Patent Information
• Part I – Patent overview & US Patents
• Part II – International & Trademarks
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Intellectual Property
• Copyright (LC)
• Trademarks (USPTO)
• Patents (USPTO)
• Trade Secrets
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Patents
• What is a patent?
• Why search for patents?
• How are searches performed?
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
What is a patent?
• Roots in Constitution of United States
– -Article 1, Section 8, clause 8
• “…to promote the progress of science and the useful
arts…”
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Granted US Patent
• “-…grants to the person having title to this
patent the right to exclude others from
making, using or selling the invention
throughout the United States…”
• Claims define the patent
• Duration
– 20 years from date of application
• Fees
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Patent Application
• Invention must be:
– Useful
– Novel
– Unobvious
• Defined in law 35 USC and court cases
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Patent Application
• Must contain:
– Name of inventor
– Enablement/Best Mode
– Drawing
– A Claim
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Priority
• Date patent application is received by 1 st
patent office.
• For US – provisional application
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Types of Patents
• Utility
• Design
• Plants
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Basic Parts of a Patent
• Title
• Abstract
• Background
• Summary of invention
• Brief description of the drawing
• Detailed description
• Claims
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Patenting process
• Have idea
• Reduce to practice
• Submit application to USPTO
• Wait
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Why search the patent literature?
• Technical information
• Legal Status
• Competitive Intelligence
• Patent family
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Technical Information
• State of the art
• Patentability
• Information
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Legal Status
• Infringement
• Validity, reexamination, fees
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Competitive Intelligence
• In what areas are companies researching?
• Who is inventing what?
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Searching for Information
• Subject
• Bibliographic
• Cited
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
USPTO
• www.uspto.gov
• Classification scheme
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Subject Oriented databases
• Chemical Abstracts
– (STN – structure, Dialog, Questel-Orbit)
• DerWent World Patents Index
– (STN, Dialog, Questel-Orbit
• USPatents Full Text (Dialog, STN)
• Claims
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Searching:
• Chemical – chemical structures
– Chemical Abstracts
– DerWent chemical code
– Markush
• Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical
– Can use words, International Patent Codes
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Bibliographic oriented databases
• Chemical Abstracts
• DerWent World Index
• Inpadoc
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Patent citation index
• Not like Web of Science
• Database of patents cited by applicant and
examiner to justify application
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Patent help
• Patent tutorial
• Patent Information User Group (PIUG)
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Patent information via Internet
• Micropatent
• QPAT
• Chempats plus
• USPTO
• Delphion
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Class exercise
• Fluoxetine
• Method for exercising cat
• Voice interface vehicle navigation
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Some Patents
• In case you think patents are dry:
– USD406614 – boardgame
– US5917146 – fireworks
– Guardian Home Page, Feb 29, 2000 – Poet and
casino waitress – attempting to become first
person to patent herself!
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001
Assignment
• Search SciFinder and find a US patent
• Access the USPTO website and look at the
patent.
– Find the claims
– Find the description
• To access the image, you will need to
download a plugin called AlternaTIFF
March 2001 SLIS/L624 – Spring 2001