A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor. Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States. There are three types of patents: (1) Utility, covering function; (2) Design, covering ornamental design; and (3) Plant, for a new variety of plant.

Prior art refers to publicly available documentation such as existing patents or articles in journals or newspapers that describe technologies already in use. In order to grant a patent, the examiner will search for prior art to insure that the invention is novel. For additional information, see First Inventor to File video.

Once a patent has been granted, the inventor has the right to exclude others from making use of that invention. A license is a lease agreement between a patent owner and another party granting permission to use the invention.

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods. Trademarks differ from patents. For additional information, see the Basic Facts about Trademarks videos.

Search Trademarks
in the USPTO Trademark Database

• General Information Concerning Patents (from the USPTO)
• Understanding "Patentese"—A Patent Glossary

• Google Patent Search
  Google Patent Search covers the entire collection of United States patents plus EPO (Europe), WIPO, Canada, China, and Germany.
• European and World Patents (espacenet) The espacenet system is a searchable collection of of patent documents published around the world. English-language abstracts are usually available from 1970. Full text documents are provided if available.
• USPTO Patent Database
  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database includes full-page images beginning with the first U.S. patent issued in 1790. Issued patents starting from 1976 and patent applications are fully searchable. Patents issued between 1790 and 1975 are only searchable by the patent number or current U.S. classification.
• Derwent Innovations Index
  This resource includes value-added patent information and patent citation information. You can use additional descriptive information and coding to quickly understand a patent's significance and its relationship to other patents. Coverage from 1963 to present.

• Resources for Inventors & Entrepreneurs (from the USPTO)
• Yale University Office of Cooperative Research
• Patent and Trademark Resource Centers
  • New York Public Library Thomas Yoseloff Business Center. See Patents and Trademarks.

• Cooperative Patent Classification
  The Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) scheme is a partnership between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) to harmonize their existing classification systems. While it is possible to search patents using keywords, the best way to conduct a comprehensive patent search is by classification. Classification brings together similar concepts when different terms have been used to describe them. If you do not know the proper classification number, you can browse the CPC. Alternatively you can start with a keyword search in a patent database such as Google Patents, find a relevant patent and look at the cooperative classiifications numbers assigned to the patent.
• PatentsView
  PatentsView is a patent data visualization and analysis tool intended to increase the value, utility, and transparency of US patent data. For example, you can see all of the patents for which Yale University is the assignee along with which patents are most frequently cited, top inventors, etc. Try a search for "Yale University" in the assignee field.
• www.pat2pdf.org
  www.pat2pdf.org is a conversion utility that allows you to download a PDF version of a U.S. patent or patent application or create a hypertext link. Retrieval is by patent number only.
• Assignment Search (USPTO)
  Assignment refers to ownership of a patent. The database contains all recorded patent assignment information from August 1980 through today. For example, if you want to search US patent 4,978,655 enter 4978655.

Librarian for Business and Management
Marx Science and Social Science Library
203-432-3306
allison.gallaspy@yale.edu

Schedule an appointment with Allison

Andy Shimp
Librarian for Engineering & Applied Science, Chemistry and Mathematics Marx Science and Social Science Library
203-432-7460

andy.shimp@yale.edu

Schedule an appointment with Andy

Erin Wachowicz
Librarian for Business and Management
Marx Science and Social Science Library
203-432-3306
erin.wachowicz@yale.edu

Schedule an appointment with Erin