WARNING: patent searching is extemely complicated. The tools below are useful for exploratory searching or for obtaining specific patents by their numbers.
Introductory material on patents (types, patent law, etc.) may be found at
General
Information Concerning Patents [http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html]
Introduction
to Understanding Patents [http://www.lib.umich.edu/aael/article.php?articleID=129]
LTS
Patent Seminar Overview [http://www.lehigh.edu/library/guides/patentsem.html]
United Inventors Association
[http://www.uiausa.com/] the entire invention, patenting, and marketing process
What
Every Chemist Should Know about Patents PDF document and its Supplement
Appendix
1: Example of a U. S. Patent PDF document
Appendix
2. First U. S. Patent Application Publication PDF document
DEPATISnet Information [http://www.depatisnet.de/]
German and many European countries, as well as US, EP, WIPO, and Japan. Free PDF copies of patents (page-by-page) when available. Simple and complex interfaces; useful for cross-country searching.
esp@cenet [http://ec.espacenet.com/]
European and World (WIPO) patents. Full searching for the current 24 months. Free (page-by-page) retrieval of individual patents by number (PDF format) varies by country; some begin with 1920. Special note: these patents have alphanumeric subcodes, such as EP 1234567 A3, indicating the presence or lack of supporting documentation. Patents.oncloud8.com concatenates the PDF pages into a single file for $0.25 per patent.
Google Patent Search [http://www.google.com/patents]
U.S. patents only as of January 2007. Full-text searchable for all U.S. patents (see the Advanced Google Patent Search Tips for details). Page images are displayed but not downloadable. The USPTO site has a better search interface, but the Google site allows direct searching of the pre-1976 patents by inventor names, assignee (company) names, and keywords, which can't be done with the UPSTO interface.
Japan Patent Office [http://www.ipdl.ncipi.go.jp/homepg_e.ipdl]
Use the PAJ link. Coverage begins with 1976. Free machine translation service beginning about 1994.
SciFinder Scholar [http://databases.lib.lehigh.edu/finder/dbfull.asp?DBID=18]
The link above is to the instructions for obtaining and using the client software for searching Chemical Abstracts. SciFinder Scholar facilitates sophisticated subject searching for chemistry-related patents since 1907. A major advantage of this approach is the multi-country coverage (29 countries and two international organizations). Links to full-text/image sites for free and/or for-fee delivery sites. Software must be installed on user's computer (PC or Mac clients), either by downloading or Install Sofware on public-site computers. Available only to Lehigh users on Campus.
SurfIP [http://www.surfip.gov.sg]
Covers Singapore, Thailand, China, Korea, Taipei, as well as Australian, Canada, European, Japan, UK, US, and World (WIPO). Some are full-text; others are only indexed. Searching and printing patents is free; many value-added links are available for a fee.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office [ http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html ]
U.S. patents. Full-text searching begins with 1976; class code and patent number searching only for earlier years (see Google Patent Search for this function.). Includes the Manual of Classification. Free (page-by-page) full image of patents (from the 1790 beginning); requires installation of a (free) viewer. Free PDF versions of full patents can be obtained at PatentFetcher, subject to limitations. The USPTO site also includes U.S. trademarks database and a link to the Copyright Office.
Getting Copies of Patents
The esp@cenet, SciFinder, and USPTO sites provide full-text and/or image copies of patents, but these may be difficult to print or unsuitable for submission with research proposals, formal patent searches, etc. They also offer only a limited number of countries and/or types. Use this table for options. Alternatives for high-quality prints are:
Document Delivery Service [https://illiad.lib.lehigh.edu/illiad/logon.html]
Lehigh users can order copies of patents using the "Request Other (full text)" form in ILLiad. This method saves the time involved in page-by-page downloading and supplies a good quality print. Copies may be delivered via mail or web, dependig on the ultimate supplier.
Micropatent Patent Delivery Service [ http://www.micropat.com/ ]
$4.95 and up per patent for Web delivery; prices and dates vary (table). User must establish a billing account. Patents are delivered via the Web, via Fax, via express or regular mail. Non-Lehigh users may wish to order patents from this service.
Patent Depository
The nearest Patent Depository is the Free Library of Philadelphia.
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