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Patents Online: Basics for Researchers: Patents in Sci-Tech Databases

patents, intellectual property, sciences, business

Prior Art

If pursing a patent, non-patent literature in addition to patents in the USPTO and foreign patent databases should be searched in order to determine if an invention has already been disclosed.

Patents in Sci-Tech Databases

Some patents are cited in traditional journal literature
These are keywords searches and not comprehensive
Citations will include the patent number. See page - Finding the Full-Text of Patents - to retrieve the full-text using the patent number
See the chart: Patent Coverage in Sci-Tech Databases
See page - Searching U.S. Patents - for comprehensive patent research

Patent Coverage in Sci-Tech Databases

Google Scholar

Google Scholar
Google Scholar can include patents in the search results. Select "include patents." Links to patents in Google patents.

Scopus

Scopus
The Library has a subscription to Scopus, which will include U.S. and foreign patents as part of the search results. They will be displayed as a link in the blue bar on the upper right and not as a document type. Search the databases and classifications at the USPTO for comprehensive patent research.