Patent Searching for SEAS Students

The reasons to search for patents are numerous, as are the ways to conduct a good patent search. This guide provides a few examples demonstrating how to search for patents, especially as it relates to prior art searching. 

If you have questions please don't hesitate to contact me!

Quick Links:

• Espacenet patent search 
• Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - hierarchy and description
  • CPC scheme and CPC definitions
• Google Patents - not as up-to-date as Espacenet or USPTO databases
  • Searching help for Google Patents
• Pat2Pdf.org - patents are available in PDF format
• Search USPTO Patents and Applications - these are two separate databases PatFT and AppFT 
  • Patent Assignment Search
  • Public Pair (Patent Application Information Retrieval)

Granted patents and some patent applications are freely available from a variety of sources. 

• Google Patents is a good place to start (NOTE: Google Patents does not provide complete patent coverage compared to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and European Patent Office (Espacenet).
• Traditionally librarians have been trained to search the USPTO but I believe using Espacenet is a better way to search for patents.  Espacenet Assistant provides training on search strategies, power tips, background information and more.

Key takeaways:

• Espacenet Advanced Search
• Keyword searching can get you to a few relevant patents, but searching by classification is a MUST
  • in 2015 the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) replaced the United States Patent Classification (USPC) system
• Cooperative Patent Classification - hierarchy and description

General

• Why search for patents? MIT (5 minute video)
• How to read a U.S. patent document - Queen's University Library
• CPC Training - The EPO and the USPTO have jointly prepared CPC training material to support users in their learning process of the CPC classification system.

Searching Espacenet

• Patent Searching Tutorial using Espacenet - great 8-minute video tutorial from the University of Michigan Library
• How to do a patent search - UCF Libraries
• Espacenet Assistant - "This interactive training course offers everything you need to use Espacenet efficiently: search strategies, power tips, background information and more"
  • e-learning centre - free courses from the European Patent Office 

Searching USPTO

• How to Conduct a Preliminary U.S. Patent Search: A Step by Step Strategy - Video from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
• Seven Step Strategy - USPTO

• Patent Searching - tutorial from the University of Minnesota Libraries

Harvard Resources:

• Office of Technology Development (OTD)
  • Protecting Intellectual Property
  • News - each month the OTD provides a list of newly granted patents assigned to President and Fellows of Harvard College 

Miscellaneous:

• Collegiate Inventors Competition - National Inventors Hall of Fame
• Patents: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - see how patent trolls abuse the patent system (YouTube video)