Overview

This tool provides fast, centralized access to all types of patent documents (patent applications, published patent applications, and patents). You just enter any patent document number, and the tool will look for it.

In general, patent documents are accessible through various web sites depending on the type of patent document and on the country or region in which the patent application was filed. Instead of having to find the appropriate web site and navigating through web pages to eventually gain access to the patent document, you are linked directly to the patent document on the appropriate web site.

The web sites often have frustratingly strict format requirements for entering patent document numbers. In contrast, this tool will make an effort to find a proper patent document number. For example, the tool may ignore spaces, dashes, capitalization, and other unimportant characters.

Accessing Patent Documents

After entering a patent document number, click the lookup button or press the return key. The tool will generate a set of buttons for accessing the patent document or information about the patent document.

Sharing Patent Documents

The tool will also generate a hyperlink to the patent document when possible. The link may be selected, copied to the clipboard, and then shared. This may be more efficient than sharing a copy of the patent document.

Syntax

CC NNNNNNNN SS

CC is a country code indicating the country or region in which the corresponding application was filed. Supported country codes include US, CA, CN, DE, EP, PCT, and WO. Defaults to US if no country code is provided.

NNNNNNN is the patent application number, patent application publication number, or patent number.

SS is a suffix, such as "A1", "A2", or "B1", and is generally optional.