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Using the patent searching guide
Patents are very different types of information than books or journal articles: the reasons you would use a patent are usually very specific, and the ways to find patents can be tricky. By working through this guide, you will get a better understanding of patents overall, and learn some strategies for finding patents effectively.
Disclaimer
This guide was created to help you search for patents, however library staff cannot interpret search strategies, ideas, or processes for you in regard to patents. For legal advice, contact a patent lawyer or agent. We neither recommend nor endorse any particular lawyer or agent.
Important documents
Two key documents are often helpful for patent searchers, and I will refer to them later in my guide. For quick reference, they are also listed here.
- How to Read a U.S. PatentQueen's University Library created an overview of the parts of a patent to help you read the documents accurately.
- 6.5-Step US Patent Search Strategy GuideThe University of Maine designed this guide to walk you through searching for patents by classification code.
[Flag: this is a PDF doc]
- Seven-step U.S. Patent Search StrategyThe USPTO published a 7-step search strategy that highlights how to create a complex search. While the examples are U.S. specific, the strategies could be used to find patents in almost any database.
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