Understanding Patents
- How to Read a U.S. PatentA quick guide from Queens University.
Patent Resource Databases
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office describes a patent as:
a) A document protecting the rights of the inventor;
b) A repository of useful technical information for the public.
Use these databases to find filed or granted patents.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
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Nexis Uni® features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790—with an intuitive interface that offers quick discovery across all content types, personalization features such as Alerts and saved searches and a collaborative workspace with shared folders and annotated documents.
For instructions on accessing TotalPatent One, please view this tutorial.
- CIPO's Canadian Patent Database This link opens in a new windowCIPO's Canadian Patent Database allows access to 146 years of patent descriptions and images.
- USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT) This link opens in a new window
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Search the USPTO's patent database to see if a patent has already been filed or granted that is similar to your patent. Patents may be searched in the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT). The USPTO houses full text for patents issued from 1976 to the present and PDF images for all patents from 1790 to the present.
- EspacenetSearch over 90 million European Union patents using this tool.
- PATENTSCOPEA database created by the World Intellectual Property Office. Search over 49 million patent documents, including 2.7 million published international patent applications.
- Google PatentsIndexes around 90 million patents from a variety of geographical locations.