Do-It-Yourself Patent Searching Using Free Web Resources

Course Curriculum

Chapter 1: Course Introduction

Lecture 1: Patent Research – The First Step to Success at the Patent Office and the Market

Lecture 2: About the Course

Lecture 3: ASK US ANYTHING!

Lecture 4: You're Doing it Wrong (when you Google for patents)

Lecture 5: What You'll Need for Your Patent Search

Chapter 2: Patent Primer – Important Terms and Concepts for Patent Searchers

Lecture 1: Prior Art, References, Rejection Types

Lecture 2: Looking at Patent Documents

Lecture 3: Limitations and Other Caveats of Patent Searching (but it's still vital!)

Chapter 3: Patent Searching Tools

Lecture 1: Search Tools Introduction

Lecture 2: Google Patents – More than Just Google

Lecture 3: Patent Classification – The Only Thing that Matters in Patent Searching

Lecture 4: FreePatentsOnline and USPTO – Useful Search Tools "for special occasions"

Lecture 5: Pros and Cons of Some Popular Search Services

Lecture 6: Spreadsheets and Patent Research

Lecture 7: Walking through the Advanced Spreadsheet

Lecture 8: Spreadsheet Functions & Downloadable Templates

Chapter 4: Basic Patent Searching – Step by Step

Lecture 1: Patent Search Tutorial Introduction

Lecture 2: Elements and Keywords for the Search

Lecture 3: Broad Searching

Lecture 4: Parent Class Searching

Lecture 5: Subclass Searching

Lecture 6: Reviewing Search Results

Lecture 7: How Will I Know When I'm Done?

Lecture 8: Refining the Invention

Chapter 5: Beyond the Basics – Advanced Search Tools & Strategies

Lecture 1: Assignment and PAIR Searching

Lecture 2: Determining if a Patent is In Force

Lecture 3: International Patent Searching – Getting Out Into the Rest of the World

Lecture 4: Citation Searching – Letting the Patent Office do Some of the Work For You

Chapter 6: Conclusion

Lecture 1: Conclusion – Let Us Know if You Have Any Questions!