Book Description

This guide was originally published to fill a clear need for a practicable and readable primer to patents as a source of technical information. The good response that it has received led to publishing a second, and now a third edition. It was originally meant as a sourcebook for the British Library's Science Reference and Information Service (SRIS) patents seminars. These origins are reflected in a certain bias toward British interests, but patent documentation for the United States, Germany, and Japan as well as the international systems all have their own chapters. The guide is divided into three main sections. Section 1 explains the main points of the patent documentation of six patent offices: Britain, the European Patent Convention, the Patent Cooperation Treaty patents, the United States, Germany, and Japan. Section 2 covers finding patent information (a new chapter), patent classification, and patent information resources in the United Kingdom. Section 3 consists of appendices covering online, compact disc and Internet sources, a bibliography, a glossary, and lists of INID and country codes. Extensively revised to reflect changes in documentation and new sources, this third edition contains many new examples of front pages from patent specifications.