This entry is divided into three sections -
"Other U.S. Patent-Related Issues" include: Arbitration, Applications, Families, File Histories, Litigation, Reassignments, Shepardizing and patent-related Web Sites.
For patents registered in other countries, see "Patents - Foreign."
Getting Patent Numbers, Full-Text Patents, First Pages
Patent Numbers and other basic information: You can search for patent numbers and other "first page" bibliographic information for free using the USPTO patent database. Alternatively, you can search through the full text of U.S. patents to get patent numbers and other information using the databases discussed below.
Full-Text Patents: Following are the sources I know for pulling and/or searching for full-text patents .
(1) The USPTO posts the full text of US patents issued since 1790 on its Web site for free (www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm). This is great for many patent pull requests, though the commercial databases provide better searching, plus the offer documents in .pdf format and other value-added features. Resources for better downloading from the USPTO site are posted on The Invent Blog. PatentSurf provides a natural language interface for searching and retrieving patents from the USPTO database.
(2) FreePatentsOnline and Google Patent Search let you search and retrieve the full text of patents. Additional free sources are posted on The Invent Blog.
(3) Micropatent lets you get exact copies of U.S. patents over the Internet for a reasonable price. They have the best collection of U.S. patents of all the services. Searching is generally good, though you can't search the text of older patents -- all you can do is order them by patent number.
(4) Lexis. The PATENTS library provides several full-text patent files, including the comprehensive ALL file. Lexis charges a hefty per-search fee, but you get excellent full-text searching capabilities, plus the patents are annotated with valuable post-issuance information - for example, the top of the patent may show if the patent has been withdrawn or reassigned. You can also get an exact image of the patent in .PDF format.
If you have the patent number, you can pull U.S. patents using the format, "patno ______".
(5) Reedfax is excellent and cheap for pulling patents if you know the patent number.
(6) Other online services. There are a number of other online services offering U.S. patents. These include Delphion, GetThePatent, STN, Questel-Orbit and Westlaw. More services are posted by the Patent Information Users Group.
(7) Document Retrieval Services. Document retrieval services will send someone to make a photocopy of the patent and any related materials. Services include Daphne Hammond (703-683-6295), Research Solutions, Landon IP (703-486-1150) and Thomson Scientific (800-223-9697). More services are posted by the Patent Information Users Group.
(8) Libraries participating in the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program (www.uspto.gov/go/ptdl). These libraries have patents back from a few years to a few hundred years. A list of these PTDLP Libraries is posted at www.uspto.gov/go/ptdl/ptdlib_1.html.
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(2) Researching Patents
You can research patents back to the 1970's by searching the databases discussed above. However, a real patent searching for "prior art" is a more complicated matter. You can get the basics from a Patent Searching Tutorial posted on the Web by the Richard W. McKinney Engineering Library at the University of Texas at Austin (www.lib.utexas.edu/engin/patent-tutorial/index.htm). For more information (a) check out a treatise on intellectual property research, (b) find out a helpful librarian, paralegal or other IP professional and/or (c) hire a patent research service to do the job for you.
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(3) Other Patent-Related Issues
Arbitration: For patent arbitration rules or awards, see "Arbitration."
Applications: The U.S. PTO would prefer not publish patents until they are issued, however, many foreign countries publish patent applications after 18 months, even if they aren't yet issued. As such, the PTO publishes U.S.patent applications after 18 months if they will also be published abroad.
The PTO has a database for published applications and another for both published applications and "and applications to which a patented or published application claims domestic priority" (http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/pair). Other vendors handle published applications differently -- Dialog includes published applications in its regular U.S. patents database; Delphion Intellectual Property Network gives you a choice; etc.
Alternatively, you can try to find these publications by searching EPO and WIPO records. For example, in Dialog you can do the research in either the Derwent or INPADOC databases (Files 351 and 345, respectively). Derwent covers many countries and provides value-added abstracts for efficient searching; File 345 covers more countries but provides no text, so you have to know the exact patent name or the application number for at least one foreign country. (Note: Add "and AC=US not PC=US" to limit your results to the U.S. applications.) See "Patents - Foreign" for other good database.
Note: Dialog's CLAIMS/U.S. Patents Abstracts (File 340) includes records for selected "provisional" applications filed with the PTO. Provisional applications count as an earliest filing date but don't trigger the 20-year patent term. (To search only these records, add to the end of your search "and DT=PROVISIONAL".)
Assignments: See "Reassignments," below.
Briefs: If you need briefs from a particular case, you can retrieve copies from the court clerk or PACER. If you need sample briefs, search the Federal Patent Briefs database on Westlaw (FPT-BRIEF).
Families: A patent "family" is a list of the countries where a patent was filed, plus the number assigned to the patent by each country's patent agency.
