Patent Number Search
A "patent number search" simply involves searching for a
specific patent number. Unlike a regular
U.S. patent search, a patent number search searches for a single patent
by its corresponding number. You have to first know what the patent
number is which is typically conspicuously placed on a commercial product or
its packaging. For a utility patent, a patent number typically will be
in the millions (e.g. 6,434,333). For a design patent, a patent number
typically will be in the hundreds of thousands and will start with the
letter "D" or the letters "Des." (e.g. D339,332 or Des. 339,332).
After you have identified the patent number you want to search for, you
then need to access an online patent database where you can enter the patent
number. There are two very good online databases to search for patent
numbers:
-
USPTO Patent Number Search. Enter the patent number
you would like to access. Requires a TIFF file viewer to view the
patent images.
- Commercial Product Suggestion. Consider
using the 60 day trial version of
PatentHunter
to find and download the specific patent number you are searching
for (PatentHunter is a product created by Michael Neustel).
-
Google Patents. Enter a patent number and you will be
able to access the PDF version of the patent.
Patent Application Number Search
A "patent application number search" is similar to a
patent number search except you are searching for a published patent
applications (many patent applications are not published and cannot be
searched). When performing a patent application number search, you
will need to know the publication number (e.g.
20010000044). The first four numbers of the publication number
represent the year the patent application was published. Publication
numbers are often times not placed on a product so you may have to perform a
search for the publication number or ask the owner of the pending patent
application for the publication number prior to searching for the published
patent application.
To search for a specific publication number, you can search at:
-
USPTO Publication Number Search. Enter the
publication number of the patent application you would like to access.
-
Google Patents. Enter a publication number and you
will be able to access the PDF version of the published application.
Some recent published applications may not be available on Google
Patents.
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