Using Patent Databases and Finding Patents

Finding patents associated with an individual or company may help you:

• Understand the work being done by the inventor or company.
• Find patent classifications to advance your work.  You are interested in a type of product and know that it is being produced by Company A.  If you can find Company A's patents, you can see how they are classified, and pursue those classifications.

The patent databases have options for inventor and assignee/applicant (this is where to find company information) searching:

• Espacenet - Advanced Search --- see Names - Applicants and Inventors
• Google Patents - Advanced Search --- see Assignee and Inventor
• From the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, for both granted and applications files --- see Assignee Name and Inventor Name (in the pull-down menus).

Remember to check HELP information if searching doesn't seem to go as you expect.