Patents Online

USPTO Patent Database

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database includes full-page images beginning with the first U.S. patent issued in 1790. Issued patents starting from 1976 and patent applications are fully searchable. Patents issued between 1790 and 1975 are only available as TIFF images and are only searchable by the patent number or current U.S. classification. Note: In order to view drawings and images you may need to install a TIFF plug-in for your browser. See below for alternative sites for displaying images without a plug-in and for converting patents to PDF files.

FreePatentsOnline

With FreePatentsOnline you can search U.S. patents and applications from 1976 to the present and download full text in PDF format. Free registration is required to display PDF files. If you do not wish to register, you can get a PDF copy of a patent by entering the patent number into the www.pat2pdf.org utility.

Google Patent Search

Google Patent Search covers the entire collection of United States patents. As of March 2007, Google Patents does not include U.S. patents issued after the middle of 2006, patent applications or international patents. Results are ranked according to their relevance to a given search query as in the Google web search. To search by criteria like patent number and inventor use Advanced Search. Patents are not available in PDF format. You can get a PDF copy of a patent by entering the patent number into the www.pat2pdf.org utility.

LexisNexis Academic

Use LexisNexis to locate the full text of U.S. Patents from 1790 to present. View patent drawings, if available, by selecting the link "Get Drawing Sheet..." at the top of the page. You can get a PDF copy of a patent by entering the patent number into the www.pat2pdf.org utility.

www.pat2pdf.org

www.pat2pdf.org is a conversion utility that allows you to download a PDF version of a U.S. patent or patent application. Searching is by patent number only.

European and World Patents (esp@cenet)

The esp@cenet system is a searchable collection of of patent documents published around the world. English-language abstracts are usually available from 1970. Full text documents are provided if available.

Patent Organizations

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  
  • General patent information
• British Patent Office
  
• European Patent Office
  
• Japan Patent Office

Patent Depository Library

Standards

IEEE Standards

IEEE Xplore provides full text access to IEEE standards, including superseded standards but not draft standards, dating from January 1988 to present.

Standards Index (NSSN)

The National Standards Systems Network (NSSN) provides users with current standards information from major standards developers, including developers accredited by the American National Standards Institute, other U.S. private sector standards organizations, government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, and international standards organizations. Users can search by document number, or keywords from the title and scope. Information presented in the search results is limited to document number, title, organization and ordering information. Orders are directed to the developing organization or its designated supplier and to ANSI for acceptance and fulfillment.