What is a patent?
A patent is a right to the inventor, in exchange for public disclosure, to exclude others from making, selling, importing or using the invention for a limited period of time in the territory for which the right is granted.
There are no "world patents". Application must be filed in each country. Patenting cooperation treaties, such as World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and European Patent Office (EPO), can help to simplify the process.
The invention can be patented only when it is new, inventive and useful. Patents are published so that other people can benefit from the information they contain.
Patents are important resources for research. The Library recommends researchers and students with an interest in patents and intellectual property consult Griffith Enterprise or another source of expertise.
Patent databases
- Google PatentsGood free resource that covers multiple nations.
- IP AustraliaThis site administers intellectual property (IP) rights and legislation for trade marks, patents, design rights and plant breeder's rights in Australia. Search for patent applications, trade marks and registered designs.
- United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe public search tool for patent and patent application information for the United States.
- SciFinder-NFind journals, patents, chemical structures and reactions, and other publications for chemistry, engineering, pharmacy and medicine.
- Espacenetis Europe's network of patent databases. It contains over 60 million patent documents from all over the world. The full text of patent applications and patents handled by the European Patent Office may be searched, as may international patent applications published by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
- PATENTSCOPEThe Patent database of the World Intellectual Property Organization. International patent applications can be found here.
- ScopusScopus indexes patents from the World Intellectual Property Office, European Patent Office, USPTO, Japanese Patent Office, and UK Intellectual Property Office. Look for the Patents Tab in the results screen.
Guides for searching
Refer to the Search for Patents tutorial for instructional videos and other aids. Key points to note when searching for patents include:
- Patents are a combination of a technical document and a legal document. While they must describe an invention in sufficient detail for someone else "skilled in the art" to recreate it, the language used may not be the same language that you would expect in a journal article on the topic. So, a simple keyword search is unlikely to be comprehensive.
- A search by patent classifcation number enhances your search result.
- If you need a comprehensive search to determine if you have a patentable invention, you will ultimately need to consult a professional patent searcher.
