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Using Patent Databases and Finding Patents

An introduction to patent searching, with links to freely available patent databases and suggested search strategies.

Strategies for Searching Patents

When you are ready to explore the patent literature

What you already know and your motivation for searching the patent literature will guide your work:

 

  • By number.  With a patent number or patent application number, finding the document should be not too hard.  It should be just a matter of finding a database with the right content and matching the required format.  Searching Espacenet is a good option.  Doing a regular Google search with the title or patent number is another good way to search.

 

  • Keyword searching is appropriate for exploratory work that can be less than comprehensive or as a strategic approach to classification searching.  Google Patents is a good place to do that. 

 

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