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Patents

A guide to help ASU students find patent information including what is a patent, the different sections of a patent, how to do a prior art search, where to find statistics and other sources of patent information.

Legal Notice

This Library Guide is an educational tool for ASU's science/engineering students and does not constitute legal advice. 

Employees of the ASU Library cannot provide legal advice for the patent application process nor for patentability searching.

The State Library:
Arizona's Patent & Trademark
Resource Center

Are you an Arizona resident looking for assistance and/or information about patents and trademarks? 

The State Library of Arizona is designated by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as the Patent and Trademark Resource Center for the state of Arizona.  

Patent and trademark resource center logo

Located: 1901 W. Madison Street, Phoenix, AZ 85009
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm
​Phone: 602-926-3870
Email
Guide to Patent and Trademark Resources

Patents

A patent is a government grant bestowing certain property rights on the inventor including the right for the inventor to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention.  Along with trademarks, trade secrets, and copyright, patents are legally considered "intellectual property."  The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is responsible for examining patent applications and granting patents in the U.S. The USPTO is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. There are no Arizona State agencies involved in the patenting process.

US Patent #8100451
Multi-fingered Robot Hand

Diagram of robot hand

Table of Contents

This guide is an introduction to patents for ASU science and engineering students.  It is divided into sections designated by the TABs across the top of this page.  The contents of these sections include:

About Patents
Explains the 3 main types of patents that the United States issues; breaks down the different sections of a patent and what each section contains. International patents are briefly covered as well.  Links are provided to where more detailed information is available on the United States Patent and Trademark and the European Patent Office websites. 

ASU Patent/IP Information
Links to information for ASU faculty, researchers and students; also contains information about ASU community outreach for IP and business information. 

Famous Inventors and Inventions
Have fun with patents; links to information about famous inventors and inventions

Finding Patents 
Instructions for finding patents using free web-based resources.  Find out how to search by:


Glossaries
Links to definitions for terms frequently used in the patenting process

Statistics 
Links to statistical data for patenting activities in Arizona, U.S. and Internationally 

Where to Find ...
Not sure where to go to find the information you need?   This page links to the major patent databases plus where patent information is available     

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-two Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.