Engineering

A patent is a form of intellectual property right. There are many patenting organizations around the world. In the United States, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) grants patents.

For an invention to receive a patent, it must be "useful," meaning it must function as intended; it must be "novel," meaning that it cannot already have been patented, represented in prior art, or made available to the public; and it must be "non-obvious," meaning that it cannot be a slight change that requires no technical expertise to a prior invention.

Patents grant the right for the patent owner to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. However, patenting organizations do not enforce patents once they have been granted. Enforcement is the responsibility of the patent owner.

There are 3 types of patents:

• Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof

• Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture

• Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant

Questions? Visit the USPTO website at www.uspto.gov.

Source: US Patent and Trademark Office (2015, Dec. 30) General Information Concerning Patents [Online]. Available: http://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-started/general-information-concerning-patents 

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Database includes full text of patents from 1790 - present and also provides TIFF images of most of them.

1. Go to USPTO Database.
   1. By Patent Number
      1. Select Patent Number Search or Publication Number Search.
   2. By Subject
      1. Select Quick Search. Enter keywords in the search box.
      2. Find a patent that is close to what you're looking for.
      3. Note the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) number/Subclass for that patent, e.g. A01D 711/111 .
      4. Do a search of that Class/Subclass in USPTO Database to find more patents on that subject.
2. Go to CPC Classification System Scheme and search for common terms or keywords.
   • Alternately, you can use the WIPO Catchword list for ideas.
   1. Search by Class/Subclass numbers in USPTO Database.
   2. Use the Class/Subclass numbers you found to check the CPC Classification System Scheme to see if they are on target.

See this excellent tutorial from the US Patent and Trademark Office on the patent search process.

This is a helpful guide from the USPTO which uses their 7 Step Strategy with new CPC code system.

Content courtesy of Dave Schmitt's Finding Patents guide from UC San Diego Library. 

The European Patent Office maintains a free database of worldwide patents (including U.S. patents) called Espacenet. Images of patents are provided in PDF format, but can only be printed one page at a time.

1. By Patent Number
   1. Go to Espacenet and enter the patent number (with or without the country code) in the Smart Search box.
   2. All documents with that number will be listed. 
   3. Choose the patent record you are looking for.
2. By Subject
   1. Go to Espacenet Advanced Search page and enter your keywords in the "Title or abstract" box.
   2. Find a patent that's close to what you're looking for.
   3. Note the International Classification number/Subclass for that patent, e.g. H04B1/59.
   4. Do a search of that Class/Subclass in the serch box at the Espacenet Classification Search page to find more patents on that subject.

Content courtesy of Dave Schmitt's Finding Patents guide from UC San Diego Library.