The Science and Engineering Center at Fogler Library is the
home of the only Patent and Trademark Depository Library in
Maine. This guide will help you find patents in your area of interest. If you
have questions about finding patents related to a certain technology or locating a copy of
a known patent, please contact Martin Wallace at the Science and Engineering Center: 581-1678 or martin.wallace@umit.maine.edu. Or,
if you are a member of the University of Maine community, you may use
the online
Ask a Librarian service.
Disclaimer: PTDLs are neither required nor encouraged to conduct patent
and trademark searches for their patrons as that activity may be interpreted as
rendering a judgment or opinion. PTDLs are required to instruct patrons in the
use of the search tools available at the PTDLs for patrons conducting their own
patent and trademark searches.
U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office. U.S. patent and trademark information, contacts and application procedures.
Almost any question regarding the application process can be answered there. USPTO News. Archive of news announcements.
U.S. Patent Database. Full page image of patents from 1790 to the present. Searching by
title and abstracts words, full text of patent, inventor or assignee is
only available for 1976 to the present. Comprehensive searching requires
the use of the Patent
Classification System. See the tutorial
for assistance in utilizing all the capabilities of this database. Current Fee Schedule.
Electronic Patent Official Gazette. Announcements of issued patents from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The most recent 52 issues of the Patent Official Gazette are available online. Prior
issues of the Gazette are available at the PTDL's. The
Electronic Patent Official Gazette allows you to browse or
search through the patents issued each week. You can
browse by geographic origin of the inventor, inventor or
assignee name and patent class and subclass. The Official
Gazette includes the summary of the patent and a representative
drawing. You can link to the full text of the patent from
the Gazette.
USPTO Patent
Assignments. Updated continuously as assignments are recorded.
Determine who has the rights to a particular patent or patent
application.
British
Library. Patents at the British Library. Links
to databases, web sites, and patent and trademark information
worldwide.
SurfIP - The Intellectual
Property Office of Singapore. Provides a one stop search of
world-wide patent literature through a comprehensive group of patent
databases. Also provides access to news and financial web sites. Provides information on licensing your patent.
Free Patents Online. Provides access to U.S. patents from number 4,000,000 to the present.
Micropatent.
Pay service providing the world's largest commercial collection of patent data,
with over 50 million full-text and front-page records from
the USPTO, European and World Patent services, Japanese Patent Abstracts, and over 70 other countries and patent authorities.
Patents on Cloud 8. Charge is $0.49 per patent. They provides patents from many
countries and will send them zipped together in PDF format.
Patent Retriever. Provides
free PDFs of US, EPO and PCT patents and applications.
PatentStorm.
Provides PDFs of U.S. patents from 1976-present.
Patent to
PDF Generator. Can export OCR text searchable PDF. Free version
limits to 100 pages. US Patents only.
Pat2pdf.org. Provides
U.S. patents granted from 1838 to present.
WikiPatents. Database of patents open for public comment on the internet, allows PDF downloading of patents, free patent translation into multiple languages, and additional information and resources.
Databases that provide access to journal articles, technical reports, etc.
Maine Statewide Databases or Free Internet Databases
These databases are useful for checking for journal articles, technical
reports, and news announcements about similar products and
technology. If an idea has been published anywhere, it cannot be
granted a patent.
AGRICOLA. Produced by
the National Agricultural Library. Resources encompassing all aspects
of agriculture and allied disciplines, including animal and veterinary
sciences, plant sciences, forestry, etc.
AGRIS. Sponsored by the United Nations. Food and Agriculture Organization.
1965 to present.
Citeseer.com. Scientific
Literature Digital Library. NEC Corp. Indexes Postscript and PDF research
articles on the Web. Has citation searching component.
CogPrints. CogPrints
is an electronic archive for papers in many areas of Computer Science.
Full text of the cited references is available.
IEEE Xplore & IEEE/IET Electronic Library (IEL). Complete full-text
access to the IEEE/IET Electronic Library (IEL). Includes over 160 journals
published by the IEEE and IET, transactions, conference proceedings and
active IEEE standards. Indexing extends back to 1988 for all journals and
conference proceedings and further back to 1913 for selected publications.
Offers an alerting service, saved searches, and other valuable Web 2.0
capabilities for users who register for free personal accounts.
Ingenta. (Formerly UnCover).
Coverage is 1988 - Present.
MasterFILE
Premier. Provides full text for over 1,830 general
reference, business, consumer health, general science. Full text
extends back to January, 1990. Indexing and abstracts is
available for an additional 1,000 journals.
MEDLINE. Index produced by the National Library of Medicine. Includes over
3,600 journals covering all areas of clinical and experimental
medicine, nursing, dentistry and health administration. Updated
weekly.
SciCentral. Gateway to the best
scientific research news sources
Science Accelerator, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Department of Energy. Search collections of DOE research results, project descriptions, and accomplishments. These collections enable you to find out about ongoing research projects, explore significant DOE discoveries, learn about DOE Nobel Prize Winners, access and search scientific e-prints, locate science conference papers and proceedings, patents, and more.
ScienceDirect. FULL TEXT FOR UMAINE SUBSCRIBED JOURNAL TITLES ONLY
(1800+). Online access to full text from 1995 for most titles. Sign up for automatic notification when new issues are published.
Scirus. produced by Elsevier. Use for searching instead of ScienceDirect
interface. Use this Advanced search which provides many options for
full text searching and across a variety of databases.
TRIS Online. 1960's to present. Produced by the Transportation Research Board and
other organizations.
Index to the U.S. Patent Classification. (SciPTDL
T223.A25) December 2003. Also see the
online version. Provides a starting point to look for
classification numbers.
