A patentis agovernmentlicensethatgivestheholderexclusiverightstoaprocess,design,ornewinventionforadesignatedperiodoftime. In the U.S. granting a patent means “to exclude others from
making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout
the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for
a limited time.
A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade
with
goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them
from
the goods of others. Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly
similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods
or from
selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark.
Who?
In the U.S., patents and trademarks are issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). U.S.
patents are effective only within the U.S, U.S. territories, and U.S.
possessions. Each country has its own granting institution.At the international level, the licensing process is facilitated by the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), a specialized
agency of the United Nations.
Anyone applying for a patent or registering a trademark or design,
whether at the national or international level, is required to determine
whether their creation is new or is owned or claimed by someone else.
Use as an initial starting point for investigating patents up to those published in the last few months. Google Patents also provides patents in PDF format. For a more comprehensive search, go to the USPTO or other patent offices, such as European Patents.
This is another option for patent searching that allows you to save patents to your account. Fulltext searching of U.S. patents and applications. Set-up a free account to download patents in PDF format and to search chemical patents by structure, substructure and chemical name.
Is one of over 80 U.S. Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries. The Reference Services Department holds a microfilm collection of the fulltext of all U.S. Patents. The Library also maintains current files of registered and pending trademarks.
Describes themselves as providing access to more then 1 million international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications in full text format on the day of publication. Abstracts in English, with full patent image in the language of the inventor's country.
1920-present. Searchable worldwide patents database from the European Patents Office (EPO). Free patent information with fulltext patents.
Search recent patent applications from EP member states; search patents/view images from EPO, France, Germany, Switzerland, U.K., U.S., WIPO; search abstracts, bibliographic data from China, Japan, etc.
Japan Patent Office - Patent Abstracts of Japan (PAJ)1976- present. Search the Patents Abstracts of Japan by keyword, publication number, inventor. Includes legal status information from 1990 forward. Database search page is in English but you must use Emperor's year for years prior to 1999.
