Patent Research Guide
FINDING PATENTS on the USPTO WEBSITE and on LEXISNEXIS ACADEMIC
| Example: You have invented a bicycle child seat and want to examine similar patented products to determine whether yours is unique. |
THE USPTO WEBSITE
At the official website of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, http://uspto.gov/, patents issued from 1790 through 1975 are searchable only by patent number, issue date, and current US classifications. The USPTO’s text-searchable patent database begins with patents granted from 1976 to present.
Searching by Patent Classification
In general, you can search by patent classification with a five-step approach:
1. Think of keywords describing the purpose, use and composition of an invention.
2. Search the Index to the U.S. Patent Classification. With its alphabetical list of subject headings, the Index will allow one to use common terms to find potential classes and subclasses that relate to an invention. See Bicycle seats: 297 /195.1+
Bicycle …………………………………. 280 / 200+
Racks …………………………… 211 / 17+
Rack or holder, design … D12 / 115
Reflector ………………………. 359 / 515+
Seats ……………………………. 297 / 195.1+
3. Next turn to the Manual of Classification which displays the hierarchical structure of the many classes and subclasses which comprise the U.S. Patent Classification System. Verify that the classes and subclasses identified through the Index to the U.S. Patent Classification are actually relevant and further refine one’s search. Class 297, subclass 250.1 looks relevant.
| P | 230.12 | Including a rigid panel |
| P | 230.13 | Back and supplemental back together form occupant back-engaging surface |
| P | 230.14 | Including a means to adjust supplemental back relative to a seat back |
| P | 250.1 | SUPPLEMENTAL SEAT (E.G., CHILD SEAT, ETC.) |
Use the Classification Definitions if you have trouble deciding between classes or subclasses. These definitions provide detailed information about the kind of subject matter found in each class and subclass. They also point out distinctions between classes and subclasses and refer you to related ones.
4. Compile a list of all patents issued under a pertinent class and subclass by either:
A. Clicking the red P icon to the left of the subclass number in the Manual of Classification; or
B. Searching both the Issued Patents and the pending Published Applications databases with the class and subclass number. Click on Quick Search or Advanced Search. Phrase your query as class/subclass (e.g., 301/58). Some subclasses can contain decimal and alpha modifiers (e.g., 427/2.31 or 427/3A). (Remember to select 1976 to present [full text] or 1790 to present [entire database] from the drop down menu.)
Quick Search - type your query into the search box and choose the Current US Classification field.
Advanced Search - type your query in the search box as ccl/class/subclass, (e.g., ccl/297/250.1)
| PAT. NO. | TITLE | ||
| 1 | 7,350,862 | T | Belt guiding mechanism and child vehicle seat |
| 2 | 7,344,193 | T | Bench for children |
| 3 | 7,344,192 | T | Child car seat |
| 4 | 7,331,633 | T | Juvenile vehicle seat with quick-connect backrest |
| 5 | 7,331,629 | T | Child bicycle seat |
| 6 | 7,325,870 | T | Child restraint system with in-motion belt status monitoring |
| 7 | 7,322,648 | T | Child seat |
5. Review the patents retrieved for relevancy. Patent number 7,331,629 looks relevant. Also check for additional classes/subclasses to search.
Searching by Keyword
1. To search the full text of patents issued since 1976 by keyword (but not by class/subclass), think of keywords that describe the use, purpose and composition of an invention. Type them into the Quick Search or Advanced Search query box.
2. Review the patents retrieved and be mindful of other potential search terms.
Useful Keyword Field Searches
With both the Quick Search and Advanced Search options, one can limit a keyword search to specific fields. Useful fields include patent number, inventor name and assignee.
Patent Number
Click Patent Number Search in the Issued Patents database. Then, Type your patent number in the USPTO Patent Full-text and Image Database query box.
Inventor Name or Assignee Name
Quick Search – to search for an inventor or assignee named John Smith, enter Smith-John in the Term 1 query box and select the Inventor Name or Assignee Name field.
Advanced Search – enter IN/Smith-John (for inventor) or AN/Smith-John (for assignee) in the query box. If you are unsure of the exact name, you can truncate: Smith-$ or Smith-John$ or Smith-J$.
Description/Specification – This field contains the patent description, including a brief summary and background of the invention, the detailed description, and a brief description of the drawing, if applicable. For Quick Search, type your terms in the query boxes and select the Description/Specification field. For Advanced Search, enter SPEC/ (bicycle and “child and seat”) in the query box.
Claim(s) – This field contains the text of the patent claims. Claims point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the applicant regards as the invention and define the scope of the patent protection. For Quick Search, type your terms in the query boxes and select the Claim(s) field. For Advanced Search, enter ACLM/ (bicycle and “child and seat”) in the query box.
LEXIS-NEXIS ACADEMIC
LexisNexis Academic, available through Hesburgh Library, is an online service available from any computer located on the Notre Dame campus. It provides access to a wide range of news, business, legal, and reference information. Patent information is available under the US Legal search tab. LexisNexis Academic covers patents from 1790 to present. Those prior to 1971 appear in a semi-full-text format with only certain parts of the patent searchable. Patents from 1971 present are fully-searchable.
Using a Keyword Search to Search by Patent Classification
Neither the Index to the U.S. Patent Classification nor the Manual of Classification is available on LexisNexis Academic to help one determine the pertinent class and subclass for a patent classification search. So to find a relevant classification, develop a keyword search from words that describe the purpose, use and composition of an invention. Use the keyword search to retrieve patents on point and thereby glean useful classes and subclasses. Once these have been found, one can use the format, 301#58 (class # subclass), to perform an additional keyword search to retrieve other inventions listed under the same class/subclass.
Useful Keyword Field Searches
Searches by patent number, assignee or inventor name are easy to perform because specific search boxes are available for each type of search.
