Patent and Trademark Resource Center at Oklahoma State University: Searching Patents
Steps to Starting a Patent Search Using CPC
Steps to Starting a Preliminary U.S. Patent Search
•1. Do a keyword search in Google Patents, https://patents.google.com/
•2. Locate several patent(s) that are relevant to your invention
•3. Review the abstract, images, and claims
•4. In the blue box:
Download the PDF
See Patent citations – other patents cited by this patent
See Cited by – patents that have cited this patent
Click on the USPTO link to view the patent at USPTO and identify any U.S. classes
•5. Classifications
See the CPC classifications/technology areas
Click on the USPTO link to view the patent at USPTO and identify any U.S. classes
•6.Search the CPC and U.S. classes at USPTO for more complete results. Use Current CPC Class and Current US Class
Issued patents patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html
Applications appft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html
Cooperative Patent Classification System
- USPTO officially moves to CPC from the USPC in 2015 aligning the U.S. with the rest of the world
- Classification searching is necessary for a more complete search
- CPC and U.S. Patent Classification Systems - via USPTO
- Learn more about the CPC here: http://www.cooperativepatentclassification.org/index.html
Search Guidance
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European Patent OfficeSearch patents in other countries