Patents & Trademarks
About U.S. Patents -- Patent Search Tips -- Patent Tools and Databases -- Consultation Services -- International Patents -- Information about Trademarks
About Patents
The United States Patent and Trademark Office issues patents to protect an inventor's exclusive right to profit from his or her own ideas. For a fixed, non renewable period of time, the inventor can exclude all others from making, using, or selling the invention without authorization. To receive a patent, an invention must be new and useful or significantly different from previous inventions of its type. There are three types of patents currently issued by the government: utility, design, and plant patents. To learn more, see these Research Guides:
Basic Facts about Patents
Types of Patents
Frequently Asked Questions about Patents
Patent Search Tips
Patent searches usually fall into one of two categories: historical or comprehensive.
Historical searches are not so much historical as specific. This type of search is conducted to look for a specific patent or group of patents, such as a type of sewing machine or everything patented by an individual.
Example: "I am trying to locate a patent that was issued to my grandfather in the 1940s."
Comprehensive searches are done by individuals who are interested in applying for a patent. This preliminary "What else is out there?" search is to help ascertain the patentability or novelty of an invention.
Example: "I am interested in patenting my invention, and would like to see what similar inventions have already been patented."
These Research Guides explain both kinds of searches:
Historical Patent Searching Reference Sources & Techniques (PDF)
How to search for a specific patent.
Using the U.S. Patent Classification System (PDF)
A step-by-step guide to a comprehensive preliminary patent search for prior art, to ascertain the patentability or novelty of your invention.
The Seven-Step Strategy
A strategy for comprehensive patent searching.
Patent Tools and Databases
United States Patent and Trademark Office Full-Text and Full-Image Databases
Includes: full-text images of patents issued since 1790; full-text searching for patents issued since 1976; and full-page images since 1790. Please note: TIFF viewer software is required to view images.
Index to the United States Patent Classification (USPC) System
Browse the alphabetical index to find the class and subclass for a particular subject.
Manual of Patent Classification
Search for listings and definitions by class number. After retrieving a class listing, click the red "P" icon to view patents in that class.
Consultation Services
VCU students, faculty, and staff may schedule an appointment for one-on-one assistance with patent and trademark resources. Members of the general public are encouraged to contact a U.S. Patent and Trademark Depository Library, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Public Search Facility, or the Inventors Assistance Center.
International Patents
esp@cenet: Europe's network of patent databases
Maintained by the European Patent Office, esp@cenet contains more than 50 million patent documents from around the world. Dates of coverage vary from country to country, but the earliest documents date back to 1836.
Information about Trademarks
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, 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 a product. To learn more, see these Research Guides:
Basic Facts About Trademarks
Where Do I Start?
Frequently Asked Questions about Trademarks
TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System)
TESS is a searchable database of more than 4 million pending, registered and dead federal trademarks.
If you have questions or need assistance, please Ask a Librarian.