Research Guides: Entrepreneurship: Patent Searching

Search for Patents

USPTO Patent Public Search
Access: Public
Geography: US
The Patent Public Search tool is a new web-based patent search application that will replace legacy search tools PatFT and AppFT. Patent Public Search has two user selectable modern interfaces that provide enhanced access to prior art.
USPTO Patent Full-Text & Image Database (PatFT)
Access: Public
Geography: US
Expiring soon! Replaced by USPTO Patent Public search (above). Searchable database of published patents, powered by the US Patent & Trademark Office. (Searches are limited to patent numbers and/or classification codes for pre-1976 patents.)

For patents by a given company, use the company's official name (e.g., Amazon Technologies, Inc.) in the "Assignee Name" field.

USPTO Patent Application Full-Text & Image Database (AppFT)
Access: Public
Geography: US
Expiring soon! Replaced by USPTO Patent Public search (above).Searchable database of published US patent applications. Coverage is from March 2001 to the present; updated weekly.
Espacenet
Access: Public
Geography: US & Global
Espacenet is the largest public patent database on the internet. It contains 110 million patent documents from more than 90+ countries including Canada and the U.S or a total of 100+ patent authorities, plus 2 million records for non-patent literature cited in EPO search reports. Espacenet is produced by the European Patent Office (EPO).
Google Patents
Access: Public
Geography: US & Global
Google Patents includes over 120 million patent publications from 100+ patent offices around the world, as well as many more technical documents and books indexed in Google Scholar and Google Books, and documents from the Prior Art Archive. See instructions for searching Google Patents.

Additional Databases for Engineering Patents

Web of Science: Derwent Innovations Index This link opens in a new window
Access: UCI
Geography: US & Global
Combines unique value-added patent information indexed from various patent issuing authorities for inventions in chemical, electrical, electronic, and mechanical engineering. Ability to search across clearly written patent titles and abstracts that highlight the novelty, use, advantage, and claims of each invention.

Monitor an invention’s influence by using the “Cited Patent Search” tool to find patents that cite a given patent or patents.

Materials Science & Engineering Collection This link opens in a new window
Access: UCI
Geography: US & Global
Includes the renowned METADEX, Copper and Polymer Library databases and provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings and government publications.

Learn this Search: Patent News

The Lens
Access: Public
Geography: US & Global
An initiative of Cambia (an independent non-profit institute), the Lens allows users to discover, analyze, and map global innovation knowledge. Its search system allows for use of advanced Boolean functions, structured search, biological search, and classification search options to find the most relevant and important patents and scholarly works. Analysis tools include mapping the influence of scholarship and identifying experts and collaborators.

To find US companies who own the most patents: Lens.org >> Patents [tab] >> Owners [left menu]
To find the top companies applying for the most patents: Lens.org >> Patents [tab] >> Applicants [left menu]

PatentsView
Access: Public
Geography: US
A patent data visualization and analysis platform that increases the value, utility, and transparency of U.S. patent data. Includes an API tool and bulk data downloads.
USPTO Research Datasets
Access: Public
Geography: US
To advance research on matters relevant to intellectual property, entrepreneurship, and innovation, the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) releases datasets to facilitate economic research on patents and trademarks.
USPTO Open Data Portal
Access: Public
Geography: US
A “Developer Hub” that improves the discoverability, accessibility, and usability of public patent and trademark data. A shareable, and "social" platform, for anyone to showcase unique ways they're using this data, combining it with other data sets, leveraging the power of the crowd to answer questions about trends in technology and innovation, and provide input on other types of data sets that should be released in the future.
Google Patents Public Datasets
Access: Public
Geography: US & Global
A collection of publicly accessible, connected database tables for empirical analysis of the international patent system.

Search Strategies & Tips

Nolo's Patent Searching Made Easy by David Hitchcock
Access: UCI
[eBook]
Learn how to verify the patent status of an idea, search Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries, and use online patent search services. Learn how to assign your idea to the right class, compare it to related ideas, and then determine if it's novel enough to qualify for a patent.

7-Step U.S. Patent Search Strategy Guide
Access: Public
Detailed PDF handout (including examples and screenshots) outlining the Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC)’s suggested procedure for patent searching.
How to Conduct a Preliminary U.S. Patent Search: A Step by Step Strategy
Access: Public
A 38-minute web based tutorial from The Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) Program covering the following topics: benefits of thorough searching, patentability, prior art, Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC), and patent search steps.

Classification Searching

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical system that groups similar patents together (similar to NAICS codes used for grouping companies in the same industry). CPC facilitates searching for "like" patents, regardless of the terminology used to describe the invention.

Example of CPC Scheme:
A46B 9/04 toothbrush bristles arrangement

Level	CPC Code	Description
Section	A	Human Necessities
Class	A46	Brushware
Subclass	A46B	Brushes
Main Group	A46B 9/00	Arrangement of bristles in the brush body
Subgroup	A46B 9/04	... for toothbrushes

Access Key

UCI – Authorized Affiliates
Access requires an active UCInetID and password.

UCI
Access is available to all users physically on the UCI campus.

Remote access is available to users with active UCInetID and password using the VPN.

Public
Access is generally available to all users.

Connect

Electronic Resources:
How to Connect

Connecting FAQs:

Test My VPN Connection

Usage Policy
& Guidance