Introduction to Patents and PatentSearching

Susan ShepherdScience & Engineering Library

Patent Resources Guidehttp://libguides.ucsd.edu/patents

Today’s Workshop

What’s a patent?US Patents• Searching the USPTO Database

International patents• Searching esp@cenet

Other patent resources

U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8

“The Congress shall have thepower to promote the progress of

science and useful arts by securingfor limited times to authors and

inventors the exclusive right to theirrespective writings and

discoveries.”

What is a Patent?

An official document, issued by the U.S.Patent & Trademark Office, grantingproperty rights to the inventor or assignee(owner of the patent).Term is generally 20 years from the date ofapplication in the U.S., if maintenance feesare paid.Effective only in the U.S., territories andpossessions.

Rights Granted by Patents

What is granted is NOT the right to make,use, offer for sale, sell or import, but theright to EXCLUDE OTHERS from making,using, offering for sale, selling or importingthe invention.Patents may be licensed by the assignee toanother party.

Types of Patents

Utility Patents - 20 years from filing

• Chemical• Mechanical• Electrical

Design Patents – 14 years from issue

Plant Patents– 20 years from filing

Design Patent Example

Plant Patent Example

Utility Patent Example

What Can Be Patented?

Any new and useful process, machine,manufacture, or composition of matter, or

any new and useful improvement, subject tothe conditions and requirements of the law.

Requirement of “Useful”

The invention has a useful purposeThe invention will operate to performthe useful purpose, i.e. it works.

Requirement of “New”

The invention has not been disclosedbefore (novelty).• In the US, there is a one-year grace period after

public disclosure.

The invention is non-obvious to aperson having ordinary skill in the art.

Conception

Reduction to Practice

Invention Report

(Prior Art Search)

Patentability Decision

Draft Patent Application

From Conceptionto Draft Application

The Patent Application

Description of the inventionOne or more claimsDrawing(s) if necessaryOath or declaration signed by inventorPayment of fee

Provisional Application

Claims not requiredLess expensive to fileIs not examinedEstablishes early filing dateAutomatically abandoned after 1 year,unless “regular” application filed

From Application Filingto Granted Patent or Abandonment

File in USPTO

Assign to Examiner

Examiner’s Prior Art Search

Examiner’s Action

Applicant’s Response

Examiner’s Allowance

US Patent Issues

Abandonment

Minimum Fees Over Patent LifeRegular fee Small entity fee

Filing 300 150

Search 500 250

Examination 200 100

Issue 1400 700

Maintenance

3.5 yrs 900 450

7.5 yrs 2300 1150

11.5 yrs 3800 1900

Total 9400 4700

These fees are minimal compared to the attorney costs toprepare and prosecute the patent.

Sometimes Confused - Trademarks

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol ordesign, or a combination of words, phrases,symbols or designs, that identifies anddistinguishes the source of the goods of oneparty from those of others.Searchable at USPTO websitehttp://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm

Sometimes Confused - Copyright

A copyright protects authors of originalartistic, musical or literary work, bothpublished and unpublished.http://www.copyright.gov/

©

Why Search for Patents?

New and innovative technologiesCompetitive intelligenceBackground on technologies not covered inthe journal literaturePatentabilityFreedom to operate

Studies have shown that up to 80% of all patents containnew information not published elsewhere.

Typical Patent Questions

Inventors looking for patentability• “I have an idea for an invention that I want to patent.”

Technology search• “I want to know what’s happening in the area of ____.”

Freedom to operate search• “I want to be sure my new product or process does not

infringe someone’s patent.”

ClaimsClaims are carefully worded statements thatstake out the boundaries of the invention

Disclaimer

You can ‘search patents’ on the internet, butyou can’t ‘do a patent search.’To ‘do a patent search’ is to legallydetermine the “patentability” of aninvention.Internet searches can’t go back far enoughto examine all public-domain ‘prior art.’

Disclaimer (cont.)

