The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is part of the European unitary patent system that provides uniform protection across all participating countries. It was established by the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) 2013 and is currently used by 17 EU member states who are signatories to the Agreement. There is information on the jurisdiction and structure of the Court which comprises a Court of First Instance, a Court of Appeal, and a Registry.
This part of the European Commission website outlines the unitary patent system which was launched in June 2023. The unitary patent provides uniform protection across EU countries who are signatories to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC) with the Court providing a single, specialised patent jurisdiction. There is a guide to the unified system, official texts, including the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court, and other background documents.
This page forms part of the Business and IP section of the British Library’s website and provides guidance on using the patent library. There is information on early English patents and a list of patent resources (some available online) held at the BL. There is also guidance on what constitutes a patent, how to gain patent protection and what rights a patent gives.
The Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) is the official representative of Denmark acting on behalf of the Danish Government regarding all aspects of IP legislation and policy. The DKPTO's Policy and Legal Affairs Department is responsible for developing Denmark's IP legislation and policy in relation to patents, utility models, trademarks and designs. Thus the site provides links to treaties, EU Council regulations and agreements and other materials concerning patents, utility models, trade marks and designs.
Patents section of the US Patent and Trademark Office website. Includes a database of patent records back to 1976 and a separate database of published applications from 2001 onwards page of each patent in the database. Links to guidance about the patenting process in the United States are also provided.
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office's Canadian Patents Database provides access to patent descriptions and images from 1869 to the present day. The database contains over 2 million patent documents which can be searched for using either keywords, the patent document number, a boolean search or an advanced field-specific search strategy. Users can search either an English or French language version of the same database. For patents granted prior to 15th August 1978, the text of the abstracts and claims is not available.
Website for the Journal of Intellectual Property Law, edited by students of the University of Georgia School of Law. The journal is published biannually, and focuses on issues of interest to the intellectual property legal community, including patent, trademark, copyright, unfair trade, entertainment and other related topics. The journal includes scholarly articles from leading academics and practising lawyers, as well as student notes. The site includes tables of contents for the current issue, and full-text of the previous issues, although some issues have been omitted completely.
The EPO's website has a Law and Practice section which includes the European Patent Convention (EPC), the EPO's Official Journal (OJ), legislation, guidelines and case law. The European Patent Register is also available on the site, together with news, factsheets and other information. The site is available in English, French or German.
Free searchable database with English interface providing information on Japanese patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks issued by the Japan Patent Office. Users can search a range of resources applicable to the different types of industrial property including applications, gazettes and bibliographies. A simple search option uses keyword or number searching and an advanced search provides additional parameters eg. date, classification etc. The site also has trial decisions and online help with using the database and the Japanese design classification scheme.
Free Patents Online (FPO) provides a searchable database of patent records. The site was established by patent searcher James Ryley and includes US and European patents and abstracts of Japanese patents. The database currently holds all patents published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since December 1976. Images can be viewed in PDF or TIFF formats. There is background information on patents and trademarks and help with using the database.
