A guide to searching for patents. It is possible to view the full-text, specifications, and drawings of most registered patents. This guide also lists resources that provide information about patent application and registration processes and about patent searching.
- Patent office sites and patent search engines
- Free patents online
- Patent classification schemes
- Web links to patent information
Patent office sites and patent search engines
| Jurisdiction | Patent Office Web Site | Description |
|---|---|---|
Australia |
IP Australia |
Published by IP Australia, this database provides access to published Australian patent applications (AU-A), accepted Australian patents (AU-B) and amended Australian patents (AU-C) from December 1998 onwards. Access is by patent number only. If you do not know the patent number, you will need to search the IP Australia suite of patent databases. |
Canada |
The Canadian Patent Database lets you access over 75 years of Canadian patent descriptions and images. You can search, retrieve and study more than 1,500,000 patent documents. | |
Europe (and beyond) |
European Patent Office (EPO) |
The EPO Web site provides a link to its patent database Esp@cenet. The fulltext of international patent applications filed in the PCT system and published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (as WO patent documents) may also be searched. |
Japan |
Japan Patent Office (JPO) |
JPO provides four "Quick Guides":
The Industrial Property Digital Library (IPDL) offers the public access to IP Gazettes of the JPO free of charge through the Internet. |
USA |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) | Search Capabilities The fulltext of US patents issued since 1976 can be searched. Full-text viewing capabilities The page images of US patents issued since 1976 can be viewed as TIFF images. You will need to install a TIFF viewer such as AlternaTIFF as a web browser plug-in. |
China |
State Intellectual Property Office (English interface) |
Free Patents Online
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Patent Lens | Search and retrieve the full-text of more than 8.9 million patent documents from US, Europe, Australia and WIPO, their status and counterparts up to 70 countries, and over 50 million DNA and protein sequences disclosed in patents. |
| US Patents with an option of viewing in PDF (as well as TIFF) format. | |
| US Patents searchable in full text and available to view in PDF. Note this is still in Beta (developmental) mode. | |
| Get complete U.S. Patent and published Patent Application PDF files after you have performed a patent search. Also you may access all foreign patents and applications for which there are images at the European Patent Office Web site, as a single PDF file. |
Patent Classification Schemes
| Classification scheme | Organisation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| International Patent Classification | World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
|
International Patent Classification Scheme. Useful for Australian and European patent discovery searching. |
| United States Patent Classification | United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) |
Applied to granted US patents and to US unexamined applications. |
Web Links to Patent Information
| Web site | Description |
|---|---|
| British Library : Patent Information | Highly recommended. |
| Franklin Pierce Law Center | Links to many web resources relating to intellectual property. |
| IP Australia Home Page | IP Australia incorporates the Australian Patent, Trade Mark and Design offices. From this site one can search Australian patent databases. A search of PatAdmin, NPS and the ESPACENET databases is necessary to obtain bibliographic information about all patent applications. Failure to search all these databases may mean that a complete search has not been conducted. New Patent Solution (NPS) Database - contains bibliographic information about innovation patent applications filed from 24 May 2001 and all new standard complete, provisional and innovation patent applications having the number format YYYYNNNNNN filed after the implementation of NPS Release 2.1 on 5 July 2002. It also contains information about PCT applications which have designated Australia but which had not yet entered the National Phase when data migration from Patadmin into the NPS system occurred in August 2002. Patent Administration System (PatAdmin) - contains bibliographic data in relation to existing patent applications that have been filed in Australia between January 1979 and the implementation of NPS Release 2.1 on 5 July 2002. In some cases, details of patents filed before January 1979 are also available. Note that a limited number of the data fields can be used for searches. This database does not contain details of any innovation patents and all new standard complete and provisional applications filed from 5 July 2002. Patent Indexing System (PatIndex) - allows you to search Australian patent applications and patents using one or more International Patent Classification marks. Only bibliographic information is available. N.B. PatAdmin and PatIndex are mainframe computer patent databases. You need to download software to access the mainframe databases. A link is to the software is provided on the IP Australia site. Published Australian patent applications (AU-A), accepted Australian patents (AU-B) and amended Australian patents (AU-C) from December 1998 onwards are accessible in fulltext PDF via AU-A, B, C Patent Specifications. Abstracts of published Australian patent applications from 1975 onwards are available on CD-Rom at the state offices. In Brisbane the state office is at 1st Floor, Grant Thornton House, 102 Adelaide Street, Brisbane. (next to King George Square) |
| Patent Information Users Group, Inc. (PIUG), the International Society for Patent Information |
From the Web site: "PIUG is a not-for-profit organization for individuals having a professional, scientific or technical interest in patent information. With the ever increasing volume of patents and related technical documents, the effective retrieval and analysis of patent information has become an essential skill in business. The mission of PIUG is therefore to encourage the development of patent information research and analysis systems, to further develop members' patent research and analysis skills, and to provide appropriate recognition for its members excelling in the field. Through this international forum and discussion, we promote and improve the retrieval, analysis and dissemination of patent information". |
| Rolf Claessen's IP Newsflash: Patent Research, Patents, Trademarks, Intellectual Property | |
| World Intellectual Property Organization |
The site provides information about WIPO, its activities and services; intellectual property including patents; and searchable news and information sources. |
NOTE: The freely available databases listed above should be sufficient for researchers who are looking for the fulltext of most accepted patents and patent applications. If you are a Queensland University of Technology staff member or post-graduate student and it is not available free in fulltext via any of the sites above you may request a patent through the QUT Library's Document Delivery service,
Disclaimer: This guide is intended as a basic guide to searching patents. This guide should not be used as a substitute for the services provided by a patent attorney. QUT Library recommends QUT staff and students with an interest in protecting intellectual property should consult bluebox, QUT’s technology transfer and commercialisation company, for patent searching services and advice.