WHAT IS A PATENT? [Available on web] A patent is a grant by the U.S. government to an inventor (person) of the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling his/her patented invention in the United States for a period of 20 years from the date of application (beginning June 1995) (assuming maintenance fees are paid). It can not be renewed. This right can be sold or licensed to third parties in return for fees and royalties. An invention must be new, useful and unobvious to qualify as patentable.
Major types of patents include: DESIGN, UTILITY, PLANT and REISSUE Patents.
DESIGN Patents [Description on Web] cover the ornamental appearance of an article of commerce only. Items covered by a design patent might also qualify for copyright protection in some cases.
UTILITY Patents cover an article or process and are divided into mechanical, chemical or electrical groups. This is the primary type of U.S. Patent.
PLANT Patents [Description on Web] cover distinct and new varieties of botanical plants invented or discovered and asexually produced.
REISSUE Patents are granted if there is a substantial error or errors in the original patent.
WHY SEARCH PATENTS?
If you are an inventor, you should be aware of relevant prior art in your technology. If you are an entrepreneur, you should monitor your competitors' new products, and where they are patented. If you are involved in applied research, you need to review new and pending patents in your discipline.
Patents are the first place to look. Over 80% of the information contained in recent patent literature is not published elsewhere.
RESOURCES FOR LOCATING INFORMATION ON GRANTED U.S. PATENTS
PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (PTO) RESOURCES [Available on Web]
ASSIST [The Engineering Library has on CD-ROM.] An electronic index for finding patents by the name of the inventor(s) or assignee(s). Contains the electronic version of Classification Definitions, Attorney Roster File, IPC-USPC Concordance, Index to the U.S. Patent Classification, Manual of Classification, and Manual of Patent Examining Procedure.
CASSIS (Classification and Search Support Information System) (1969- ) [The Engineering Library has on CD-ROM. Also available at the Public Library.] An electronic index to the U.S. patent records. Searches can be made by classification numbers, title keywords and abstracts (included for approximately the last two years).
Classification Definitions [Available on Web] Defines the type of product covered by each class and subclass.
Concordance: United States Patent Classification to International Patent Classification Allows conversion from international to U.S. classification numbers and vice versa.
Directory of Patent Depository Libraries [Available on Web]
Fees [Available on Web]
Index of Patents Issued from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (1873- ) [The Engineering Library has 1998. The Public Library has all years.]
Index to the U.S. Patent Classification[Available on Web] An alphabetical index to the Manual of Classification.
Manual of Classification [Available on Web] A numerical listing of all classes and subclasses.
Manual of Patent Examining Procedures [Available on Web]
Official Gazette Notices [Available on Web] [Corrections issued in the Official Gazette for previously issued patents]
Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patents (1876- ) [The Langsam Library has it on microfiche. The Public Library of Cincinnati has all years.] A listing of patents issued each week. It gives a brief description (usually the primary claim) and a drawing for each invention.
Electronic Official Gazette for Patents (eOG:P) (most recent 52 weeks) [Available on Web] The Electronic Official Gazette allows you to browse through the issued patents for the week. The eOG:P can be browsed by classification or type of patent, for example, utility, design, and plant. Specific patents can be accessed by class/subclass or patentee name. A link is provided to the full text of the patent in the USPTO Full Text Database from each bibliographic record. Clicking the "Full Text" button in the upper left corner of the patent record will take you to the full text.
U.S. Patent Full Text Databases (1790- ) (Applications from 3/15/2001) [Available on Web] Search and display the full text content of U.S. patents issued from January 1, 1976 to the most recent weekly issue date. Search patent numbers and current classifications for all patents from 1790 to the present. Display patent images for patents from 1790 to the present. Beginning March 15, 2001, U.S. patent applications are searchable and displayable. Note: in order to view the full page images you will need a G4 TIFF plug-in on your computer. For information on the G4 TIFF plug-in click here .
PATENT TUTORIALS
Patent Searching Tutorial [Available on Web] Prepared by the Richard W. McKinney Engineering Library, the University of Texas at Austin.
Web Patent Searching Tutorial -- Search by Patent Number [Available on the Web] Prepared by the Science and Engineering Library at the University of California, San Diego. This is the first in a series of learning modules about effective patent searching on the Web.