Prior art can be found in books, articles,conference papers, commercialpublications, advertisements as well aspatents.Professionally done patent searchestypically include a variety of databasesusing carefully constructed booleanstrategies and can cost $2000-5000.

Internet Patent Searching

To be comprehensive, you must search byU.S. Patent Classification.Keyword searching can lead you into theappropriate classification code(s).

Patent Title:“Generally spherical object with floppy filaments to

promote sure capture” (1988)

USPTO Web Patent Database

http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.htmlFind it from S&E websitehttp://scilib.ucsd.edu• Online Resources by Type

• PatentsIn order to view images of patent pages, youmust download the AlternaTiff plug-in fromhttp://www.alternatiff.com

Free Patent Printing

www.pat2pdf.orgConverts US patents to PDFCan print or save full document

Google Patents

www.google.com/patentsOver 7 million patentsFrom USPTO collectionUses Google search technologyBeware spelling errors, faulty OCR

Try It Out

Find patents for MP3 players assigned toApple Computer

• Google Patents:http://google.com/patents

International Patents

There are no “world patents”Application must be filed in each countryPatenting cooperation treaties havesimplified the process

World Intellectual PropertyOrganization (WIPO)

Headquartered in Geneva, SwitzerlandAgency of the United NationsAdministers patenting under the PatentCooperation Treaty (PCT)182 member countrieshttp://www.wipo.int/members/en/Searchable databasehttp://www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/

European Patent Office (EPO)

http://www.european-patent-office.orgGrants European patents for contractingcountries to the European PatentConvention (EPC) – currently 31 members• http://www.european-patent-

office.org/epo/members.htm

esp@cenet

http://www.ep.espacenet.comFree web patent database from EPOMore than 50 million patent documentsOver 70 countries and regionsMay be published in German, French,Japanese, or English

Other Patent Resourceshttp://invent.ucsd.edu

UCSD Technology Transfer and Intellectual PropertyServices Website (TechTips)

Downloadable Invention and Technology Disclosure Form

Other Patent Resourceshttp://www.vonliebig.ucsd.edu/

UCSD Von Liebig Center

Advisory services and seed funding toadvance commercialization of discoveries

Patent Resources Guidehttp://libguides.ucsd.edu/patents

Sources Used in this Presentation

Patent Searching Basics – CaseLearnshttp://library.case.edu/ksl/research/subjects/pa

tents/Patents%20-%20CaseLearns.pdfBrian GrayEngineering LibrarianCase Western Reserve Universitybcg8@case.edu

Patents: What You Need to Know aboutIntellectual Property in 30 Minutes orLess

Penny Coppernoll-BlachReference LibrarianBiomedical LibraryUniversity of California, San Diegopblach@library.ucsd.edu

Research US Patents on the Webhttp://library.ucf.edu/GovDocs/PatentsTrademarks/

Research.aspPeter Spyers-DuranUniversity of CentralFlorida

Searching US Patents and Trademarks on theInternet - University of Utah

http://www.lib.utah.edu/govdoc/pto/PTDL4.htmDave MorrisonDocuments and Patent LibrarianDocuments and Microforms Division, Marriott

LibraryUniversity of Utahdmorriso@library.utah.edu

Sources Used in this Presentation(continued)

Gordon, Thomas T. PatentFundamentals for Scientistsand Engineers. Boca Raton:Lewis Publishers, 2000. CallNumber: S&E Stacks T339.G67 2000

Grubb, Philip W. Patents forChemicals, Pharmaceuticalsand Biotechnology :Fundamentals of Global Law,Practice and Strategy. Oxford ;New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 2004. Call Number:S&E Stacks T 211.G76 2004

Wherry, Timothy Lee. Patent Searchingfor Librarians and Inventors.Chicago: American LibraryAssociation, 1995. Call Number:S&E Stacks T 210.W44 1995

Susan Shepherd

Head, Reference, Instruction & Outreach

Science & Engineering Library

University of California, San Diego

sushepherd@ucsd.edu

http://scilib.ucsd.edu