Manual of Classification. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. (SciPTDL
T223.F4U5a) Updated for 2002. Also see the
online version. Can scan through the classes to find possible
appropriate class number to search.
U.S. Patent Classification System Classification Definitions. (SciPTDL
Microfiche, C21.3/2) Also see the online
version. (Need to choose the definitions.) Provides in depth scope
notes and see references for how the classification system is applied by the
examiners.
Subject-matter index of patents for inventions issued by the United States
Patent Office, 1790 to 1873. (SciPTDL T223.D7A45 1976 v.1 -
3). Helpful subject index which provides patent number, date of
registration, inventor, and inventor residence. For newer indexes, see Annual
Report of the Commissioner of Patents and General Index of the Official
Gazette, below.
Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents and General Index of the
Official Gazette. 1840-2002. Indexes by inventor and
assignee name and by general subject or title words. They provide the
patent number, registration date and the volume and page number where it can
be located in the Official Gazette. These are the most effective
method for starting an investigation of an older patent or inventor. (SciPTDL
T223.D3). Also, limited
online availability from University of Michigan MBooks Project. For
older indexes, see Subject-matter index of patents for inventions issued
by the United States Patent Office, 1790-1873, above.
Canada. Intellectual Property Office. Patent Office. Patent Office
Record. Located in Canadian Documents, 3rd Floor Fogler Library. CAN
RG42-1. 1980 - present. Latest issues in Current Periodicals
Room.
Canadian Patent Office Record. Orono Microfiche, Serials. 1873 -
1900. Index located at the beginning of each year by inventor and
title, keyword. At the end of each month are listed the copyrights and
trademarks granted. Issued as part of the CIHM/ICMH microfiche series.
Patent Tutorials and Workshops
From Patent to Profit. Tips on writing applications, getting prototypes, marketing plans, licensing
advise, etc.
Everyday Edisons.
Popular PBS reality series that documents the development process of 14
inventions and the parallel stories of the people who invented them.
Selected from thousands, the 14 Everyday Edisons learn how their
extraordinary ideas are taken from a sketch on a napkin to a store shelf.
FedCirc.us. Portal of patent caselaw information built on a foundation of timely,
accurate and considerate reviews of appellate level court decisions.
General
Information Concerning Patents. Learn about patents and the patenting process
from this fact-packed guide published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
InventorSpot. Provides daily
articles about the latest inventions, innovations and interesting ideas from
around the world. Includes information for inventors by experienced
inventors and other experts, an active invention advice forum and inventor
community, and tools for inventors such as a free Invention Gallery where
inventors can promote their inventions.
IP Newsflash. Keep current on
IP news from around the world.
National Inventor
Fraud Center, Inc. Good reading for anyone considering hiring the services of an
invention promotion firm. How to profit from your ideas and license
your patent.
Nolo
Press. Detailed information on the patenting and trade marking process for the
do-it-yourselfer, from a well-known publisher of legal information for the
lay-person.
Patent Alert. A free email
alert service through which you will receive periodical updates about recent
U.S. Patents in your chosen theme or subject.
Patent Cafe. Great resource for patents, trademarks and copyrights.
Patent FAQ. Idea to Invention to Patent. Site compiled by a patent attorney.
Interesting tips on the patent process and provisional applications and
hiring an attorney.
Patent Law Basics for Researchers. Patent Primer especially suited
for university faculty and researchers. University of Pennyslvania.
WikiPatents. Database of patents open for public comment on the internet, allows PDF downloading of patents, free patent translation into multiple languages, and additional information and resources.
National Technology Transfer Center. Work with inventors to provide technology assessment, technology marketing,
assistance in finding strategic partners, and electronic-business
development services.
TradeShow Handbook. A Comprehensive online resource guide for the trade show industry. Find detailed information, guides, tutorials and directories for trade shows, exhibitions, public events and conferences.
Inventor and Entrepreneur Education Opportunities in Maine
Maine
Business Works. The most comprehensive workshop and event listing for small business entrepreneurs in Maine.
Maine Patent
Program. Supports innovation in Maine by providing education and assistance with the patent process of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to companies, inventors and entrepreneurs in the State.
U.S. Trademark Electronic Search System. TESS. (First choice in
the center column) TESS contains more than 3 million pending,
registered and dead federal trademarks. Starting point for
determining if a name is already in use.
U.S. Trademark
Electronic Application System. TEAS. TEAS allows you to fill
out a form, check it for completeness, and then submit the form
directly to the USPTO over the internet, making an official trademark
application online.
State Trademark Agencies and
Databases. Provides address and website information for the state
agencies and links to databases for each state to search for trademarks
registered in those states.
Basic Facts About Registering a
Trademark. Defines trademarks and details the registration process and
filing requirements. A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office publication.
Maine
Business Resource Guide. Augusta, Me. : Maine Dept. of Economic and
Community Development, 2001. State Documents, Special Collections, 3rd
Floor, Fogler Library. St.Docs. E18.5:B964 2001 (2 copies)
Maine Manufacturing Directory. Tower Publishing. 2007
edition. ORO Reference HD9727.M2M335 Not available on the
Internet.
Bizoffice. Small and
home-based business resources.
Business.gov. sponsored by the
Small Business Administration. Provides a pathway through the maze of
business regulations and resources by the U.S. government.
BUZGate.org. Business Utility
Zone Gateway. Provides access to a multitude of Maine resources for
small businesses. Chose "Maine" from the state listing.
Fogler Library's Patent and Trademark Depository Library website; describes steps involved in patent
and trademark searching, locating patents, and the services we offer.
Didn't find what you were looking for? Try searching across all of Fogler's
Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics subject resources using Google
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