How to Do a US Patent Search

If you've ever wanted to patent an invention or idea, you should check the US Patent and Trademark Office online database to see if it's already been patented. The database includes patents from 1790 to the present, and it's pretty easy to search, given the vast extent of information it contains.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Open your web browser and go to the US Patent and Trademark Office's website at http://www.uspto.gov/.
2. Look at the list of links beneath the large title banner. To the far right of the page there should be one called "Resources." Click on it.
3. In the field labeled "USPTO Search Collections" click on the link to "Patents."
4. Perform a simple patent search by clicking on the Quick Search link and entering some words associated with the patent you're trying to find. Enter names, dates or patent numbers in the "Term 1" and "Term 2" boxes to the left. After doing this, choose what parts of the patent files you'd like searched for each of these terms.
5. Tell the engine to search from either 1976 or 1790 to the present. Patents filed after 1976 have a full-text entry on the web, but the older patents might not.
6. Click on "Search" to submit your query.

Tips & Warnings

• The USPTO also offers an Advanced Search. So, if you have trouble finding a particular patent, try it instead of the Quick Search.
• If you have trouble with the USPTO website, check out Google's patent search. It includes over seven million patents and is designed to be user-friendly.