10. The method of claim 6 , further comprising: selecting synonyms of the key terms; and translating the key terms and the synonyms from language of the patent into a first foreign language, to obtain translated key terms in the first foreign language; wherein the step of formulating at least one query comprises the step of formulating a first query in the language of the patent to search for data items that include the key terms of the one or more limitations of the first independent claim and the synonyms of the key terms, and the step of formulating a second query in the first foreign language to search for data items that include the key terms of the one or more limitations of the first independent claim and the synonyms of the key terms in the first foreign language, the second query being equivalent to the first query.
10. The method of claim 6 , further comprising: selecting synonyms of the key terms; and translating the key terms and the synonyms from language of the patent into a first foreign language, to obtain translated key terms in the first foreign language; wherein the step of formulating at least one query comprises the step of formulating a first query in the language of the patent to search for data items that include the key terms of the one or more limitations of the first independent claim and the synonyms of the key terms, and the step of formulating a second query in the first foreign language to search for data items that include the key terms of the one or more limitations of the first independent claim and the synonyms of the key terms in the first foreign language, the second query being equivalent to the first query. 11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the step of formulating at least one query comprises the step of formulating a plurality of queries.