How to Find Manufacturers With a U.S. Patent Number

Using patent numbers to find patent holders facilitates the search process.

Searching for a patent holder is never easy let alone using United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO). Fortunately, Google Patents provides an easier interface you can use to find patent holders. Google Patents searches USPTO database based on the query you enter. Since United States patents are public domain, you can access the information through Google Patents free of charge. Since the information displayed on Google Patents is derived USPTO, you can view the patent abstract, filing date, issue date, and claims, amongst other things.

Instructions

1. Locate the U.S. patent number and then visit the “Advanced Patent Search” page (see Resources) on the Google Patents homepage.

2. Scroll to the “Patent number” section and then enter the patent number in the field provided.

3. Check the “Issued patents” check box located next to the “Document status” section.

4. Find the manufacturer by clicking on the “Google Search” button located on the right-hand corner of the page and then choosing the result displayed. If a manufacturer holds the patent, the information is displayed next to “Inventor.”

References

• Google Patents: About Google Patent Search

Resources

• Google Patents: Advanced Patent Search
• USPTO: Forms, USPTO