Are you a tinkerer? An inventor? Maybe deep down inside there’s a mad scientist, just screaming to get out! Well, whatever the case, Google is here to make sure that an idea you’ve come up with hasn’t already been patented.
Yes, I said Google. The master of search engines doesn’t just search the web anymore. Now it also searches patents!
Here’s how to get to it:
Browse to Google.com, and in the upper left-hand corner you’ll see a list of filters (Web, