How to Find Patents
Search the United States Patent and Trademark Office website., Search for other individual countries’ official patent offices., Use a variety of Internet patent sites., Read each search site carefully to understand the scope of your search.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Search the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.
The website for the United States government's patent office lets you search through its patents as far back as
1790.
You can access the search engine for the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office at USPTO.gov and then follow the links to “Patents” and “Patent Search.” -
Step 2: Search for other individual countries’ official patent offices.
If you are interested in searching for patents in a particular country other than the United States, you can search online for the patent office of that country.
For example, the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office site is accessible at IPONZ.govt.nz.The Canadian Intellectual Property Office can be searched at IC.GC.ca., In addition to the official patent offices of the United States and other countries, there is a wide range of other sites on the Internet that you can use to search for patents.
Each of these will have access to different information, so varying your search tools is a good idea.
Some of these are free, but some require payment of a fee to conduct your search.Here are some of the available sites you might try:
Google Patents Thomson-Reuters Patent Web PatentMax.com PatBase.com These sites vary by style as well as content.
You will want to try using different sites to get an understanding of the search tools that work best for you. , Each country that you search will have some limit to the information that it includes on its site.
You need to read the site carefully to understand what your search will include.
For example, when you search the USPTO in the United States, the site identifies that you can find the full text of patents only from 1976 through the present, but that you can find some other limited information that goes back to
1790.A search for Canadian patents will include information for almost the past 150 years. -
Step 3: Use a variety of Internet patent sites.
-
Step 4: Read each search site carefully to understand the scope of your search.
Detailed Guide
The website for the United States government's patent office lets you search through its patents as far back as
1790.
You can access the search engine for the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office at USPTO.gov and then follow the links to “Patents” and “Patent Search.”
If you are interested in searching for patents in a particular country other than the United States, you can search online for the patent office of that country.
For example, the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office site is accessible at IPONZ.govt.nz.The Canadian Intellectual Property Office can be searched at IC.GC.ca., In addition to the official patent offices of the United States and other countries, there is a wide range of other sites on the Internet that you can use to search for patents.
Each of these will have access to different information, so varying your search tools is a good idea.
Some of these are free, but some require payment of a fee to conduct your search.Here are some of the available sites you might try:
Google Patents Thomson-Reuters Patent Web PatentMax.com PatBase.com These sites vary by style as well as content.
You will want to try using different sites to get an understanding of the search tools that work best for you. , Each country that you search will have some limit to the information that it includes on its site.
You need to read the site carefully to understand what your search will include.
For example, when you search the USPTO in the United States, the site identifies that you can find the full text of patents only from 1976 through the present, but that you can find some other limited information that goes back to
1790.A search for Canadian patents will include information for almost the past 150 years.
About the Author
Ann Alvarez
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow creative arts tutorials.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: