Why do a patent search?
Conducting a patent search is crucial for several reasons:
- Assess Patentability: It verifies that your invention is new (novel) and non-obvious, which are key requirements for obtaining a patent.
- Avoid Infringement: By identifying existing patents similar to your invention, you can avoid inadvertently infringing on someone else's patent rights, saving you from possible legal disputes and associated costs in the future.
- Gain Competitive Insights: A patent search provides insights into the competitive landscape, revealing what competitors are working on and the technological trends in your field.
Patent Databases
These databases hold patent documents that are released by national and regional patent offices, typically 18 months after the initial patent application filing date or when a patent is issued for the invention claimed by the applicant.
Canadian Patents
U.S. Patents
- USPTO Patent Public SearchFor U.S. patents and published applicatiions
- www.pat2pdf.orgA free patent searching tool. Retrieves pdf copies of US patents.
- Advanced Patent Search (Google)Google Patents includes over 87 million patent publications from 17 patent offices around the world, including the United States.
World Wide Patents
- Espacenet (EPO)This database enables you to search the patent applications published by the European Patent Office over the last 24 months
- The LensFormerly Patent Lens
- PATENTSCOPE (WIPO)By the World Intellectual Property Office, this database includes published International PCT applications in full-text on the day of publication, patent documents from participating national and regional offices, and non-patent literature.
Databases that Index Patents
Several databases index patents as one of their document types.
- Petroleum Abstracts This link opens in a new window
This database is being discontinued by the publisher, effective December 31, 2024