New Product Development:
Preliminary Patent Research on the USPTO
Website
Suzanne L. Reinman ,MILS
Government Information Specialist
Oklahoma State University
501 Edmon Low Library
(405) 744-6546, suzanne.reinman@okstate.edu
www.library.okstate.edu/patents/
You have a new product, technology,
service (or an idea for one)
aka
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New Venture Creation
What are your first steps?
Starting a Business
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Startup: SEARCH to see if your invention or product
already exists
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and potentially protect your ideas (intellectual property)
Planning (business plan)
Financing
Marketing
Employees
Taxes
Legal aspects
Intellectual Property
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Property that can be protected under federal
law and bought or sold
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Patents
Trademarks
Copyrights
Section 8 of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution:
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“Congress shall have Power To promote the Progress of
Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to
Authors and Inventors exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries”
Protection vs. ‘practical’
Intellectual property
(protection from the government issued on paper)
vs.
Business plan, financing, production, marketing
This workshop will:
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Assist you with a preliminary U.S. patent
search via the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office website: http://www.uspto.gov/
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Visit with a registered patent attorney for a professional
search and potential submission of a patent application
Visit with a Small Business Development Center, etc.
Search Patent Literature
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To see if a product has already been
developed
For ideas to improve existing research
For new areas of research
USPTO
ESPACENET: European Patent Office
Preliminary Patent Research
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Search at no charge to determine if an
invention/research has already been patented—lessen
need to proceed through the long, expensive patent
process. (There are 7,500,000+ U.S. patents)
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Even if you don’t decide to take the route of a patent, you
still need to determine if your invention is patented by
someone else before you can produce and market it
Preliminary Patent Research
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Just because it’s not on the shelves at Walmart
doesn’t mean an item hasn’t been patented or
doesn’t exist (there are 7,500,000 U.S. patents)
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4% of what is patented enters commerce as a
product or service
Patents are a key source of technical information
not included in traditional literature searches, etc.
Search Using U.S.
Classifications
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Searching U.S. Classifications (470
subject categories) is critical to a good
preliminary search
Keyword searching will yield incomplete
results (USPTO or elsewhere)
Google Patents?
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Google Patents
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http://www.google.com/patents
Use to identify one or two relevant patents
Offers keyword searching to ‘1776’ versus 1976
(USPTO)
FreePatentsOnline
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http://www.freepatentsonline.com/
**Fine for keyword searches, but not in-depth
preliminary research**
Search U.S. Trademarks
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To see if a name or logo for a company,
good, or service is in use
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USPTO
Preliminary v. Professional
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A search done on the USPTO website for U.S.
patents or trademarks is a PRELIMINARY
search (does not include other countries, etc.)
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Searching is complex and time consuming
Before applying for a patent or trademark,
contact a patent attorney to have a
professional search done (and the application)
The Patent and Trademark Library at OSU
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Part of the USPTO’s Patent and Trademark
Depository Library Program: a nationwide
network of 84 libraries set up to disseminate
patent and trademark information and assist
with preliminary U.S. patent and trademark
research
The Patent and Trademark Library at OSU
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http://www.library.okstate.edu/patents/
501 Edmon Low Library
(405) 744-6546
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Call to make an appointment
Have a complete understanding of how your
invention works
Our Resources
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Trained staff to assist you with the preliminary
search process
Workstations to access full-text of U.S. patents
and trademarks via U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office Web site
Advanced search software from U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office
What is a Patent? (U.S.)
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Provision in Title 35 of the United States Code (U.S.
Law)
Must be a new and useful machine, item of
manufacture or composition
Must be non-obvious, and reproducible by one skilled
in the art
Patent grants the right to exclude others from making,
using, or selling an invention for a period of time, but it
is publicly disclosed
Three types of patents: utility, design, and plant
What cannot be patented?
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An idea: inventions must be reducible to
practice
Laws of nature/naturally occurring articles
Scientific principles
Methods of doing business
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Exceptions: software and Internet methods of
doing business
Utility Patents
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What we think of as a “patent”
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Protect how the item WORKS
Legal language defines the actual parameters of the
protection
Length of protection is 20 years from date of file,
provided maintenance fees are paid
Applications are published 18 months after filing
(American Inventors Protection Act AIPA)
Potential Utility Patents:
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Chemical compositions: toothpaste
Articles of manufacture: tennis ball
Machines: drill
Processes: “Data storage array method and
system”
Stephen McKeever, OSU Physics Dept.
Assigned to the OSU Board of Regents
Current U.S. Class: 250/459.1; 250/484.5
A bimodal method for determining an
unknown absorbed dose of radiation. An
irradiated material is illuminated with
ultraviolet or visible light and the
luminescence which is emitted from the
material is detected. The illuminating light is
pulsed, with pulse widths varying from 1 ns
to 500 ms. The luminescence emission from
dosimetric traps is monitored after a delay
following the end of the illumination pulse.
Design & Plant Patents
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Design patents protect how the item LOOKS
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Less expensive to obtain, protect for 14 years
Plant patents protect a variety of plant such as
roses, begonias, etc.
Patents Worldwide
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Most industrialized countries offer inventors
protection in the form of a patent. Standards
vary from country to country
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If an invention has been patented in one country, it
cannot be patented in another: it has already been
patented in the “world”
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There are international treaties that allow U.S. inventors to obtain
patent protection in other countries if they take certain required
steps (See WIPO, http://www.wipo.org/)
Foreign Patents
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Search foreign patents via the European
Union site
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http://ep.espacenet.com/
Search using the international
classification found on a U.S. patent
Coverage varies by country
Not a complete search
Search Worldwide Patents: Espacenet via European Patent Office
Do you need a patent?
