LibGuides: SS/MGT3650: Patents: Home

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Recent Patent News

Utility Patents in the News: GreatPlate
In which a plate that floats and becomes a flying disc is patented: US9265370B2
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenkey/2019/07/31/how-to-stop-retailers-from-carrying-copycat-products/?sh=2fefcb0f2f31
Design Patents in the News: Skechers Shoes
Skechers and Eliya Fight Over Shoe Design Patents Again
Plant Patents in the News: University of Florida
U.S. blueberry farmers allege that taxpayer-funded University of Florida is helping the competition in Mexico.

Frequently Asked Questions

Top 5 Library FAQ's:

Welcome

This class session is designed to provide a basic overview of US patents, the patent application process, and searching for patents using the USPTO's PatFT database and the EPO's Espacenet database. Use this guide as a reference and please C ontact Us if you need further assistance.

Library Session Materials

Patent Basics and Searching Slides, Spring 2021

USPTO
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Anatomy of a U. S. Patent

PatFT - USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database
This is the USPTO's free, online searchable database of granted U. S. patents. Coverage is from 1790 to the present.
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Patents from 1790 through 1975 are searchable only by Issue Date, Patent Number, and Current US Classification. This database does not contain patent applications or other patent documents.
AppFT
USPTO's free, online searchable database of patent applications.
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This database contains all USPTO published patent applications since March, 2001.

6.5-Step U.S. Patent Search Strategy Guide
A strategy for searching U.S. patents to locate and evaluate relevant prior art.

Espacenet
The EPO's free online service for searching patents and patent applications. Coverage of U.S. patent documents is from 1836 to present.
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The largest public patent database on the internet, Espacenet contains 100 million patent documents from more than 90+ countries including Canada and the U.S., plus 2 million records for non-patent literature cited in European Patent Office search reports.
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) Search
Search the CPC system for classifications that can be used for an advanced patent search.
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All U.S. utility patents and published patent applications are indexed with CPC codes. Only Espacenet provides a platform for searching the CPC system. The USPTO does not currently allow for searching, though users can browse the system.

Other Useful Guides & Databases

Patents & Trademarks
by Michigan Tech Library Last Updated Feb 14, 2023 79 views this year

Types of Patent Applications and Proceedings
The page on the USPTO's site provides links to pages dedicated to filing utility, design, and plant patents as well as useful information about each patent type. Also links to information related to filing provisional patents and filing a new international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Google Patents
Contains PDFs of patents and applications. Google Patents claims to contain all US patents, but 3rd party searches show that patent coverage is not exhaustive.
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Many other databases also index United States patents and applications. If your intent is to conduct a thorough patent search, you should always search multiple databases, as no database will offer 100% coverage.
PatentScope
Patent search engine of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Countries and data ranges included can be found at http://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/help/data_coverage.jsf