Patents for Engineering

About Patent Searching

Patents and Patent Searching. The definition, requirements for and types of patents are discussed as well as tools available to access patents. Steps needed to perform a patent subject search are delineated. Includes World Wide Web resources for information on patents and searching access to patents (article by Alice K. Kawakami)

Patent Searching Without Words This article from the newsletter Free Pint explains how to search for patents using classification tools (International Patent Classification - IPC, US Patent Classification - USC, European Classification - ECLA, File Index scheme used by the Japanese Patent Office - FI). This means looking for concepts rather than a mere match of words, and can assist in improving the precision and recall of searches.

Frequently Asked Questions About Patents From the British Library's Patents Information Service.

See also Chemistry Guide to Patent Searching.

Patent Websites

IP Australia is the federal government agency that grants rights in patents, trade marks and designs. The site includes searchable databases of patents. IP Professor contains useful materials for university lecturers, researchers and students in teaching and learning about intellectural property. See also information about the Innovation Patent, a new type of protection option.

esp@cenet Gateway to patents in Europe, Japan and worldwide, provided by the European Patent Organisation through the EPO and the national offices of its members states.

US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) offers access to bibliographic and full-text patent databases. As from March 2001 USPTO also publishes patent applications under the American Inventors Protection Act, a 1999 law making far-reaching changes to the U.S. patent system.

Trilateral Databases of European, Japanese and United States Patent Information (EPO, JPO, USPTO)

Patent Information Users Group - Selected patent and intellectual property sites, providing access to international patent sites from around the world.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is dedicated to promoting the use and protection of works of the human spirit. Of particular interest is the Madrid Protocol for the international registration of trade marks.

Delphion Intellectual Property Network provides free access to a wide variety of data collections and patent information (formerly IBM Intellectual Property Network).