GUIDES & RESOURCES

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Patents

A quick guide containing links to selected websites, books, movies, magazines, online databases and other resources to help you find what you are looking for.

You may also be interested in these Info Guides:

Websites

pat2pdf.org Search Tool - Full Text Patents in .PDF format
espacenet - European Patent Office Online
United States Patent Office
Trademark Information - TESS
FreePatentsOnline.com
World Intellectual Property Organization
British Library Science Technology and Business
Canadian Intellectual Property Office
European Patent Office
Japanese Patent Office
United Kingdom Patent Office
University of Texas Patent Search Tutorial
University of Texas Patent Applications Search Tutorial
US Patent Office's Pages for Kids
Ask the Inventors!
Includes advice to new inventors.

Library Materials

20 questions to ask if you have a great idea or invention
by: Jester, Michael H., 1951-
608 JES
From patent to profit secrets strategies for the successful inventor
by: DeMatteis, Bob
608.773 DEM 2005
Protecting your ideas the inventors guide to patents
by: Bryant, Joy L.
608.773
Will it sell how to determine if your invention is profitably marketable before wasting money on a patent
by: White, James E.
608.068 WHI

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How can I view patent images on the web?

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has loaded all US patents on their website, www.uspto.gov. Those published after 1975 are available as text files, readable with any web browser. However, those published before 1976 are available only as images, called TIFF files. To view these files you will need to install a piece of software called a TIFF reader, available free on the Internet. To complicate the issue, even for those more recent patents published as text files (post 1975), to view the drawings, one must also have the TIFF reader installed.

The patent office has a page with explanations of what readers are available. The recommended file one can install is alternaTIFF. That is the file installed on all of the library's computers. 

Alternatively, you may view US Patents back through the 1920's at the European Patent Office Patent Search Page, espacenet. This is a great place to find full-text US patents. They are in Acrobat Reader format, a piece of software now installed on most computers. Another free site, pat2pdf , offers Acrobat formatted patents.

I've heard of Invention Marketing Fraud, but how can I protect myself?
For more information visit the National Inventor Fraud Center, or the InventorEd Invention Promoter Caution List .
Is there a Local Inventors Club?
The Indiana Inventors Association is a group whose members are inventors, engineers, small business owners and others. They publish an informative monthly newsletter which offers interesting articles along with the announcement of the program for the next monthly membership meeting. These educational programs about inventing, patenting, marketing, venture capital, etc. are dinner meetings held the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30. For information about the meeting site or membership in the Association, please contact Dave Zedonis, the President of the club, by e-mail at dzedonis@insightbb.com or call Randall Redelman at 317-733-0578 or Robert Brand at 317-823-0175.