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HIS 309 History of U.S. Science and Technology: Patents

This LibGuide was designed to help with research for this class that explores the various ways in which Americans have encountered, developed, and experienced science and technology from the colonial period to the present using various lenses - politics,

US Patent & Trademark Office

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is the federal agency (and only agency) for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks. The USPTO fulfills the mandate of Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, of the Constitution that the legislative branch "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." The USPTO registers trademarks based on the commerce clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3).

Patents date from 1790 and are searchable by patent number of issue of date. Most patents are utility in nature (compared to design or plants). One easy way to search is also by classification, which is simply a hierarchical way to organize "things" by characteristics and relationships. 

Examples of classifications that the USPTC uses (called CPC since 2013, or Cooperative Patent Classification in conjunction with the European Patent Office) are grouped by a symbol that shows broad group, subgroup, alpha/numeric symbol as the first part and contain words that are legal or technical by nature and not commonly used words.

  

Broken down:

  • A = Human Necessities
  • A 46 B = Brushes
  • 9/04 = The arrangement of bristles as in a toothbrush

Keyword Search Terms: Tips and Things to Avoid

As in all searches using databases, keyword searching can lead to misleading results. Why? Patents can be listed using vague or inconsistent or even outdated terminology. (examples: hi-fi, laser-disc, water closet, rodent extermination device). Words also can mean different things in different industries (example: mouse).

To avoid pitfalls, a good tip is to start with a classification search. On the USPTO home page, click on "Find It Fast" 

Option 1 Search:

  1. Choose Patents
  2. Scroll down and find Classification
  3. Use the Classification Text Search search box 
  4. If the scheme is very long, use the Ctrl + F find feature to locate something relevant to your search using a meaningful search term to narrow down the results.

Option 2 Search: 

  1. Choose Patents
  2. Click on PatFT (Patent Full Text & Image Database)
  3. Enter the Classification Scheme (remove any spaces)
  4. Choose "Current CPC Classification" in Field 1
  5. Choose "1790 to Present" in Select Years

  1. The results are shown in groups of 50 from newest to oldest. Patents before 1970 do not have full text. 
  2. To find older results, advance the results page by clicking on "Next 50 Hits" until there are no more hyperlinks with text. 
  3. Choose a Patent No. then click on Images to see the patent.

Google Patents

Use this direct link to Google Patents, a Google search engine that indexes over 87 million patent and patent applications (public domaine) that date back to 1790.