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|  | Home > Collections > Government Publications Maps and Law > Legal Resources > Patents Resources and Service Patents Resources and Services Patent and trademark information is located in the Government Publications/Maps/Law Library of the Eisenhower Library. Although the library is not a Patent Depository Library (PDL), it provides material and information that can be used to begin a patent or trademark search or search the topic of patents and trademarks. The library is also a gateway to other sites where patent searches can be done. The closest PDL is the Engineering and Physical Science Library at the University of Maryland at College Park. It has a microfilm copy of every United States Patent granted since 1790. The Business, Science, and Technology Department of the Central Enoch Pratt Free Library also has patent and trademark materials. It receives The Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office with volumes going back to the 1870's. Publications from the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and other reference materials are located on Level A in the Government Publications/Maps/Law reference section. Some of the titles include:
To find other material about patents and trademarks in the library, search the online catalog using keywords or phrases such as:
As they are issued, each patent is assigned a patent number and a class and subclass number that distinguish the subject nature of the invention. The class number refers to the broad category of inbention, while the subclass refers more precisely the actual object. For example, Cutlery is patent Class Number 30 and can-openers fall into the Cutlery subclass number 400+. Understanding patent Class and Subclass numbers can be useful when searching for inventions on a specific subject. Class and subclass numbers offer more precise patent searching than subjects or keywords. A detailed explanation of each class and subclass can be found in Classification Definitions (C 21.3/2: Microfiche in GPML) or on the PTO's Web site. The following is an excerpt taken from the Classification Definitions.
Each class and subclass is titled, numbered, and listed in the Manual of Classification (C 21.12). This publication lists the numbers and titles of the 570 classes and over 70,000 subclasses currently assigned by the Patent and Trademark Office. There are some Web sites that have previous editions of the manual that can be searched. Patents represent a large body of scientific and technological literature. They are an excellent source of information concerning historic and current research. Patent searches are done for a variety of reasons that include preparation for a patent application, tracking competitors, and finding information. The GPML Library has materials that can be used to begin a patent search. An excellent source for learning about the patent searching process is: An Introduction to U.S. Patent Searching: The Process by Susan B. Ardis: T 210.A 731 1991 (Doc-Ref) Other Searching Tools Index to the U.S. Patent Classification (C 21.12/2: GPML) This index provides an alphabetical listing of subject matter headings that in turn lead to the class or subclass numbers appropriate to the particular invention. The Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (C 21.5/4: Microfiche Gov Pubs) For those who want journal, magazine, or newspaper articles about patents and trademarks and surrounding issues, use indexes and abstracts such as:
The full text of patents can be downloaded from various Web sites. Johns Hopkins students, faculty, and staff can request specific patents through inter-library loan located on Level M of the Eisenhower Library. The GPML Library can order pre-1971 or difficult to obtain patents. These are the people who can help you Librarians in GPML on Level A - (410) 516-8360 Susan Vazakas - svazakas@jhu.edu (410) 516-4153 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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