How to Read a Patent
- Title - Deliberately vague to protect the invention
- Inventor - The person that developed the invention
- Assignee - Usually the company the inventor works for
- Classification - Alphanumeric system used to group similar patents together
- Claims - What the invention is supposed to do. Uses legal language to protect the invention
Searching for Patents
- Google PatentsStart your patent search here. Searches patent offices worldwide.
Patent Tutorials
- USPTO Patent Certificate CourseA one hour online training course that provides a certificate of completion (required for some Patent Pro Bono Programs)
- Espacenet TutorialsAn interactive tutorial on patent information and how to use the worldwide Espacenet database (some require Flash)
- Patents and PatentabilityShort guide from the University of Minnesota on the basics of patents
- Patent SearchingA longer tutorial from the University of Minnesota on patent searching
- USPTO Concept to ProsecutionAn introduction to patent application with the USPTO (requires Flash)
- How to Conduct a Preliminary Patent Searchcreated by the USPTO, this 40 minute online presentation gives a basic introduction to patent searching (requires Flash)