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Patents:
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Are a bureaucratic, complicated venture
Are expensive: average cost $8,000$15,000 and up (U.S.)
Need assistance from a patent attorney to
be successful
Take a while to issue: from the date of
filing, 1.5 to 2 years
Do you need a patent?
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Patents:
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Are a bureaucratic, complicated venture
Are expensive: average cost $8,000$15,000 and up (U.S.)
Need assistance from a patent attorney to
be successful
Take a while to issue: from the date of
filing, 1.5 to 2 years
What is a Federally Registered Trademark?
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Provision in Title 15 of the United States Code
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Word, name, symbol or device that identifies the
good/services of one entity from goods/services of
another in interstate commerce
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Owners of marks may seek federal registration because of
procedural and legal advantages over state and common law
trademark protection (a state trademark protects you in that state
only)
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Protection is indefinite, if fees are paid
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® symbol is for a registered mark. “Tm” and “Sm”
indicate a pending or unregistered Good and Service.
Copyright
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Provision in Title 17 of the United States Code
Protection for creative expression, not the facts
Automatic protection is given to printed works,
software, artwork, photo, video, software and
practically everything on the Internet, once “fixed in
any tangible medium of expression” but register for
more protection ($45 fee)
Duration of protection runs the life of the author, plus
70 years
See the U.S. Copyright Office at the Library of
Congress http://www.copyright.gov/
Trade Secrets
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Patents are published, and eventually protection runs
out
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If something is so essential to a company’s business
that they don’t want anyone else ever to be able to
use it, they keep it as a trade secret and do not
disclose it
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Examples: the formula for Coca-Cola
USPTO Website
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http://www.uspto.gov/
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Basic information about patents and the
patent process
Search issued and pending patents
How to apply for a patent
Fees and payments (see Patent Assistance
Center). (The basic filing fee for a utility patent is
$500.)
File and check status (attorneys)
See also Nolo Press’s title: Patent It Yourself, available
at the Library or via http://www.nolo.com/
Searching U.S. Patents on the USPTO Site
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The complete images of all patents (back to 1790) are
available online ONLY if searching by class/subclass.
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Searching by keyword will ONLY retrieve patents back to 1976
(also inventor, assignee, etc.)
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Site is updated daily
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The full-text of a patent will include “drawings” or “pictures.”
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USPTO requires that the AlternaTiff plug-in be installed to see
drawings (TIFF format) http://www.alternatiff.com/
U.S. and International Classification
Systems
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U.S. and an international classification systems
classify patents by technology groups
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Noted on the first page of a patent
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It is important to determine the appropriate
classes/subclasses for your invention and to examine
all of the patents in those classes/subclasses
There are 470+ U.S. Classes
Find classes applicable to your product/research
Each subclass within the class
contains a list of issued patents
Each subclass meets certain criteria
depending on the hierarchy
To determine where your
invention/research fits in the 470
classes
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Start with a keyword search
Locate applicable patents
Examine their classifications
Search these classifications
Steps to Starting a Patent Search
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1. Start at Google Patents http://www.google.com/patents
2. Click on Advanced Search
3. Think of words that describe your research/invention and type these in the
first box: “with all the words”
4. Look through the list of patents retrieved and locate a patent that is in your
area of research
5. Click on it and then click on “View Patent at USPTO”
6. Note the classes/subclasses on this patent
7. Plug these in at USPTO http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification
8. Click on the red ‘P’ to examine all patents in those classifications
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9. Click on the blue ‘A’ to view applications in those classifications
10. Can also search by Inventor, Location, Date, etc.
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For international patents search Espacenet http://ep.espacenet.com/
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A motorized or automated shade
system for an automobile
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Example keywords
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automatic sun shade vehicle
Google Patents Advanced Search
4. Look through the list of patents retrieved
Click here for official U.S.
patent with images
This is page one of patent no. 6,666,493:
Automatic Sun Visor and Solar Shade System for Vehicles
Use Current U.S. Classes
noted in a patent and go
back and do a thorough
class/subclass search:
296/97.4
296/97.8
Step 7: http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification/
In class 296 Land Vehicles,
97.4 With actuating means for moving
Click on the subclass numbers for definitions or
more information about the subclass.
Click on the red P’s to see the patents in any of
the subclasses. You can view patents back to 1790.
This is the Definition for subclass 97.4, Glare screen or
visor with actuating means for moving in class 264 Land
Vehicles. Note the suggestions for other subclasses to
search.
By clicking on the red P,
this is a listing of the 206
patents in Class 296
Subclass 97.4
Click on the blue A for the
pending patents.
Vehicle with a
Protective Sun Shade
in the Roof
Patent No. 6,536,829
Motor Driven
Sunshield
Patent No. 6,227,601
Search Published Applications
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Once Classes/Subclasses for your
research have been determined,
search Published Applications
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Search Espacenet for foreign patents
Keep a Notebook
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Keep track of your research by keeping a
detailed notebook.
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This will serve as proof of your invention
in court, etc. before and after you file for
a patent.
To easily print a U.S. patent
when you have the number
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Pat2PDF
http://www.pat2pdf.org/
Full-text of U.S. patents in .pdf
Conclusion
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In general ... Patents protect the
invention and how it works.
Patents are available on the Internet,
but are not as easy to search as it
appears.
Thorough patent searching requires
that an appropriate class/subclass be
found and patents in that
class/subclass be examined.