How To Do A Patent Search

You can search the texts or claims of patents for free at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) at www.uspto.gov. The USPTO's system can search U.S. patents back to 1976 and U.S. patent applications back to March 2001 (when they were first published). You can also use it to make bibliographic searches--for example, to find out the name, title of invention or patent number--of patents from 1790 to the present. You can also easily and quickly download, view and print the images of any patent before 1976. For example, with a broadband Internet service, you can view and print the images of a 10-page patent in less than two minutes! Everything is free on the USPTO's Web site, except for orders of patent copies to be sent by mail. click title for article