Google Patent Search

[Google Patents via MakeUseOf]

Another excellent service from mighty Google. This patent search engine, lets you search the United States Patent and Trademark Office (in short USPTO) for patents. Search through a massive patent database with over 7 million patents. At the moment Google Patents available only in English and searches only US patents, however it plans to expand the service to cover patent offices in other countries as well.

We have already profiled a patent search tool earlier, it’s called FreePatentsOnline. However Google Patents is a lot better. It’s a lot more than just a patent search tool, more like a massive patent information database. On each patent page you can see:

(1) Patent summary: All important details summarizing the patent. These includes dates of interest, associated parties and classifications.

(2) Patent Claims: Lists the specific claims made by the patent.

(3) Drawings and Pictures: Thumbnail shots of pictures found in the the patent.

(4) Option to search within that specific patent.

(5) Citations: List of patents that are cited by the patent.

(6) References: List of patents tha reference the given patent.

Furthermore, you can read the full patent contents online or download and save it to your PC as PDF document. And another really seful fetaure is the advanced patent search. Using this search option you can find almost any patent you need by applying a whole bunch of filters.