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Patents & Trademarks
Patents & Trademark searching, U.S. and International
Ear Slippers
Ear Slippers - Patent #190720
Starting a Patent Search for Prior Art
Prior Art is information known publicly before the effective filing date of a U.S. patent application.
Full Patent Databases
- Advanced Google PatentsGoogle Patents covers U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since 1790; European Patent Office (EPO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) since 1978. Also: Basic Google Patents.
- Advanced Google Search: Google PatentsUTSA Library Research Guide
- Patent Public SearchPatent Public Search is the USPTO's primary patents database, containing (a) US patent grants from 1790 to the most recent weekly issue date, and (b) published applications since 2001. Searching applications is important because of the "first to file" principle.
- U.S. Patent & Trademark OfficeUSPTO, a federal agency in the Department of Commerce, includes extensive information on Patents and Trademarks as well as a Patent Tutorial. Obtain copies of forms, information on fee structure and extensive general information on U.S. patents and trademarks. The Patent Full-Text Database is searchable back to 1790. The years 1790-1975 can be searched by class and patent number only.
- European Patent Office (Espacenet)Provides indexing and full text patents and applications from European and other patent offices worldwide, including U.S., Japan, and Germany. (EP, WIPO/PCT, US, GB, FR, DE, JP, and over 70 countries). You can save PDFs of available documents up to a certain page limit. This is the site SciFinder links to for non-U.S. patents. 1836-present
- SciFinder This link opens in a new windowIndexes and cross-references worldwide chemical patents. Note: PatentPak is an add-on workflow tool within SciFinder to enhance access to and analysis of full text patent documents. UTSA does not subscribe to PatentPak functionality apart from 5 free trial uses per user account.
- Nexis Uni (LexisNexis) This link opens in a new windowPatent search available from top drop-down menu.
Reading a Patent
- Patent Front Page DataParts of a patent explained. From Michael White at Queen's University Library.
Basic Patent Info and Patent Office Contacts
- Contact PatentsContact information for USPTO resources accessible at all stages of the patent process.
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