How to Look up an Existing Patent
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) administers patents that are used to prevent inventions from being duplicated by other people and used for profit. Patent records are maintained by the USPTO and can be accessed by the public via their online full-text and full-page image databases. Patent applicants are strongly advised to check issued patents to make sure their proposed invention has not already been patented.
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Instructions
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Search
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1
Visit the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Databases.
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2
In the "PATFT: Issued Patents" section on the left, click "Quick Search."
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3
Enter the search term information in the "Term 1" box.
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Select the appropriate search term option in the "Field 1" drop down menu.
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5
If another search term is desired, enter it accordingly in the "Term 2" box and choose the appropriate search term in the "Field 2" drop down menu.
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6
Click "Search."
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1
Tips & Warnings
Searching for three or more terms at once can be done by selecting the "Advanced Search" option in Step 1 and entering the appropriate query terms.
