On-line Databases :
Internet-based databases are on-line databases. Anyone who has access to the Internet may be able to browse the full text of published patent documents via free of charge databases or commercial databases. As access to these kinds of databases is not restricted across national borders, so users worldwide can very easily access patent documents from a computer connected to the Internet.
As of now, many national and regional patent offices provide free online access to their own patent collections as well as to selected patent documents from other offices. For example, the Full-Text and Full- Page Image Database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is one of the earliest and free online patent information services. Another major on-line free patent database is Espacenet, esp@cenet®, provided by the European Patent Organization through the EPO (European Patent Office) and the national offices of its members states. Espacenet offers free access to more than 80 million patent documents worldwide, containing information about inventions and technical developments from 1836 to today. An extensive list of national patent Databases can be found at: www.wipo.int/patentscope/ endbsearch/national_databases.html
WIPO offers free online access to all international patent applications within the framework of the PCT and their related documents and patent collections from National and Regional Offices through its PATENTSCOPE search service: (http://patentscope.wipo.int/search)
International Patent Classification (IPC) is a hierarchical classification system used primarily to classify and search patent documents (patent applications, specifications of granted patents, utility models, etc.) according to the technical fields they pertain. It therefore serves as an instrument for an orderly arrangement of the patent documents, a basis for selective dissemination of information and a basis for investigating the state of the art in given fields of technology.
IBM Intellectual Property Network (free searching and full text and front page display), Intellectual Property Network (IPN) is a free IBM patent site provided by IBM (International Business Machines Corporation). The database contains:
• United States patents (US): 1971-present & updated weekly. (Full text / full image).
• European patents – applications (EP-A): 1979-present, updated weekly. (Front page & claims / full images).
• European patents – issued (EP-B): 1980-present, updated weekly. (Front page & claims / Full images)
• WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) PCT publications (WO): 1990-present, updated weekly. (Front page & claims / full images)
• Patent Abstracts of Japan (JP): 1976-present, updated weekly. (Front page & claims / Representative image)
A number of commercial and non-profit providers also offer free patent information databases online. Certain commercial providers have established value-added services for access on a fee-paying basis including translations of patent information and additional systematic classification, for instance by chemical structures and reactions or biological sequences.
Moreover, professional search services exist that can perform prior art searches on behalf of potential patent applicants and may be useful if an initial search does not produce desired results. An extensive list of patent service providers can be found at: (www.piug.org/vendors.php)
Though free on-line patent databases are available and anyone can access these databases, nevertheless, it is pertinent that a person skilled in conducting searches be given the task. The reason being, patent searches involves tedious, repeated searching through various patent and non-patent literature. An unskilled person would not be able to do justice to the vast amount of literature to be searched. Furthermore, a skilled person understands the importance of the claims of a patent. The claims of a patent are of utmost importance when a similar patent to your invention exists; in such a case, one needs to analyze the patent claims to determine the degree of similarity between the two. Furthermore, a skilled person would be able to counsel on the strength of your patent or on refining your patent so that it does not infringe other existing art. A non-skilled person may not understand these concepts.