To find out a patent number, first you need to know the patent country. Each patent country has its own patent databases and formatting guidelines. To find a patent by country, you can use advanced search methods. There are three types of patent databases: public and private. Public databases are free to use but the cost is usually prohibitive for a student.
What is Patent Number Search?
Patent number searches are when you search for a particular patent by using its assigned number. This type of search requires that you know the patent number. This number is usually found on the packaging of commercial products. Utility patents number typically will be in the millions. Design patents number in the hundreds of thousands. They start with the letter Des or D.
It is crucial to consult a patent attorney before investing in any patent applications. To ensure there are no blocking patents, this should include an examination of known references using a patent number search.
Sometimes, inventors invent a product that is already patented. You can better understand the protection available for your invention by doing a patent number search. This will help you understand where you should file your patent applications, and whether or not you need to take steps to prevent possible infringements of already existing patents.
You can use the patent number search to help you start drafting your patent applications.
What is a Patent Application Number Search?
When you search for a patent application number, it is called a patent application number search. Searches for patent applications that are not publicly available are often impossible because they are not public. This is an option if you have a similar product and want to look at their application.
You will need the publication number to conduct a patent number search. The year that the patent application was published is indicated by the first four numbers in the publication number. Publication numbers are not typically found on products, so it is necessary to search for the number. You can reach the applicant for the publication number if you are unable to find it through a search.
What is included in a Patent number?
The year it was granted, what type of patent it is, and where it was patented will all affect the patent number. The World Intellectual Property Organization Standard ST.16 codes are the most popular type of patent number. This code is the most well-known among patent number search databases.
The WIPO Standard ST.16 codes usually include a number followed by a letter. This indicates the level of publication (e.g. first publication, second publication or corrected publication).
These three elements are used in most patent number searches.
- The country code which is two characters
- The publication or patent number
- The WIPO ST.16 type code
What to know before a Search for a Patent Number
- All patents issued after 1976 are searchable.
- Patents issued prior to 1976 can only be searched using issue date, patent number or patent classification.
- The inventor can also search patents issued after 1920.
- Patents issued after 1848 or during it were almost always issued on Tuesdays. This allows you to choose specific dates to narrow down your search.
- If you are unsure of the date and year the patent was issued, you can type $ in the day field to enter the month and the year. This will return all patents issued in that month. Entering 199505$ for example will return all patents issued in May 1995.
- There are approximately 490 patent classifications. It is best to search for the patent classification of the type patent you are looking for. This will allow you to narrow down your search.
- You won’t get the results you desire if you search the USPTO patent database with keywords. If you were trying to search for the patent for the Rubik’s Cube in the USPTO database, the search would not return the desired invention, which is Spatial logical toys.
- AppFT (Applications Full Text) is the database that houses patent applications. This field contains the name of the company or person who held the patent at the time it was filed.
- If you are looking for the patent assignee name by name, and it is an individual you will need to format your query as follows: last name-firstname-initial
- You can use part of the name if the assignee is a business. You may have to search for variations of the company’s name if it doesn’t appear on your first attempt.
Searching for inventions patented after 1976
If you have an idea for a new product or a device that you want to patent, you can look up the patent number of that invention on the USPTO website. However, this site is restricted to inventions patented after 1976, and you cannot search for inventions prior to this date. Luckily, there are a few ways to do this search. The most obvious is to use a search engine to look up the invention. If you can’t find it online, then try preparing a working description of your idea, including any drawings or data that you’ve collected while testing it.
Searching for inventions patented after 1976 can be a bit tricky, but it’s still possible. You can also use Google to look up references patents older than 1976. The USPTO publishes the Patents part of its official journal, the Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In the “Term 1” box, you can enter the inventor’s name or search terms such as “invention.”
The next step is to determine which country issued the patent in the first place. If the patent was issued after 1976, search for the patent in that country. Some countries re-use patent numbers each year and continue to issue the same sequence. International patent databases are also available. These can be useful when trying to locate a patent for a product or service. If you don’t find a specific invention, try using different search terms to narrow down the results.
