Skip to main content
It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

Course & Subject Guides

Chemical Engineering 0613 - Systems Engineering 2: Process Design - Oakland Campus: Patents

This guide provides research assistance for students taking the Chemical Engineering Process Design course. The focus of the guide is on identifying appropriate resources in the field and using them effectively for research projects.

Patent Searching

For complete information about patents see the US Patent and Trademark Office's Web pages and see a patent attorney or agent to ensure a thorough understanding.

Brief Definition: A (U.S.) patent is a grant of a property right by the (U.S.) Government to you, the inventor, "to exclude others from making, using or selling the invention." Patents differ significantly from copyrights and trademarks.

All patents must be "maintained" by paying a fee to the US Patent & Trademark Office at certain intervals. If you fail to pay the maintenance fee, your patent expires and you lose exclusive rights to your invention. 

Three Categories

In the U.S., according to the current patent law, the US Patent & Trademark Office grants utility patents and plant patents that last for 20 years; and design patents that last for 14 years.

  • Utility patents apply to new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvement of one of these. Generally speaking, if your invention does something, you should apply for a utility patent. Traditionally, utility patents have been divided into three basic types: mechanical, electrical, and chemical. (Pharmaceutical patents are a special case of chemical patents.)
  • Design patents apply to new, original, and ornamental design for an article or manufacture. To highlight the difference between design and utility patents, consider the original Macintosh computer. The plastic shell that covers all working parts is covered by a design patent, while many of the working parts it hides are covered by utility patents.
  • Plant patents are granted to any person who has invented or discovered and asexually reproduced any distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than tuber-propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state.

International Patent Protection

Patent protection granted to an inventor by a government is only valid in the country where the inventor requested it. The rights do not extend beyond that country. For example, U.S. patents are valid only in the 50 states and its territories and do not provide legal protection in any other countries. When you wish to obtain patent protection for the same invention in other countries, you must file an application in each country separately. Attempting to pursue patent protection individually in several countries, however, can be complex and expensive, since each country has its own unique patent laws and practices. Important features in patent laws and practices that are significantly different among various nations are being negotiated under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

 

Patent Databases:

Seven Step Strategy (from the USPTO):

  1. Brainstorm keywords.
  2. Use the keywords to find initial relevant Cooperative Patent Classification using the Espacenet Classification Search or USPTO website's Site Search box.  In the Site search box found in the top right hand corner of the home page enter "CPC Scheme [plus keywords(s) describing invention]."
  3. Verify the relevancy of CPC classification you found by reviewing the CPC Classification Definition linked to it (if there is one).
  4. Retrieve U.S. patent documents with the CPC classification you selected in the PatFT (Patents Full-Text and Image) database. Review and narrow down the most relevant patent publications by initially focusing on the front page information of abstract and representative drawings.
  5. Using this selected set of most relevant patent publications, review each one in-depth for similarity to your own invention.
  6. Retrieve U.S. published patent applications with the CPC classification you selected in Step 3 in the AppFT (Applications Full-Text and Image) database.
  7. Broaden your search to find additional U.S. patent publications using keyword searching in PatFT or AppFT databases, classification searching of non-U.S. patents on the European Patent Office's Worldwide Espacenet patent database  and searching non-patent literature disclosures of inventions using the free electronic and print resources of your nearest Patent and Trademark Resource Center.

Patent Searching Guide:

For more detailed information, see the Patent Searching @ Pitt guide.