Patents: FAQs & Materials to Read

FAQs - How To Find or Read A Patent 

• How to find if I have a patent number? (NUS Libraries)
  • Quick guide on how to find the patent document if you have the number
• How to read a patent document (NUS Libraries)
  • This is a short 5 minutes video on how to read a patent document as well as some quick tips on searching patents. Please login to watch video (for NUS staff and students only).

• How to read a patent (The Lens)
  • This is one of the FAQs from The Lens. A U.S. patent is used as an example to explain the purpose and goals for each section of the patent document
• Donald KE, K. M. Mohibul Kabir, Donald WA. 2018. Tips for reading patents: a concise introduction for scientists. Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents [accessed 2024 Feb 7]; 28:277–280
  • The authors in this editorial article gave some hints and tips on how to read patent documents to locate key scientific findings
• Ma MY. 2015. How to read a patent. In: Fundamentals of patenting and licensing for scientists and engineers. Singapore: World Scientific. [accessed 2024 Feb 7]
  • This book chapter explains about how to read a patent document

General Information on Patents and Intellectual Property

Journal Articles / Books / E-books

• Clarke NS. 2018. The basics of patent searching.World Patent Information [accessed 2020 Jul 2]; 54, Supplement:S4–S10
  •  This journal article appeared as part of special issue: Best of the Search Matters (September 2018)
• Tidwell JL, Liotta LA. 2017. Inventions and Patents: A practical tutorial. Methods Mol Biol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 Nov 8 [accessed 2024 Feb 7]
  • The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Methods in Molecular Biology (2012). "This chapter provides basic guidelines and definitions of technology transfer: inventions, inventorship, and patent filing, which are summarized using a question and answer format."
• WIPO guide to using patent information 
  • "This guide outlines key techniques for retrieving information contained in patent documents. It shows how this information can be used in determining the patentability of inventions, avoiding patent infringement, assessing the value of patents, gathering business intelligence, and identifying technology trends" [2022 Publication from World Intellectual Property Organization]

Websites

• Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) : About IP : Intangible Assets and IP
  • Gives an overview on intangible assets and links to various types of intellectual property (IP)
• Inventors' handbook
  • This handbook from the European Patent Office (EPO) provides guidance on various aspects to turn an invention into a commercial success 

General Information / FAQs on patents

• • United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO)
  • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)