Although it’s not recommended to solely rely on the internet, there is a wealth of information readily available regarding patents. Of the many sites that offer information about patents, some are informative, and some are devious attempts to lure you into spending money. How can you spot a good patent information resource? And what should you beware of?

If the site ends in ‘.gov’, it is a government site and all information is factual. The following is a list of online reliable resources to find information on patent licensing:

1.      United States Patent Office Resources:

USPTO Website- This is your most valuable resource on the Internet, as you can trust it completely. They aren’t trying to sell you anything, and if you are diligent and willing to read through it all, it is a fine patent resource bible, if you will.

The government site is rather modern looking and full of graphics, but also features a text only version for those on dial up who need more speed in their searches or just want to cut to the quick and get straight to the heart of the matter.

Their search page, http://www.uspto.gov/main/profiles/acadres.htm offers several ways to look up patent information and find the answers you are looking for.

The site also features an excellent glossary of terms to help you decipher the legal jargon you are going to have to live with to get a patent for your invention.

In fact, their “Guides” page has a lighthearted page at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ahrpa/opa/kids/special/mumbo.htm which actual uses the term “Mumbo Jumbo” to help you understand the complicated stuff and take some of the wind out of the sails of the three piece suitability you will be running into when you deal with the legal folks. It helps take some of the mystery out of the process and we recommend it for anyone just getting into the patent game.

Also on the web, http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/matters/matters-0203.html is an article titled “Using the United States Patent Office Website as a Research Resource,” by David V. Radack, which is like having your own tour guide of the US government site, and is excellent reading.

We could spend this whole article just talking about the USPTO, but let’s look at some other resources as well, to be fair.

2. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Resources:

http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en – The home site of the specialized agency established by the United Nations in 1967, and a visit here is recommended for those with international needs and questions.

3.      GOOGLE Resources:

http://www.google.com/patents – Individual patents are given as results to a search, displayed based on relevance to search terms.

The results of your searches on Google consist of seven key elements related to your patent search, which are Patent Title, Patent applications, Sorting options, U.S. Patent Number, Filing Date, Assignee name and a Patent snippet, which is “a snippet of text from the patent to show where the specific search terms were found.”

4.      LawInfo.com Resources:

http://resources.lawinfo.com/letters/frm_patentlicense.cfm?act=fill

This is a GREAT resource for people who already have a patent and need to create an “Exclusive Patent License Agreement.” The web site features an online form to fill out to grant the exclusive right of a licensee to use your registered patent.

If you have a patent on a revolutionary kitchen utensil that you want to exclusively license to a company, you would use this form to grant them the license to use your patent.

There ARE scams out there, and an excellent web page to visit to help determine if an offer to help is legitimate or not is: http://www.inventnet.com/scam.html. In general, the .org and .gov sites are the ones to be trusted the most, but you should also pay attention to legal firms who offer free advice on the web.

PatentHelpNow.com is a website dedicated to providing inventors with free patent help. You can contact us at: PatentHelpNow@gmail.com