Guides and databases: Engineering: Patents and standards

Finding patents

"A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem." (World Intellectual Property Organization)

Google Patents
Search and patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Derwent Innovations Index
Value-added patent information from Derwent World Patent Index as well as patent citation information from Patents Citation Index.
esp@cenet - English
esp@cenet contains all the patent documentation available to European Patent Office examiners and the latest patent applications from all the EPO member states.
USPTO Patent Database
The database includes information about all US patents (including utility, design, reissue, plant patents and SIR documents) from the first patent issued in 1790 to the most recent issue week.
SCOPUS
Includes data from 13 million patents.

National Patent Library at the British Library
Some patents might only be available in print and you will need to go to the British Library (near UCL Bloomsbury campus).

Finding standards

"Standards are agreed ways of doing something, written down as a set of precise criteria so they can be used as rules, guidelines or definitions." (BSI)

British Standards Online
Access for UCL students and staff only via the Institutional Login option with UCL username and password. Standards must be downloaded and opened via Adobe. The plug in FileOpen will also need to be installed. From UCL desktops this will need to be installed via the UCL Software Centre. British, European and International Standards, in current, draft and historic form.

BSI Knowledge Centre
Many British and International standards are viewable online using UCL's subscription to British Standards Online but some standards are not included. It may be possible to view standards not included at the BSI Reading Room (free access for up to 2 hours).

IEEE Xplore
Includes standards for electronic and electrical engineering.
ASTM Compass
Allows access to any of ASTM’s standards, books, articles and papers. Select 'My Subscription Only' option to view UCL subscribed content.

Librarian

Shinwha Cha

Email Me

Can't find a standard or patent that you need?

If you're having problems finding the standard or patent you need, please email me. We can also sometimes access standards that are outside our subscription to British Standards Online, for example buying a paper copy for the library.

Support with patent information

Make a patent enquiry at the British Library
Contact the Business and IP Enquiries team at the British Library to make an enquiry about patent information.
Patents FAQ
World Intellectual Property Organizations's FAQ about patents.