San Diego Public Library Patent and Trademark Resource Center

Patents

What is a Patent?

A patent is an intellectual property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted.

This right was established over 200 years ago in Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution: “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”

For more details, visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s introduction to patents.

How to Get Started

The below listed and downloadable documents will help get you started on your patent research process.

  1. 7 Step US Patent Search Strategy Guide (PDF)

  2. How to Conduct a Preliminary U.S. Patent Search: a Step by Step Strategy (Tutorial Video)

U.S. Patent Search Tools

  1. Patent Public Search –  Patent Public Search was created in 2022 to replace the Pub EAST and Pub WEST systems with a single, more robust online platform that provides the public access to search tools used by patent examiners. 

  2. PAIR – Patent Application Information Retrieval – Get information about a patent application’s status.

  3. Patent Assignment Search – Search for Patent Assignment information beginning August 1980.

  4. Official Gazette for Patents – The Official Gazette for Patents allows you to see patents issued each week and is available online for the past year. You can browse by classification or type of patent.

International Patent Search Tools

  1. Espacenet (EPO) – Search the European Patent Office database.

  2. Patentscope (WIPO) – Search for international patent documents.

  3. Industrial Property Digital Library (JPO) – Search Patent Abstracts of Japan.

  4. Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service – Search Korea’s patent database.

Useful Websites

  1. United States Patent & Trademark Office – Learn about the patent application process. Search for patents and published patent applications. File your own patent application.

  2. USPTO Webinars – Free live webinars offered by the USPTO’s Silicon Valley Regional Office.

  3. Conociendo sobre la Propiedad Intelectual – En el presente site podrá encontrar información relevante sobre todos los aspectos de la propiedad intelectual. Para mayor información u orientación, favor visitar o hacer cita en el Centro de Recursos de Patentes y Marcas de la Biblioteca General del Recinto Univresitario de Mayagüez de la Universidad de Puerto Rico.

  4. European Patent Office – The official website of the European Patent Office (EPO). Find information on applying and searching for patents, legal issues on patents, patent grants, rules and regulations about European and international patent applications.

  5. WIPO – World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO is responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property throughout the world through co-operation among States and for the administration of various multilateral treaties dealing with the legal and administrative aspects of intellectual property.

  6. Japan Patent Office – Learn about intellectual property in Japan.
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