New Product Development: Preliminary Patent Research on the USPTO Website Suzanne L. Holcombe, MILS Government Information Specialist OSU, 501 Edmon Low Library (405) ,

You have a new product, technology, service (or an idea for one) aka New Venture Creation What are your first steps?

Starting a Business Startup: protecting your ideas (intellectual property) or checking to see if your invention or product already exists Planning (business plan) Financing Marketing Employees Taxes Legal aspects

Search Patent Literature To see if a product has already been developed For ideas to improve existing research For new areas of research USPTO ESPACENET: European Patent Office

Preliminary Patent Research START with a preliminary search of U.S. patents via the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website:

Patent Search Process Visit with a registered patent attorney for a professional search and potential submission of a patent application Visit with the Inventor’s Assistance Service (IAS) or Small Business Development Center to explore your options

Search Using U.S. Classifications Searching U.S. Classifications (470 subject categories) is critical to a good preliminary search Keyword searching will yield incomplete results (USPTO or elsewhere)

Google Patents? Google Patents   Offers keyword searching to ‘1776’ versus 1976 (USPTO) FreePatentsOnline  *Ok for keyword searches, but not in-depth preliminary research

Search U.S. trademarks To see if a name or logo for a company, good or service is in use in the U.S. USPTO

Preliminary v. Professional A search done on the USPTO website for U.S. patents or trademarks is a PRELIMINARY search (does not include other countries, etc.)  Searching is complex and time consuming Before applying for a patent or trademark, contact a patent attorney to have a professional search done

The Patent and Trademark Library at OSU Part of the USPTO’s Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program: a nationwide network of 84 libraries set up to disseminate patent and trademark information and assist with preliminary U.S. patent and trademark research by appointment

The Patent and Trademark Library at OSU Edmon Low Library (405)  Call to make an appointment  Have a complete understanding of how your invention works  Park in the Student Union parking garage

Our Resources Trained staff to assist you with the preliminary search process Workstations to access full-text of U.S. patents and trademarks via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Web site Advanced search software from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Foreign patents Search foreign patents via the European Union site  Search using the international classification found on a U.S. patent Coverage varies by country Not a complete search

USPTO Web Site USPTO website   Basic information about patents and the patent process  Search issued and pending patents  How to apply for a patent  Fees and payments (see Patent Assistance Center). (The basic filing fee for a utility patent is $500.)  File and check status (attorneys)  See also Nolo Press’s title: Patent It Yourself, available at the Library or via

Searching U.S. Patents on the USPTO Site The complete images of all patents (back to 1790) are available online if searching by class/subclass The full-text of a patent will include “drawings” or “pictures.” USPTO requires that the AlternaTiff plug-in be installed to see drawings (TIFF format) can be used to print the full- text of U.S. patents in.pdf

U.S. and International Classification Systems U.S. and an international classification systems classify patents by technology groups Noted on the first page of a patent It is important to determine the appropriate classes/subclasses for your invention and to examine all of the patents in those classes/subclasses

There are 470+ U.S. Classes Find classes applicable to your product/research

Each subclass within the class contains a list of issued patents Each subclass meets certain criteria depending on the hierarchy

How do I know where my invention/research fits in the 470 classes? Start with a keyword search Locate applicable patents Examine their classifications Search these classifications

Steps to Starting a Patent Search 1. Start at 2. Go to Patents  Search  Advanced Search (Issued patents) 3. Think of words that describe your research/invention and combine them together using ‘and.’  Function  Structure 4. Look through the list of patent retrieved and locate a patent that is in your area of research. 5. Note the class/subclasses on this patent. 6. Plug these in at 7. Click on the red ‘P’s’ to examine all patents in those classes. 8. Also search published applications by class. 9. Can also search by Inventor, Location, Date, etc. For international patents search Espacenet

USPTO Patents  Search 1. Keyword 2. Class/Subclass 3. Applications

A motorized or automated shade system for an automobile Example search  automatic and sun and shade and vehicle  Use abst/ to narrow searches

Samples, Keyword Searching Automatic sun shades:  automatic and sun  “sun shade”  abst/auto$ and abst/sun  abst/”sun shade”

At: Search automatic and sun and shade and vehicle

Scan down through the list of patents until you find one that looks close to your project. Remember that this search will only retrieve patents back to 1976.

Automatic sun visor. 37 patents into the list of 190 patents.

Note classes and subclasses. If this patent is close to your idea, all of the patents in these classes/subclasses should be examined. Click here to see the full-text and images of the patent. Requires plug-in. Read the claims to see what this patent protects.

This is page one of patent no. 6,666,493: Automatic Sun Visor and Solar Shade System for Vehicles Use Current U.S. Classes noted in a patent and go back and do a thorough class/subclass search: 296/ /97.8

Keyword Searching, Google PATENTS Advanced Patent Search automatic sun shade in Find “with all of the words” Locate a patent similar to one you are looking for and examine its classes – return to USPTO to search these classes

In class 296 Land Vehicles, 97.4 With actuating means for moving Click on the red P’s to see the patents in any of the subclasses. You can view patents back to Click on the subclass numbers for definitions or more information about the subclass.

This is the Definition for subclass 97.4, Glare screen or visor with actuating means for moving in class 264 Land Vehicles. Note the suggestions for other subclasses to search.

By clicking on the red P, this is a listing of the 190 patents in Class 296 Subclass 97.4

Vehicle with a Protective Sun Shade in the Roof Patent No. 6,536,829

Motor Driven Sunshield Patent No. 6,227,601

Search Published Applications Once Classes/Subclasses for your research have been determined, search Published Applications Search Espacenet for foreign patents

To easily print a U.S. patent when you have the number Pat2PDF Full-text of U.S. patents in.pdf

Conclusion In general... Patents protect the invention and how it works. Patents are available on the Internet, but are not as easy to search as it appears. Thorough patent searching requires that an appropriate class/subclass be found and patents in that class/subclass be examined.