Finding Patents & Patent Applications
International Patent Offices
Patent applications are submitted to the government body responsible for intellectual property in each country or region.
- National offices include the U.S. Patent and Trademark Organization (USPTO), the Canadian Intellectual Property Organization (CIPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), and others.
- Regional offices include the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) and the European Patent Office (EPO).
- Internationally, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) collects patent applications and documents from the national and regional bodies. PatentScope, the WIPO patent database, includes all the above listed patent offices in their collections.
To find patents and patent applications, a good first step is the government body responsible. However, as these databases can be tricky to use and the information they provide is free, there are a number of free services that aim to make patent searching a bit easier. Stevens students, faculty and staff can also find patents in Scopus, one of the Library's subscription databases.
American Patents (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)
Free Patent Search
Domestic or international
Subscription Database
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