Both INPADOC and Derwent provide good family information; for best results, search both. Both databases are available through Dialog (call 800-334-2564 for user support), STN and Westlaw.
You can get the INPADOC family for free by pulling up the patent record in the EPO's esp@cenet and clicking the link to "View INPADOC Patent Family." For more information about INPADOC patent families, see the The "extended" (INPADOC) patent family page.
The MicroPatent Patent Index (MPI) starts with the INPADOC database and adds other useful information. The MPI is available through MicroPatent, or you can link to it after you pull a patent on Lexis.
File Histories: File histories (also called "file wrappers") contain the communications between the USPTO and the agent or attorney filing the patent. You can get copies for patent applications opened to the public since June 28, 2003 by pulling up the patent record in the Public PAIR database and then clicking on the "Image File Wrapper Tab." Westlaw lets you search through file history documents submitted since 2001.
Older file histories can be copied at the USPTO. Many services specialize in USPTO document retrieval including Micropatent (800-445-9760 or 800-223-9697), Reedfax (800-772-8368), Landon IP (703-486-1150) and metroPatent. More services are listed at www.piug.org/vendor.html#bmDocDel and in File Wrappers? Are Those, Like, People Who Bust a Wicked Rhyme About Paperwork? by Anne N. Barker.
For more about file histories and why they are useful, see the File Wrappers? article, mentioned above.
Legislation: The Patent Act of 1790 (Ch. 7, 1 Stat. 109-112) was the first U.S. patent law. It provided for registration but not examination of patents. The 1790 Act was replaced by the Patent Act of 1836 (Ch. 357, 5 Stat. 117), which established the current system of patent examination.
Litigation: There is no perfect way to track patent litigation, but there are a few tools available, notably Derwent's LitAlert database (on CD-ROM or Dialog File 670 or Westlaw), the "Go" or "Focus on Patents" feature on CourtLink and the free Who's Suing Whom database on The Translation Station. STN, and Questel-Orbit also have litalert database.
In addition, you can Shepardize a patent on Lexis to find published opinions -- or just search the patent number in any appropriate Federal cases database. Also, you can search the owner or assignee's name in Pacer's U.S. Party Index or another docket search service (see "Docket Sheets"). For public companies the litigation might be mentioned in an SEC filing (see the Filings section of "Securities and Exchange Commission"). You could also search news databases on Lexis and/or Westlaw and/or the Federal Patent Briefs database on Westlaw (FPT-BRIEF).
Alternatively you can KeyCite a patent on Westlaw using the format: "US pat no _____". The KeyCite will reference published opinions as well as assignments, citations in later patents and references to litigation from Derwent's LitAlert. This saves the cost of searching the Westlaw databases if there are no opinions or no LitAlert cases.
Markman Orders: A "Markman Order" - also known as a claims construction order - establishes the meaning of on or more patent claim terms disputed by the parties to a lawsuit. Markman Orders are available on PACER and may be included in U.S. District Court opinion databases. Westlaw has a database just for Markman Orders issued since 2000 (MARKMAN-ORDERS).
Markman Orders take their name from a case called Markman v. Westview Instruments, 517 U.S. 370 (1996), which held that disagreements over the meaning of terms used in patent claims should be decided by judges. These disagreements are now heard in pre-trial "Markman hearings," and the judge's decision is called a "Markman Order."
Reassignments, etc.: Although patent owners are not required to notify the USPTO when a patent is reassigned, most assignments are reported. It is also possible that a patent will be reexamined, reissued or become inactive if the maintenance fee wasn't paid.
The most up-to-date source for this information is the USPTO Assignments database. You can also get reassignment information through Lexis (just pull the patent -- Lexis integrates subsequent data into its patent records) or the CLAIMS/Reassignment & Reexamination database (Dialog File 123; use the format "PN=US xxxxxxxxxx"). The data from these sources does not always match so, when certainty is essential, you'll need to do follow-up research done.
For follow-up research, call a patent research company (e.g., MicroPatent at 800-223-9697, or the others mentioned in the File Histories section, above). When you call, be sure to specify whether you need copies of any assignment instruments noted in the record.
Shepardizing: You can Shepardize a patent on Lexis to find other patents and cases that relate to your patent. See also "Shepardizing" and the Litigation section of this entry, above.
Treatises: Most of the major patent law treatises are listed and reviewed in Kendall Svengalis' Legal Information Buyer's Guide and Reference Manual (Rhode Island Lawpress) and on IPLawBookReviews.com. The USPTO posts the current Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). Historical editions of the MPEP are available through Hein Online; check WorldCat for print copies. The MPEP is republished with additional forms, commentary and practice tips in the Practitioner's Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (Thomson/West).
