Research Guides: Chemical and Life Sciences Engineering: Patents and Standards

Quick Patent Searches

For many student and other early-stage projects, the goal is of a patent search to find out what already exists or is currently being developed. This "state-of-the art" type search typically does NOT give enough information to know if a particular idea is patentable or infringes on an existing patent, but it does give information about what has been tried already and how similar an idea is to what has been patented.

The Lens / Patent Lens
This easy search interface for both U.S. and international patent documents has space for saving and annotating patent information. It includes full text and images from US patents granted beginning with 1976, US applications beginning with 2001, European Patent Office Grants beginning with 1980, WIPO PCT Applications beginning with 1978, and text of Australian patents.
USPTO Patent Public Search
Searches USPAT (full-text U.S. patents back to 1970 and classification and patent number searching to 1790) and USOCR (OCR scanned pre-1970 U.S. patents - full text but sometimes character recognition / spelling is unreliable), and US-PGPUB (U.S. pre-grant applications to 3/2001).
Google Patents
Use Google's interface to search granted patents and published patent applications from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) back to 1790, European Patent Office (EPO) back to 1978, and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) back to 1978.

Scifinder
Chemical information resource. Patents are marked in the results as PatentPak, and searches can be limited to patents. To see the patents themselves, use the names and identification numbers found in SciFinder to search other patent resources.
Derwent Innovations Index
Patent search tool with an emphasis toward mechanical patents and precise searches in three categories: three categories: chemical, electrical and electronic, and engineering -- rather than broad searches.

More Patent Searching Tools

If you're getting too many results or too many irrelevant results, you probably should narrow your search down to just inventions that are in the same category as yours. Use the Cooperative Patent Classification system to find the classification for your invention, and then narrow down your search from there.

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
If you are finding too many or too few patents in your search, searching by the Cooperative Classification for your invention can quickly narrow your results down. First find the classification here and then use that classification code to search for a patent with that classification.

Standards

VCU Libraries provides some standards online directly from ASTM and IEEE. For standards that VCU Libraries does not provide access to directly, VCU students, faculty and staff can contact Ibironke Lawal, Science and Engineering Collections Librarian, ilawal@vcu.edu; (804) 828-8739, to get the standard for you. Please include the name and number of the standard you are requesting.

Standards Available Immediately

ASTM Compass
ASTM Compass includes standards and technical engineering information. The standards primarily are for materials and materials testing.
IEEE Xplore
IEEE Xplore includes research articles, conference papers, and standards in electrical engineering, electronics, and computer science. To limit the search to standards, uses the Advanced Search and limit the content type to standards.

ANSI Incorporated by Reference Portal
Read-only access, usually free, to standards incorporated by U.S. government rulemaking. Sometimes the standards are visible directly on the ANSI site, and sometimes you will be redirected to an external site to view the standards.

Other Standards

The tools below can be used to locate the names and numbers of standards. They can be used to help you identify the appropriate standards, and will display the price to purchase them.

Once you have verified you have located the appropriate standards for your need, direct your request for the standard to Ibironke Lawal, Science and Engineering Collections Librarian, ilawal@vcu.edu; (804) 828-8739. Please include the name and number of the standard you are requesting.

ANSI Standards
American Standards Institute - US and International Standards
NIST Resources for Finding Standards
Lists resources for locating standards -- both international standards and industry-specific standards that may apply only in a particular country.
Accuris Standards Store (formerly IHS and Techstreet)
A catalog for standards and technical information. Coverage is international. Useful for getting a feel if a standard exists for something and how much it would cost.