Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is the result of a partnership between the EPO and the USPTO in their joint effort to develop a common, internationally compatible classification system for technical documents, in particular patent publications, which will be used by both offices in the patent granting process.
International Patent Classification (IPC) is a classification system for patents. Can be useful when searching databases.
Patent Information Vendor Sites lists commercial and non-profit providers offering free patent information databases online, assembled by the Patent Information Users Group. It includes links to services of value in patent searching, patent information, patent documentation, patent document delivery, and patent publishing.
Patent Translate is a machine translation service for patent documents in 32 languages from the EPO and Google. It provides translations from and into English, French and German.
e-Tutorial on Using and Exploiting Patent Information (WIPO) is a free online tutorial includes three parts: Patent Basics; Patent Search and Retrieval; and Patent Analysis.
PatSnap is an IP discovery and intelligence tool.
PatentsView is an award-winning visualization, data dissemination, and analysis platform that focuses on intellectual property (IP) data.
British Library - Search the British Library's collection including UK patents.
European Patent Office (EPO) FAQs
OECD Oslo Manual - Guidelines for Collecting and Interpreting Innovation Data. The foremost international source of guidelines for the collection and use of data on innovation activities in industry.
OECD Patent Statistics Manual - This manual provides guiding principles for the use of patent data in science and technology measurement, and recommendations for the compilation and interpretation of patent indicators.
The Official Journal of the EPO (European Patent Office)
UK Intellectual Property Office information on patents
WIPO - the global forum for intellectual property services, policy, information and cooperation
Directory of Intellectual Property Offices
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official government body responsible for granting Intellectual Property rights in the United Kingdom.
If you have any questions about patents, we recommend that you try asking a librarian for help.
