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Patents

It is recommended that an attorney be consulted when an interpretation of the law is needed. UCF library staff are not able to provide any legal advice. Patent Assistance Information

How to Get Started

When you think you have a patented idea, before you begin the patent process, you should answer these few questions:

  1. Understand what a patent does 
  2. Keep a record of your invention 
  3. Make sure your invention qualifies 
  4. Assess the commercial potential 
  5. Do a thorough patent search 

Once you think you have a unique idea, you can begin the process of seaching products that have been patented to make sure your idea has not already been designed, developed or submitted and not yet approved. 

Patent Search Strategy

*NEW* Patent Public Search tutorial

 The Patent and Trademark Resource Center Program now provides a CBT (computer based training) tutorial with detailed instructions of how to search the Patent Public Search database.  As this resource is still very new, the steps below and the following tutorials refer to the similar seven step method using older interfaces.

 

The Seven Step Preliminary Search of U.S. Patents and Published Patent Applications

See "Tutorials" for more search guidance.

1. Brainstorm terms to describe the invention.

  • What is the purpose of the invention? Is it a utilitarian device or an ornamental design?
  • Is the invention a process--a way of making something or performing a function--or is it a product?
  • What is the invention made of? What is the physical composition or structure of the invention?
  • How is the invention used?
  • What are key words and technical terms that describe the nature of the invention?

2. Use these terms to find initial relevant Cooperative Patent Classifications using the USPTO Classification Text Search Tool.

Enter your keyword(s) in the search tool box. Click "search", scan the resulting classification's Class Schemes (class schedules) to determine the most relevant to your invention.

3. Verify the relevancy of each CPC classification you found by reviewing the CPC Classification Definition linked to it (if there is one).

4. Access Patent Public Search.

Under the "Find it Fast" section, click the "Patents" tab and select "Patent Public Search" to open the Patent Public Search database

5. Using this selected set of most relevant patent publications, review each one in-depth.

Pay close attention to the additional drawings pages, the specification and especially the claims.  References cited may lead you to additional relevant patents.

6. Broaden your search using the following options:

a. Supplement the search using keywords to find documents that may not have been well classified. Keywords also allow you to use truncation, plurals, and quotation marks for more precise searching.

b. Broaden the search with U.S. Patent Classification (USPC). The USPC system was the primary means of classification until it was discontinued in 2015.

c. Search foreign patents and published patent applications using the CPC classification. Re-run the search using Espacenet (https://worldwide.espacenet.com), the European Patent Office's Worldwide patent database of over 90 million patent publications.

d. Search non-patent literature. NPL consists of books, journals, websites, technical catalogs, conference proceedings, and more. Patent and Trademark Resource Center staff can help with this search, or you may wish to consult a subject librarian who specializes in your field.

e. Hire a registered patent attorney or patent agent to review the search. Conducting a preliminary search prepares you to discuss your invention with a patent professional, and can save you time and money that would otherwise be spent covering patent basics.  To search for a registered patent attorney or agent, consult the USPTO's online roster at https://oedci.uspto.gov.

Information found at - https://www.uspto.gov/products/library/ptdl/services/step7.jsp

Tutorials

There are a variety of tutorials that will help in your ultimate goal of obtaining a patent.

  • This UCF produced video explains patent classification systems and demonstrates how to conduct a patent search using the classic version of Espacenet, the free global patent database of the European Patent Office.
  • How to conduct a preliminary U.S. patent search: A step-by-step strategy is the Computer-Based Training video developed by the USPTO for searching Patent Public Search using CPC classification.
  • University of Wisconsin's Introduction to Patents microcourse teaches about the patent process, anatomy of a patent, patent searching, and additional resources.
  • Harvard University's How to Read a Patent shows the parts of a patent and includes code descriptions and definitions.
  • University of Minnesota has two online interactive tutorials, Patents and Patentability and Patent Searching.
  • Penn State's PTRC video: Classification Searching on the USPTO Website demonstrates how to locate patent classification information using "Searching by class" on the USPTO website.  The latest revision of the Classification search page eliminated the toolbar at the top, so to follow the "CPC Sections" walkthrough, click on Additional Resources--> CPC --> Scheme on the current page.

  • Cooperative Patent Classification System/CPC - The new system, CPC, was developed jointly by the European Patent Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office to harmonize the exchange of works between the two organizations and patent searching in general.  The system is based on the IPC (International Patent Classification) and the ECLC (European Classification).  The video gives you the history of the CPC and shows the different options when searching for a patent.