March 2 – 10:00 a.m. CST
• Wednesday, March 3 – 12:00 noon CST
• Thursday, March 4 – 2:00 p.m. CST

WestSearch: the New Technology behind WestlawNext
Learn how WestSearch^™ will meet you there. This session will show how WestSearch not only delivers the results you’re looking for, but also ranks them by relevance.

• Thursday, Feb. 25 – 10:00 a.m. CST
• Tuesday, March 2 – 12:00 noon CST

Transitioning from Westlaw to WestlawNext
See the new features and compare them to what you’re familiar with in Westlaw.

• Tuesday, Feb 23 – 12:00 noon CST
• Thursday, March 4 – 10:00 a.m. CST

Organize Efficiently with WestlawNext
View WestlawNext workflow tools – such as drag-and-drop functionality, research notes, and project folders – that will change how you organize and access your research.

• Friday, Feb. 26 – 10:00 a.m. CST
• Wednesday, March 3 – 10:00 a.m. CST
• Thursday, March 4 – 12:00 noon CST

WestlawNext has a completely new dashboard, design and functionality. This webinar session will highlight the new features and compare them to what you were familiar with in Westlaw.

3/4/2010 10:00 AM CT

However you want to search, WestSearch in WestlawNext will meet you there. This session will show how Westsearch can sense what you’re looking for – even beyond what you’re asking for – to deliver ranked relevant results. The sessions from West eLearning Center are free and last less than 30 minutes. Sign up to see What’s next:

2/25/2010 10:00 AM CT 3/2/2010 Noon CT

We have had great response to the kick-off of our West Case Notebook Webinar Series! Please join us once again on January 26th at 2:00 p.m. CDT to learn how West Case Notebook helps you manage and organize all the key information to support your motion practice. The webinar will focus in particular on Motion for Summary Judgment in addition to learning how to:

· Search across all your critical documents
· Deposition Transcript Management available
· Organize your key facts and documents
· Organize and KeyCite your legal research

It’s interactive – ask questions along the way!

Register Now: Tuesday January 26th, 2:00 PM CDT

Attend this webinar and you’ll receive a $5 Starbucks Card (while supplies last).

Check out the brand new West eLearning Center site!

Join us on December 16th to kick off our Case Notebook Webinar series. The first in a series of Webinars, you’ll learn about the top five things to get you started in Case Notebook:

• Get the most out of your subscription
• Learn how to create cases and import documents including transcripts, documents, pleadings and research
• Create issues, characters and key facts
• Annotate and search documents
• Issue reports

It’s interactive – ask questions along the way!

Register Now: Wednesday December 16th, 3:00 PM CDT

Attend this webinar and you’ll receive a $5 Starbucks Card (while supplies last).

We have one-hundred West eLearning 2010 magnet calendars to give away before New Years Eve.