Patent Basics | Searching for Patents | Journal Databases which Index Patents |
More about Patents and Searching
More about Patents and Searching
this guide in Word
Patent Basics (from IP Australia)
Searching for Patents
To find patents search by number, keyword, personal or organisation name, or by classification (see " More about patents and searching " below). Older patents can often be downloaded freely, but current patents need to be purchased. Useful sources are:
- esp@cenet Europe's network of patent databases provides access to full text patents from Great Britain , Europe , and the World Intellectual Property Organisation . Access to the patent title and abstract from worldwide sources is also available.
- freepatentsonline Access to US and European patents and patent applications.
- Google Patent Search Searches US patents. Does not include very recent patents or patent applications published before a U.S. patent is or is not awarded. Google can search even early patents by keyword whereas USPTO cannot search pre-1976 patents by keyword.
- IP Australia Access to Australian patent information.
- Japan Patent Office Provides English abstracts plus drawings of Japanese patents and patent applications.
- Patent Lens Searchable full-text database of more than 7 million patents and patent applications from World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), European Patent Office (EPO), and IPAustralia. Also integrates INPADOC legal status and patent family information into search results.
- USPTO: United States Patents and Trademark Office Provides full text access to United States patents from 1790 onwards. Published patent applications are available from 2001.
Journal Databases which Index Patents
- Lexis Nexis : Select patent sources by clicking the 'Legal' tab then the 'Patent Law' link.
- Scifinder Scholar For chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacy, pharmacology, chemical engineering and agricultural chemistry. To limit your search to patents, click Filters, then select Patent under Document type.
- Web of Science for a cited reference search. This allows you to find journal articles which have cited a particular patent. Enter the patent number in the Cited Work field or the first listed inventor or patent assignee in the Cited Author field.
More about Patents and 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.
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