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Guide to Patents
Although the Law and Research Library houses Arizona's regional Federal
Depository Collection and receives some patent related materials through the Federal Depository Library Program, it is NOT a PATENT depository library. There are currently NO patent depository libraries in the state of Arizona. This guide is INFORMATIONAL ONLY and NOT definitive legal authority.
General Information about Patents
- What is a Patent?
from USPTO: What
Are Patents, Trademarks, Servicemarks, and Copyrights?
"A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to
the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office."
There are three types of patents:
from USPTO: General Information Concerning Patents
- "Utility patents may be granted to
anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine,
article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful
improvement thereof;"
- "Design patents may be granted to anyone
who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article
of manufacture; and<"
- "Plant patents may be granted to anyone
who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and
new variety of plant."
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Inventor
Resources site (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/index.htm)
includes a link to a helpful guide to what a patent is and addresses
other questions an inventors and researchers might have.
The USPTO website (http://www.uspto.gov/)
has information:
- if you are interested in learning about patents
- researching “prior art” (similar inventions) back to 1790
- filing your patent application online
- looking at who has the rights to someone else’s patent (assignments)
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Patent searching
- Considering patenting your own invention and want to do a
patent search?
You can now do a preliminary patent search from home or work – anywhere with an internet connection. It is possible to view patents back to 1790 via the USPTO web database:
http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html
HOWEVER, US patents prior to 1976 are only indexed by their current classification number, issue date and patent number. Thus, to find all earlier patents that may be “prior art” or similar to your invention, you will need to learn how to search patents by classification number.
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Patent Searching – Guides
The USPTO has put together The
7-Step U. S. Patent Search Strategy (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/ptdl/step7.htm)
to explain how to do a thorough patent search using the two-part classification number. This enables you to search for earlier, similar inventions by a two-part number. (All U.S. inventions are given a classification number of this type). Searching by classification number is far more thorough than trying to search by keyword. Be prepared to spend some time on your searches!
The Patent Searching tutorial by Andrew Wohrley from Auburn University Libraries will guide you through the 7 step strategy though its geared for Auburn’s libraries. (It is a very large file and takes a long time to load.)
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What about Google™???
- If you’re searching patents for fun and not profit:
Try your luck with Google™’s Patent Search BETA! (http://www.google.com/patents)
- Great for unusual inventor names
- For inventors patenting prior to 1920
- Excellent for easily pulling up images
Try Google™ if you have difficulty with viewing TIFF images and
want to retrieve a patent image quickly (combine a number and a keyword).
- A fun example: Put curtis and “infant garment”
in Google™’s search box
- Use the Advanced Search: Put 223898 in the Patent
Number box and select Jan 1880 in the Issue Date section
NOTE: this search cannot
take the place of a systematic search for prior inventions by classification
if you intend to patent your creation.
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Patent Resources at the State Library
- Online access to the Internet and the USPTO website
This site has the official online Index
to the U.S. Patent Classification and patent images.
- Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office
SuDocs No.: C 21.5 (1872-1971 in remote storage) followed
by later titles (1971-2000 with older issues in remote storage).
- Report of the Commissioner of Patents
in the United
States Congressional Serial Set.
- CD-ROM updates (1994 - 1999)
- DVD updates (2001 - 2004)
- All patent-related publications issued by the U.S. Government
Printing Office (GPO) to Federal Depository Libraries
The Law and Research Library is the Regional
Federal Depository Library for Arizona receiving 100% of the materials
issued by the GPO.
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Patent Resources at other Arizona libraries
NOT patent depositories
Arizona State University has microform back-file reels for design and
utility patents at the Noble
Science and Engineering Library in Tempe, Arizona.
- United States Patents. Designs is the title listed in the ASU Library catalog: It can be found in the Noble Science Library’s Microforms section under the number T 223.U3 U5 FILM
- United States Patents is the title for the utility patents
from 1842 on. It can also be found in the Noble Science
Library’s Microforms section under T 223 .A2 U5 FILM.
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Nearest Patent Depository Libraries
are
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Books on the Patenting Process at Local Libraries
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Inventor’s Assistance: Help and
how to avoid scams for would-be inventors
- Visit the online Inventors
Assistance Center of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
to see inventor assistance SCAMS
to watch out for, read chat questions of other inventors and skim helpful
guides.
- Call the Inventors Assistance Hotline at 800-PTO-9199 (800-786-9199)
or 571-272-1000. Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.(ET).
- See complaints
filed against invention promotion companies and learn why people feel
they have been cheated.
- Meet locally and network with other inventors through the Inventors
Association of Arizona
- Attend local workshops related to patents and marketing from SCORE.
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Finding Historical Patents
Otherwise known as researching great uncle’s wacky inventions,
searching for inventors, or checking out patents from a history perspective:
- See “Finding Historical Patents by Inventor
Name at the Arizona State Library and Archives” (pdf) for
a methodical search of both online and paper resources.
- This handout also includes links to databases of inventors.
For example: a database of female
inventors
- To view early patents in the Serial Set, see “Documents in
the Serial Set Containing Index
of Patents” (pdf).
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Arizona Patent News Stories: Be
inspired by real life Arizona inventors
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Fun with Patents and Trademarks
- Games
and trivia from the USPTO.
- The “Patently
Silly” website (commercial).
- The “Patently Absurd”
website of bizarre British Patents.
-
Sound Trademarks.
- Inventors starting early:
- The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle: & other surprising stories
about inventions by Don L. Wulffson (Cobblehill Books/Dutton),
1997.
- The Kids' Invention Book by Arlene Erlbach (Lerner Publications
Co.), 1997.
- How to Enter and Win an Invention Contest by Edwin J.
C. Sobey (Enslow Publishers), 1999.
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More Information about Patents
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Trademarks in Brief
- What is a Trademark or Service Mark?
from USPTO: Trademark,
copyright or patent?
- "A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design,
or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies
and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those
of others."
- "A service mark is the same as a trademark,
except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service
rather than a product."
- The USPTO Trademarks
website has more information about searching for and filing applications
for service and trademarks.
- USPTO resources related to Conducting
a Trademark Search
- Search or apply for an Arizona trade name:
- via the Secretary of State’s Tradenames
and Trademarks site
- or call Mon – Fri 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (602) 542-6187
- or file in person at 14 North 18th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85007
- Read:
- Trademark: how to name your business & product
by Kate McGrath (Nolo).
- Entrepreneur's Guide to Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Trade
Secrets & Licensing by Jill Gilbert Welytok (Berkley Books),
2004.
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Copyright in Brief
- What is a Copyright?
from USPTO: Copyrights
Basics
- "A Copyright is a form of protection provided
to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary,
dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works,
both published and unpublished."
- For more information:
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Updated: 06/18/2009