OTHER RESOURCES FOR ACCESSING U.S. PATENT INFORMATION
Aerospace & High Technology Database (1962- ) [Available through U.C. on the Web]
Chemical Abstracts (1967- ) [Available in the Engineering and Chemistry/Biology Libraries]
Delphion Intellectual Property Network (formerly called the IBM Intellectual Property Network; IBM Patent Server) (search U.S. from 1971- ; U.S. images from 1974- ) [Available on Web] A fee based service.
Espacenet : Europe's Network of Patent Databases although listed under the section for non-U.S. patents, this database includes U.S. patents in the .pdf format. It is an excellent source for historical U.S. patents back to 1920.
Freepatentsonline (1976 December- ) [Available on Web] Free access to U.S. patents with images displayable in either AlternaTIFF or PDF formats. Registration is required.
NASA Patent Abstracts Bibliography (1995/July- ) A semi annual publication of NASA owned inventions. [Available on Web]
NTIS (U.S. Government inventions) [Available through U.C. on the Web]
Pat2pdf.org [Available on Web] With US patent number, download pdf format of US patents.
Patent Fetcher [Available on Web] With patent number, download all USPTO and worldwide patents in the pdf format.
RESOURCES FOR IDENTIFYING NON-U.S. PATENT INFORMATION
British Patent Office [Available on the Web] Now found under "Espacenet : Europe's Network of Patent Databases" -- see entry below
Canadian Patent Database (1920- )[Available on Web]
Derwent World Patent Index (1963- ) (Description available on Web) [Available in the Engineering Library for a fee]
Espacenet : Europe's Network of Patent Databases (dates vary by country) The full collection of patent information for eighty countries from the European Patent Office. Most information included is bibliographic . For some major countries the full text of the patent is available while other countries include the full image, too. Countries having fulltext patents in the database include: European Patent Organization, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America, and WIPO. [Available on Web]
Europen Intellectual Property Association The European Intellectual Property Association (EIPAWEB) represents over 100 non-governmental and other not-for-profit organisations interested in protection the intellectual property of all Europeans.
European Patent Office [Available on Web]
INPADOC (1968- ) [Available through the EPO]
International Patent Classification System [Available on Web]
Japanese Patent Office Industrial Property Digital Library [Available on Web]
Other Intellectual Property Office Web Sites [Available on Web]
Patent Lens [Available on Web] Searches the full text of patents for US, World (WO), European (EP), and Australian (AU) patents.
OBTAINING COPIES OF PATENTS
COMMERCIAL FIRMS (some examples: MicroPatent Patent Web, or Delphion/IPN/Micropatent/Optipat)
COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS (WASHINGTON, D.C.)[Available on Web]
University of Cincinnati Libraries Document Delivery Service (ILLIAD)
U.S. PATENT DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES [Available on Web] (For copies of U.S. patents. The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Public Documents and Patents Department [(513) 369-6971] is a U.S. Patent Depository Library. They have copies of U.S. patents from 1790. The Public Library also has European Applications and Patents (EPO) from 1988.
ADDITIONAL READING
Essentials of Patents (T339.G52 2003)
General Information Concerning Patents [Current edition on Web]
Intellectual Property: A Reference Handbook (Langsam KF2979.S39 2007)
Patent, Copyright & Trademark : A Desk Reference to Intellectual Property Law (Raymond Walters KF2980.E44 2004)
Patent Law [Available on Web]
Patent Searching Tools and Techniques (T210.P38 2007 stacks)
Rembrandts in the Attic : Unlocking the Hidden Value of Patents (OCAS T211.R58 2000)
Title 35 -- U.S. Code -- Patents [Available on Web]
Title 37 -- Code of Federal Regulations Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights [Available on Web]
Useful Patent Internet Sites [Available on Web]
Where to Find Patent Information on the Internet [Available on Web]
World Patent Information [Available to OhioLINK institutions on Web]The U.C. Law Library has additional information dealing with patents. Check the UC Library Catalog for titles and call numbers.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
University of Cincinnati faculty, staff, and students can get more information on the actual U.C. policies and the process of obtaining a patent on a U.C. sponsored invention the U.C. Intellectual Property Office.