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[next article]Charlotte Erdmann
The Siegesmund Engineering Library was designated as a Patent & Trademark Depository Library in 1991. The Reference Desk staff provides assistance in helping people in the use of printed publications and CD-ROM indexes to U.S. patents and trademarks. U.S. patents are available on microfilm from 1976 to present at the Circulation Desk.
This quick introduction is written emphasizing access to the patent collection. Please consider this introduction -- the tip of the iceberg. The library has more detailed information about searching patents, so feel free to ask a lot of questions at the Reference Desk.
Similar inventions are arranged in a system of classes and subclasses. The goal of most patent searches is to find patents related to a specific invention. The procedure is a six-step process:
1) Find the invention in Index to the U.S. Patent Classification.
2) Go to specific class/subclass(es) in the Manual of Classification.
3) Find full definition of class/subclass in the Classification Definitions. Check for cross-references to other classes/subclasses.
4) Search by class/subclass in CD-ROM indexes (CASSIS/BIB covers 1969 to present; CASSIS/CLASS covers 1790 to present)
5) Identify relevant patent numbers
6) Look at major claims and drawing in Official Gazzette and/or full-text of patent on microfilm
Sometimes a known patent may be used to help identify class/subclass information.
The Official Gazette (Patents) is also available in the Purdue University Libraries. The Gazette shows a patent's major claim(s) and a drawing. The holdings are:
Library First Year Last Year Call Number
(Location)
Storage 1872 1970 608 Un3o
Storage 1971 1974 608 Un3op
Engineering 1975 Present 608 Un3op
(Abstracts)
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8 am-9:45 pm
Fri. 8 am-5:45 pm
Sat. and Sun. Hours vary
The major patent indexes are CASSIS/BIB, CASSIS/CLASS,
CASSIS/ASSIG, CASSIS/ASIGN, and SNAP. The descriptions in this
section are reprinted from "CD-ROM PRODUCTS from the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office, October 1993" produced by the Office of
Electronic Information Products & Services.A complete search of CASSIS/BIB and CASSIS/CLASS is necessary to cover the U.S. Patent system from 1790 to present. There is some overlap between the two files. It is easy to eliminate the overlap because both files display the records in descending numerical order.
CASSIS/BIB can be used to:
> Search patents by words in their titles
> Find the current classification for patents
> Search patents by class and subclass
> Find patents assigned to a company
> Search patents by issue year, status,
first-listed inventor's residence at
time of patent issue
> Search patents by words in abstracts
(abstracts are provided for most recent
three-year period as disc space permits)
There are two files on CASSIS/BIB: Patent Bibliographic File and
Assignee File. Although there are two files on the disc, there
is one search screen.insert
CASSIS/CLASS provides access to current patent classification information. The data is updated approximately every two month. This file can be used to:
> Find the current classification of a patent > List all the patents in one or more classificationsAll U.S. patents of the following types, issued from 1790 through the date specified on each disc, are represented in CASSIS/CLASS by their classification information:
Additional Improvements
Defensive Publications
Design Patents
Plant Patents
Reissued Design Patents
Reissued Utility Patents
Reissued X-Numbered Patents
Statutory Invention Registrations
Utility Patents
X-Numbered Patents
There are two files on CASSIS/CLASS:Classification Information File - By Patent Number
Classification Information File - By Subclass
The search screens for the two files are shown next.
Inserts
CASSIS/ASIGN includes assignments recorded at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from August 1980 to the present. The rights of a patent belong to a patent's inventor. As a condition of employment, many inventors assign their rights to their employer. The entire assignment record for patents may be searched, including assignments recorded before and after a patent is issued.
CASSIS/ASIST (Additional Support Information Search Tools) is a collection of patent search and reference tools, and includes:
Index to the U.S. Patent Classification
Manual of Classification
Classification Definitions
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure
ICP-USPC Concordance
Classification Orders Index
Patentee-Assignee File
Attorneys and Agents Registered to Practice
Before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
SNAP contains the serial numbers, serial codes, patent numbers,
and patent titles for U.S. patents with an application date
beginning January 1, 1977. The serial number is sometimes
called the application number. Patents in the file are for
issued patents only.
Utility Patents 1976 3,930,271 Design Patents 1976 D238,315 Statutory Invention Registrations 1985 H-1 Plant Patents 1931 P1 Patent Status File 1991 RE28,461
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