Patently Absurd! - Serious info about patents

Links to serious information about patents

Patent Offices etc.

UK Patent Office
European Patent Office
US Patent & Trademark Office
Japan Patent Office
World Intellectual Property Organisation (information about international treaties and conventions, including the Patent Cooperation Treaty - PCT)

General information

(mainly for the UK)

Chartered Institute of Patent Agents - includes how to get patent advice.
www.intellectual-property.gov.uk - the UK Government's home of intellectual property on the Internet.
British Library - Patents Information from the UK's national patent library.
- (includes PATLIB UK - a network of other UK libraries which hold patents)
Inventors Handbook - a step-by-step guide to exploiting your invention, commissioned by NESTA (who also fund the development of inventions). The same authors have written a book, The Business of Invention.
Exploit your ideas - Business Link: practical advice for business.
UK Government support for inventors and small businesses.
Ideas 21 - information, education and networking opportunites for everyone interested in invention and innovation.
The Trevor Baylis Foundation - set up by the inventor of the clockwork radio "to promote the activity of Invention by encouraging and supporting Inventors and Engineers".
Make Sparks Fly - an online forum dedicated to increasing awareness and promoting reform of the intellectual property rights system. Founded by Mandy Haberman, inventor of the Anywayup infants' cup.
Institute of Patentees and Inventors - general advice and support for inventors.
IFIA - International Federation of Inventors' Associations
Information and Resource about intellectual property, from technology transfer company BTG plc.
IPR-Helpdesk funded by the European Commission. Guidance about patents and other intellectual property in EU countries, and EU-funded research.
Ius mentis - information about patents, from a European perspective. Includes a crash course on patents.
Oppedahl & Larson - frequently asked questions, mainly about US law and practice.
UK Patents Act 1977 - a copy incorporating subsequent amendments, plus related UK patent laws and rules.
WIPO's Collection of Laws - copies of national and international laws governing patents and other intellectual property.

Searchable patent databases

Espacenet. Search 45 million patent documents from 71 countries and international organisations. Includes PDF copies of patents from USA, Japan, UK, Europe and other major countries, many back to 1920 or earlier. New user interface now available!
- Introduction
- Access via European Patent Office (new interface)
- Access via UK Patent Office (old interface, likely to be replaced)
- FAQ
- Help - using Espacenet's new interface
- Tutorial - relates to the old interface, but still useful
- Another tutorial - again, relates to the old interface
- Many of Espacenet's options only cover recent patents. Use the "Worldwide" database for patents over 2-4 years old in all countries, except perhaps Japan.
- Data coverage of Espacenet's "Worldwide" database
US Patent Office databases (including full text and images of US patents, though images require a special plug-in)
Delphion Intellectual Property Network - The former IBM search service. Registration required. Most search facilities are now chargeable, but simple searches of US patents are still free.
DEPATISnet - Extensive multi-country searching from the German Patent Office, including patent family searching and PDF copies.
Ilmenau Technical University - Registration required. GlobalPat covers USA, PCT (WO) and major European countries. Also Patent Abstracts of Japan and Patent Abstracts of Russia.
Canadian Patents
German Patents - Subscription required. But if you only want a hitlist, just start searching and use the free guest user ID "besucher" and password "recherche" when requested. Or try Espacenet or DEPATISnet.
PCT - Patent Co-operation Treaty (WO) applications (try also Espacenet)
Patent Abstracts of Japan - Machine translation of the entire Japanese specification now available, for applications since 1993. Find the English abstract, then click on Detail.

Patent Status Enquiries

(get confirmation from the Patent Office concerned and seek professional advice in important cases)

UK Patents (not available 24 hours)
European Patents & Patent Applications:
- view status in the European Patent Register.
- WebRegMT - a tool for monitoring the status of European patent applications. Free email alerts whenever the Register is updated.
- free online inspection and download of file histories of most European patent applications.
- more information about inspection of European patent application files, including a request form for paper copies of files which are not online.
German Patents (Free registration required. Partly in German. Not 24 hours.)
US Patents:
- Online status database (not very easy to use)
- Enquiries by email to MaintenanceFeesInquiries@uspto.gov.
- Maintenance fee customer service at +1 (703) 308 5068 or +1 (703) 308 5069.
- Voice response system at +1 (703) 308 5036 or +1 (703) 308 5037 .
Espacenet (The new interface includes free legal status information from the Inpadoc database, for patents in numerous countries.)
Delphion Intellectual Property Network (The former IBM database, has Inpadoc legal status information. No longer free.)

Sites with listings of other useful links

European Patent Office (links page)
Chartered Institute of Patent Agents (links page)
British Library - Patents Information (links page)
IP Menu (includes lots of country-specific information)
Mayall's IP (Patent) Links (quite a variety, including more about patent databases)
Rossco's Patent Searching (links to patent databases, plus details of data coverage)
Pipers Patent Information Service from New Zealand

(None of the above sites is connected with Patently Absurd!)

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