Intro/Background

• The links below are to electronic and print resources for patent information and searching.

UCSD Library Resources

• Patent Resource Page - List of resources from the Science & Engineering Library, some of which are restricted to UCSD affiliates.
• Finding Patents - Finding U.S. and international patents by patent number and keyword
• Books and Journals in the UCSD Libraries on Patents and Patenting
• Susan Shepherd, sushepherd@ucsd.edu (858) 534-2480

UCSD Resources

• Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Services (TTIPS)- UCSD's patent and licensing department
• Von Liebig Center - Advisory services and seed funding for commercializing UCSD inventions

US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) Resources

• General Information Concerning Patents- Good overview of patenting basics
• Frequently Asked Questions About Patents (FAQ)
• Search the USPTO patent database- For granted patents and patent applications
• Manual of Patent Classification
• \"Kind\" Codes - What does A1 or B1 mean after the patent number?
• Schedule of Fees - What does it cost to get a patent?

International Patent Resources

• European Patent Office (EPO) Website- General information about the EPO
  • esp@cenet - The EPO patent database - Search worldwide patents
  • EPO Member States - Participating countries in the European Patent Organization
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
  • Patentscope - Search WIPO patent applications
• International Patent Country Codes

Tutorials

• University of Texas Patent Searching Tutorial - Excellent site!
• Patent Tutorial at the University of Central Florida
• esp@cenet Tutorial - How to search esp@cenet, the European Patent Office's online patent database

Other Free Patent Databases

• Google Patents - Google's beta US patent search site
• pat2pdf.org - Free patent printing site (US only)
• Free Patents Online - Full text of U.S. patents back to 1974. Full patent downloads in PDF format.
• Patents.com - Includes full text of US and Eurpean patents.
• Comparison of free patent databases - Librarian blogger Michael White compared 5 free online patent search engines on several search criteria. Bottom line - Beware of Google Patents!

Other Resources

• Lemelson MIT Inventor's Handbook
• Wacky Patents - Who knew?
• Crazy Patents - Ditto

Susan Shepherd's slides for Patents workshop