If you know exactly which patent you want, by number or title, finding a patent is a pretty simple process. A variety of online tools offer this ability, differing in what information they present and how they present it. Patexia’s research tools provide a good place to start, and implement some unique useful tools related to patent assignment and involvement in lawsuits. Google Patents is well-designed and has great searchability within patents themselves. The USPTO Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) service provides information regarding status of applications, as well as extensive continuity data (how similar applications and patents relate to each other).

Without a good idea of what you’re looking for, searching for patents can be tricky. Several services, including the above, offer various ways of performing keyword searches for patents. For more information about searching, see a previous article about searching for prior art.

This series of short articles is designed to help answer some commonly-asked questions and point readers in the direction of more information. Other articles in the series: Provisional applications, How to get a patent, Patent costs.