Subject Guide for Finding Patents
Contents
IntroductionInformation on Patents
U.S. Patent Databases
Foreign Patent Databases
Depository Libraries
Tutorials: Patent Searching
Introduction
Patents are an inventor's right to own, use, produce, and sell an invention. They protect the individual's creativity and/or originality. They are granted by a given country and enforced by national laws and international treaties.
When applying for a patent, a patentee has to prove that his/her invention is new and useful. Furthermore, he/she must show that a patent for the invention has not been granted before. This, among other procedures, necessitates a thorough search of the existing patent literature.
The Subject Guide to Finding Patents recommends useful sources to the inventor student and faculty member at SDSU, and to anyone who needs to know about patents.
Information on Patents
Patent Classification
Provides access to classification information by class/subclass and gives other classification information. Has search capability.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) Country Codes
Lists two-digit country codes.
WIPO International Classifications
Gives basic information about international classifications, their use, application, and explanatory material. In English and French.
USPTO General Information Concerning Patents
Contains a large number of links explaining patents: what is a patent, patent laws, list of patent attorneys, patent rights,application, etc.
History of Patents
UK History of Patents
Covers the period from the Tudors and Stuarts through the 20th century.
Patent Bibliography
Provides links to the top ten publications on the nature of patents.
U.S. Patent Databases
Chemical Abstracts. Columbus, OH: American Chemical Society, 1907-to date.
QD 1 A51 Storage
Provides access to chemical patent descriptions and images. May search for patents by keywords and patent numbers. Patent descriptions include inventor, owner, dates, international classification, abstract number, and images.
SciFinder Scholar
Available only to SDSU students, staff, and faculty; it is not available to the general public, including walk-in library users. Off-campus access is NOT available at this time. The database is the online version of Chemical Abstracts. Provides access to a large number of journals, patents, dissertations, etc. and offers numerous searching capabilities.
Lexis/Nexis Academic
Provides access to full-text news articles and to business, legal, and reference information. Find patents through power search, Legal and then under Patent. Includes US patents since 1971. May be searched by keywords,patent numbers, assignee, inventor and date.
DOE Patent Databases
A bibliographic database of patents and patent applications owned by DOE, DOE's contractors or assignees. May be searched by keywords, inventor, patent number, dates, etc. Full text is available for some current patent applications.
Fullerene Patent Database
An archive of United States patents concerning fullerenes from 1992 through 1996. Arranged chronologically and by patent numbers. Contains abstracts and for some patents the full text.
IFI Claims Patent Services
A family of databases providing comprehensive information on US patents. Provides broad coverage, in-depth chemical indexing, and reliable company names. Some information included in the files are not available elsewhere. Accessed through STN International, Questel-Orbit and Dialog as FEE searching.
United States Patent and Trademark Office: Patents
The official web page containing information available on US patents and trademarks. Has links to the Classification Index, Manual of Classification, list of Patent Depository Libraries, etc. Contains information on the application process and also on international legal matters.
USPTO Web Patent Databases
Provides web access to issued, full-text patents from 1976, full-page images since 1790, and published applications since 2001.
Patent Fetcher
Provides free access by patent number to all U.S. utility, design and plant patents and all European patents that have images. Patents may be downloaded as a single pdf file.
Foreign Patent Databases
Patent Databases in Different Countries
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) provides a list of different country's patent databases.
Derwent World Patents Index
The database is produced by Thomson Scientific and is a FEE searching database. It provides access to 30+ million patent documents and 14.8+ million inventions from 41 patent-issuing authorities. Includes chemical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, polymer and plastics, and technology patents.
Delphion Intellectual Property Network
A database containing international and U.S. patents. It may be searched by patent number, Boolean logic, Derwent number, industry standards, etc. Delphion is a FEE based database, but searching, browsing, and viewing of patents is free.
Canadian Patent Database
Bibliographic database having two component parts: English and French. For all patents on a topic both should be searched. Provides access to 75 years of patent descriptions and images. May be searched by keyword, patent number, Boolean logic. Patent descriptions include inventor, owner, dates, international classification number, an abstract, and images.
Europe's Network of Patent Databases(esp@cenet)
A collection of patent documents from Great Britain, Europe, and Japan, covering the time period 1836 to the present. Provides access to 60+ million documents, that are mostly patent applications. Gives bibliographic citations, abstracts and images when available, and full text. May be searched by Boolean logic in the following fields: patent number, date, applicant's name, inventor, IPC classification.
Patent Abstracts of Japan (PAJ) Database
A FEE based database
Depository Libraries
United States
Arranged alphabetically by States. Gives full address, telephone and fax number for each library.
- Los Angeles Public Library Has a complete collection of 5+ million U.S. patent documents. It also houses several million patents from all over the world.
- The New York Public Library Provides access to U.S. patents since 1790. The Library's web page links to patents, patent indexes, searching guides, etc.
- San Diego Public Library
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Depository Library (Fogler)
- Federal Depository Libraries
Arranged by cities.
Tutorials: Patent Searching
University of Central Florida Libraries
The University of Texas at Austin McKinney Engineering Library
European Patent Office
University of Utah
Patent Searches
Patent Searching Information Center
