• Patent and Full-Text and Full-Page Image Database (patft.uspto.gov):  This site, from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, allows searching of every patent issued in the U.S. beginning in 1790, as well as patent applications published since March 2001.  In addition to quick and advanced search options, this site provides access to the patent office’s classification system, the most effective way to find relevant patents.  Each entry includes a link to images of the complete document which can be seen using a TIFF viewer.  Documents must be printed one page at a time.  For other printing options, see Aids, below.  For help in searching this site effectively, please contact us or come in to the R.C. Barclay Reference and Retailing Resources Center on the first floor of the West Campus Library.  Appointments encouraged.
• PubWEST:  This publicly-available version of the search tool used by patent examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is the gold standard for U.S. patent searching.  Like the USPTO’s web-based search, above, this site utilizes the patent office’s classification system and provides access to all patents issued in the United States and patent applications published since March 2001.  PubWEST also features additional search and display functionality which allows more targeted searching and more rapid sorting of results.  For assistance in searching this database effectively, please contact us or come into the R.C. Barclay Reference and Retailing Resources Center on the first floor of the West Campus Library.  Appointments encouraged.  Available on a special machine in the Barclay Center.
• Google Patents (http://www.google.com/patents):  This service from Google, currently in Beta, allows full-text searching of approximately 7 million patents and more than one million patent applications from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  While easy to use, Google Patents’ results are less precise than the governmental sites above that make use of the classification system.  For a definitive search, uspto.gov or PubWEST are recommended.

Aids:

• AlternaTIFF (www.alternatiff.com):  To view images of patent documents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website, you must have a TIFF viewer installed on your computer.  This webpage provides directions for installing AlternaTIFF plug-ins in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Netscape-like environments.  Free registration required.
  
• Pat2pdf.org (www.pat2pdf.org):  This free website allows patent documents to be viewed in pdf format and printed or saved in their entirety, rather than one page at a time as the Patent and Trademark Office’s website requires.
• 7-Step U.S. Patent Search Strategy (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/ptdl/step7.htm):  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has outlined a 7-step process to conduct systematic and thorough searches.  This process is designed to be used with the Patent and Full-Text and Full Image Database and PubWEST.   
  
• Zotero (http://www.zotero.org/):  A Firefox extension that facilitates collecting, managing and citing research sources, including patents.