Major types of patents include: DESIGN, UTILITY, PLANT and REISSUE Patents.
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.
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
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 2003. The Public Library has all years.]
Index to Manual of Classification of Patents [Available on Web] [Also available in the Engineering Library] 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) (July 2002- ) [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.
Links are provided on the left to the various sections of the eOG:P. Click on the section title to use these pages:
Browse by Class/Subclass page to access patents by a specific classification
Classification of Patents page with links to patents by a range of classifications
Browse Granted Patents page to access a patent by patent number or link to patents by type
Index of Patentees page to browse by names of inventors and assignees in either a cumulative alphabetical index or individual indexes by type of patent. Each patentee listing contains a link to the patent.
Geographical Index of Inventors to link to patents by the state or country of residence of the first listed inventor
Notices page containing the text of important notices for the week
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.
Note: Not all issues of the eOG:P will be maintained on the USPTO Web site due to space limitations.
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 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.
Aerospace & High Technology Database (1962- ) [Available through U.C. on the Web]
Biotechnology Patents (1994-1996)
Chemical Abstracts (1967- ) [Available in the Chemistry/Biology Library]
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.
METADEX (1966- ) [Available on the Web to UC IP addresses]
NASA Patent Abstracts Bibliography (1995/July- ) A semi annual publication of NASA owned inventions. [Available on Web. Requires an Acrobat reader]
NTIS (U.S. Government inventions) [Available through U.C. on the Web]
U.S. Patents Database (1975- ) [Available on Web] From the Community of Science
U.S. Patents Fulltext (1971- ) [Available to OhioLink institutions on the Web] From LexisNexis Academic
RESOURCES FOR IDENTIFYING NON-U.S. PATENT INFORMATION
Canadian Patent Database (1920- )[Available on Web]
Chinese Patent Abstracts (1985- ) (Description available on Web) [Available in the Engineering Library for a fee]
Delphion Intellectual Property Network -- see entry in previous section
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 for each country) The full collection of patent information for sixty 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]
European Patent Office [Available on Web]
European Patents Fulltext (1978- ) (Description available on Web) [Available in the Engineering Library for a fee]
INPADOC (1968- ) [Available in the Engineering Library for a fee]
International Patent Classification System [Available on Web]
JAPIO (1976- ) (Description available on Web) [Available in the Engineering Library for a fee]
Korean Institute of Patent Information (1947- ) [Available on Web]
Other Intellectual Property Office Web Sites [Available on Web]
Patent Abstracts of Japan (PAJ) Japanese Patent Translation Service [Available on Web]
OBTAINING COPIES OF PATENTS
COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS (WASHINGTON, D.C.)[Available on Web]
University Libraries Document Delivery Service
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]
The Inventive Thinking Curriculum Project : An Outreach Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office [Available on Web]
Patent, Copyright & Trademark : A Desk Reference to Intellectual Property Law (Langsam KF2980.M38 1996)
Patent Law [Available on Web]
Patent Fundamentals for Scientists and Engineers (T339.G67 2000)
Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Searching on the Internet (T210.S53 2000)
Patents and Patent Searching, by Alice K. Kawakami, in Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, Summer 1998. [Available on Web]
Patents as Scientific and Technical Literature (T210.W34 1995)
Protecting Your Ideas: The Inventor's Guide to Patents (T339.B92 1999)
Rembrandts in the Attic : Unlocking the Hidden Value of Patents (Ocas T211.R58 2000)
Successful Patents and Patenting for Engieners and Scientists (KF3114.8.E54S83 1995)
Title 35 -- U.S. Code -- Patents [Available on Web]
Title 37 -- Code of Federal Regulations Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights [Available on Web]
Union List of Technical Reports, Standards and Patents in Engineering Libraries (Z7911.M877 1996)
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 UCLID 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 by contacting Richard Kordal, Director of Intellectual Property at 556-4724. Invention Disclosure forms are available online or in the U.C. Intellectual Property Office. Copies of the U.C. Intellectual Property Polices and Procedures Manual are available in the Intellectual Property Office located in Wherry Hall, Suite G-07.