Another option is to search the patent database of the European Patent Office. Espacenet contains patents from around the world. However, you’ll only be able to view the images as PDFs. If you need a more detailed search, you can pay for a fee-based database. But if your goal is to find an invention that was patented more than 40 years ago, the most practical and effective option is to perform an offline patent search.
Using advanced search to look up a patent number
To use an advanced search to look up a patent number, you must first know which country issued the patent. Patent databases differ from country to country and the format used for patent numbers also varies. If you are unfamiliar with the format of a patent number, you can browse the CPC Schemes at the WIPO IPC Publication database. Then, you can use the advanced search to search specific patents or a range of patents.
You can use advanced search to search the entire full-text database of patents, from 1976 to the present. Advanced searches are longer, but result in more information. Refine your search by entering more search terms and refinement them. Be sure to remember your patent number, as the number will be on the lower left corner of the page. If you want more accurate results, you can try refinement and reset your search.
The advanced search function allows you to enter search terms in the command line. Advanced search can also identify keywords that appear in the patent publication description. It is important to note that advanced search does not care if the words are case sensitive or not. It is recommended that you avoid using stop words because they are too common when looking up patents. These keywords may not appear in your results. In this case, you may have to use other search terms to find the patent you need.
There are many ways to look up patent numbers online. The United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website has extensive databases of international patents. PATENTSCOPE is one of these databases, with multiple fields of data and help files. Using an advanced search to look up a patent number will save you time and frustration. It may even help you find the right patent quickly. Just make sure that you have the right keywords to start searching.
Using Lens or Espacenet
If you are looking for a patent, one of the easiest ways to find it is to use a search engine like Lens or Espacenet. These websites offer various patent search features, including downloading the original patent as a PDF file. Additionally, they offer citation views that show the entire patent family on one page, broken down into inventor and examiner citations. Espacenet has several limitations, but they are well worth the money and time.
While Lens is free and open-source, it lags behind many other top patent databases in terms of reliability. Other databases have better updates, more comprehensive coverage, and more features. Espacenet is a web service developed by the European Patent Organization (EPO), and has been recently revamped. Whether you want to search for a patent number, you can use Lens or Espacenet.
For a quick search of patent documents, the Google Patent Search tool allows you to type a patent number or keyword. If you need more detailed information, you can also download the entire patent database from the USPTO. However, you need a fast internet connection and a large hard drive to be able to download the entire database. Additionally, Google Patents offers fewer search fields than Espacenet. Despite these shortcomings, Google Patents is an excellent option if you need to look up a patent quickly. Another free patent search tool is Lens, offered by Cambia, an Australian non-profit organization.
Using the Gazette of the United States Patent Office to search for patents
You can use the Gazette of the United States Patent Office (USPTO) to search for patents. This journal contains all patents and other types of documents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The database contains bibliographic information on the title, abstract, current classification, assignees, inventors, and patent status. In addition, you can search the Patent Center for documents and filings.
The USPTO publishes copies of patents and trademarks in its Gazette. There are also trained staff to answer your questions about searching patents. Additionally, Patent and Trademark Resource Centers around the country maintain search resources and can offer training on how to find patents. You can also search the Gazette online using the Electronic Official Gazette. By searching for patents, you can browse by classification, type, and date issued.
You can also consult SIBL’s Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents, available online at the Hathi Trust. You can also search for patents by keyword, current U.S. classification, or patent number. There are also several CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs containing specific patent data for advanced searching. In addition to the USPTO’s website, you can also find resources on patents at Internet Archives and GoogleBooks.

The USPTO publishes the Official Gazette of Patents every Tuesday in electronic format. Each issue contains bibliographic information, representative claims, and drawings, and the patentee’s name. You can also read earlier issues of the gazette on HathiTrust. The Gazette also contains a list of patents that have expired or have been renewed. All these sources are useful in your search for patents.
Using the Gazette of the United States’ patents database is a safe and easy way to find patents. The OPD’s J-PlatPat search provides you with information about the legal status of patents. The J-PlatPat database contains documents that are cited in patent applications. You can also search for patents by keyword and patent numbers. The search results in a downloadable document with an e-mail notification.