Conducting a Patentability Search
Take a look at these helpful materials from the US Patent and Trade Office:
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Video Tutorial Overview & Basic Steps
- How to Conduct a Preliminary U.S. Patent Search: A Step by Step Strategy (VIDEO: 43 minutes)
- How to conduct patent searches using the Multi-Step U.S. Patent Search Strategy
Keep in Mind:
- Keyword searching will not provide the full picture! Patent language is not intuitive for the layperson. For example, a bicycle is classified as an "Occupant Propelled Land Vehicle."
- A complete patentability search must consider all prior art, including earlier patents, foreign patents, and non-patent literature.
USPTO Patent Public Search
- Full-text of all US patents issued since January 1, 1976, and full-page images of each page of every US patent issued since 1790
- Updated weekly
- Offers several basic and advanced search options