Free Data Bases

The Following patent databases can access from anywhere. If you need any assistance or arrange special training program on Patent Search Please contact UBL Cell.

The PATENTSCOPE database provides access to international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications in full text format on the day of publication, as well as to patent documents of participating national and regional patent offices.

Access the PATENTSCOPE database

Espacenet is a free online service for searching patents and patent applications. Espacenet was developed by the European Patent Office together with the member states of the European Patent Organisation.

Access the ESPACENET Patent database

United States Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO houses full text for patents issued from 1976 to the present and PDF images for all patents from 1790 to the present. Patents may be searched in the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT).

Access the USPTO Patent Full Text Database

Access the USPTO Publish Application Full Text Database

KIPO, KIPRIS, patent search, trademark search, design search, foreign trademark search, foreign patent search by Korian Intellectual Property Office.

Access the KIPRIS database

Japan Platform for Patent Information (J-PlatPat) offers the public access to IP Gazettes of the JPO free of charge through the Internet. Offers searches for Patent & utility model number, FI/F-term, PAJ, Patent map guidance, design number, design classification, and Japanese trademarks.

Access the Japan IPDL database

Commercial Patent Databases

The Following Commercial databases can only be accessed at University Business Linkage Cell (UBL Cell) of USJ. In order to access these databases please contact UBL Cell. Please note that these databases have limited access and available only few days per month.

Other Platforms

Type of Patent Searches…

State of the art searches

How far to go and when to stop will depend very much on the nature of the query and the extent of the material found.
A limited number of hits can be analyzed thoroughly; where there is a great deal of prior art, if the search can’t be refined then it is reasonable to adopt a broader approach and bring the search to a halt.

Novelty / Patentability Searches

The scope of these searches is generally narrower than a state of the art search. You could decide to stop your search when:

• The prior art has been found for all claims of interest that demonstrates that these claims lack novelty or inventive step
• A point has been reached where the claims diverge widely from a central idea and it’s not clear which direction is preferred

Remember that it is sufficient to demonstrate a lack of novelty if you can find even a single document that describes the features of a claimed invention, assuming that this document was made available to the public before the patent in question was filed.

But if you find few or no relevant documents, you may be tempted to keep going on and on with your search. Use your experience and common sense to make up your mind – some ideas are actually new!

Freedom to Operate Search

Freedom to operate searches are generally limited by:

• The particular technology in question
• The countries in which you or your client expect to operate
• The legal status of any patent documents found, whether a patent is still in force or expired or whether a patent application can still be filed for the same invention elsewhere

Unlike novelty searches or validity searches, you should be aiming to find all potentially relevant documents. Otherwise you or your client might risk infringing a patent you didn’t even know existed, because you missed it in your search!

Validity Search

Similarly to novelty/patentability searches you will want to find documents that describe the features of a claimed invention. However, you will likely want to probe available documents more exhaustively to find more results that might demonstrate lack of novelty or inventiveness, in case one of your documents is rejected.