An Overview of Important Patent Databases and Search Tools

F or nearly 300 years, patents have served as a legal tender to foster innovation and knowledge sharing, in a sense they could be called the first instances of applied science indixes. Numerous scientific databases in the second half of the twentieth century facilitated the dissemination of information. Some citation databases even provided researchers with more insight into the process of scientific discovery. Yet patents research has never paled because it offered legal protection to the interests accrued to scientific discoveries. The present work attempts to provide a comparative overview of the most important databases and tools currently used for searching patents. These databases fall into three general categories: 1) International patent search database like WIPO, USPTO, etc.; 2) Patent search database in Iran like the Iranian intellectual property center; and 3) Databases that provide patent access as part of their overall scientific information service like Orbit, CAS, etc. The main trust of the research has been focused on the common touchpoints of such databases and how their search aids evolve to address their respective clientele. The present study offers a glimpse into some of the most cost efficient combinations of patent searching tools and techniques available to Iranian researchers and potential patent assignees.