Patents, along with trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights, fall under the heading of intellectual property. Anyone may apply for and be granted a patent provided that their process, product, compound, etc., is new, useful, and nonobvious. Patent information is valuable not just to inventors and scientists. Patent documents often contain information (i.e. structural illustration, chemical properties) that can be applied to other endeavors, such as researching a chemistry or biotechnology topic for a paper.

This pathfinder covers general patent information sources and resources for those seeking patent protection, as well as resources for finding granted patents (know as prior art searching). All of the sources listed can be found or accessed in the IUB libraries.

A good introduction on patents and the history of patent protection and the USPTO can be found in the following:

ZA5055.U6 M67 1999 (MAIN / Government Publications Reference Desk)
Morehead, Joe. 1999. Intellectual Property. In Introduction to United States Government Information Sources Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. pg.333-372.

This source provides a good general background on patents and introduces the reader to some of the sources available for patent searching. The reader should be aware, however, that many of the URLs listed for Internet sites may be inactive, as this book is about three years old. The reader can search for the current websites on Google's Government search engine. They may also be listed in this pathfinder.

QD8.5 .I47 1993 (CHEMISTRY On Reserve)
Eisenschitz, T.S. 1993. Patents. In Information Sources in Chemistry, ed. R.T. Bottle; J.F.B. Rowland. New York: Bowker-Saur. pg.191-211.

Also visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office website for general information on patents and trademarks: www.uspto.gov

There are several books and government publications cataloged in IUCAT. The following are some of the subject headings you can use when searching the catalog:

Intellectual property
Patents
(Subject) Patents (e.g. Chemistry Patents)
Patents United States (or other geographical location)
Patents Classification
Patent Laws and Legislation
Patent Searching
Inventions United States

Searching tips:

• Try keyword searches in addition to subject searches for a more comprehensive search.
• When viewing an individual record, click on the subject heading links for more books on that subject.
• If the book is not available in any of the Bloomington campus libraries, but is at another IU campus library, you can request the book from Interlibrary Loan.

The following books should provide you with an overview of patents and the patenting process. Some are aimed at specific audiences, such as scientists, while others are for a more general audience. The titles are arranged by call number with location in parentheses.

• K1505.4 .C73 1982 (CHEMISTRY; LIFE-SCIENCES)
  Crespi, R. S. Patenting in the Biological Sciences. New York, Wiley. 1982.

• KF3094 .C37 1981 (CHEMISTRY)
  Carr, Fred K. Essentials of the Patent. Chapel Hill, N.C., Patent Information, Inc. 1981.
  

• KF3114.8 .E54 A44 1991b (CHEMISTRY)
  Amernick, Burton A. Patent Law for the Nonlawyer: A Guide for the Engineer, Technologist, and Manager. New York, Chapman & Hall. 1991.
  

• KK2725.9 B63 (CHEMISTRY)
  Boeters, H. D. Handbuch Chemiepatent: Anmeldung, Erteilung und Schutzwirkung Europaischer und Deutscher Patents. Heidelberg, Muller Juristischer Verlag. 1984.
  

• T210 .C37 1982 (CHEMISTRY)
  Carr, Fred K. Searching Patent Documents for Patentability and Information. Chapel Hill, NC, Patent Information, Inc. 1982.
  

• T210 .I53 1992 (MAIN - RCSTACKS; BUSSPEA)
  Auger, C. P. Information Sources in Patents. New York, Bowker-Saur. 1992.
  

• T210 .W44 1995 (MAIN - RCSTACKS)
  Wherry, Timothy Lee. Patent Searching for Librarians and Inventors. Chicago: American Library Association. 1995.

• T211 .G76 1999 (MAIN - RCSTACKS)
  Grubb, Philip W. Patents for Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotechnology: Fundamentals of Global Law, Practice, and Strategy. New York: Oxford. 1999.

• T211 .G78 1986 (CHEMISTRY)
  Grubb, Philip W. Patents in Chemistry and Biotechnology. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1986.
  

• T211 .M39 1991 (CHEMISTRY)
  Maynard, John T.; Peters, Howard M. Understanding Chemical Patents: A Guide for the Inventor. Washington, D.C, American Chemical Society. 1991.
  

• T212 .F336 (CHEMISTRY)
  Fenner, Terrence W.; Everett, James L. Inventor's Handbook. New York, Chemical Publishing Co. 1969.
  

• T339 .G67 1995 (CHEMISTRY; BUSSPEA)
  Gordan, Thomas T.; Cookfair, Arthur S. Patents Fundamentals for Scientists and Engineers. Boca Raton, CRC Lewis. 1995.
  

• T339 .R42 1993 (BUSSPEA)
  Redmon, T. The Inventor's Handbook on Patent Applications. New York, Vantage Press. 1993.
  

The GPD has many resources that may be of help in your research, including the publication below, and other publications such as Congressional hearings. Ask at the reference desk for assistance.

Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office. Published weekly.

• United States Patent and Trademark Office Classification Codes:
  http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification

• World Intellectual Property Organization International Patent Classifications:
  http://www.wipo.int/classifications/en/

• Derwent Classification, Country and Kind, and Assignee Codes:
  Classification Codes: http://www.derwent.com/dwpireference/classification
  Country and Kind Codes: http://www.derwent.com/dwpi/updates/dwpicov/countcpi.html
  Assignee Codes: http://www.derwent.com/dwpireference/company_codes.html
  

• QD9 .P37 1991 (CHEMISTRY)
  Patent Information from Chemical Abstracts Service: Coverage and Content. Columbus, Ohio, Chemical Abstracts Services. 1991.
  

• T210 .D47 1986 (CHEMISTRY)
  The Derwent Guide to Patents. London, Derwent Publications Ltd. 1986.
  

• QD1 .C47 Patent Index (CHEMISTRY REFERENCE)
  Chemical Abstracts Patent Index. Columbus, Ohio, American Chemical Society.
  

• SciFinder Scholar (Chemical Abstracts Services)
  
  - Available on the computers in the Chemistry Library and on all I.U. Library workstations. On Library workstations, go to http://www.indiana.edu/~libfind, then choose SciFinder Scholar from the "Sciences a nd Medicine" database list.

• USPTO Patent Databases
  http://www.uspto.gov/patft/
  

• U.S. Patents database
  http://patents.cos.com
  
  - free searching, bibliographic citation retrieval; pay for full text.

• European Patent Office
  http://ep.espacenet.com
  
  - includes U.S. Patents; full-text.

• Intellectual Property Digital Library (WIPO)
  http://ipdl.wipo.int
  
  - requires user registration (free)

• Delphion Patent database
  http://www.delphion.com
  
  - requires user registration (free); pay-per-use downloading of PDF full-text

NOTE: Online searching for patents is available in the Chemistry Library. Please ask a Chemistry Library staff member for information on obtaining full-text copies of patents.

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Updated: June 2002 by Wendie Shreve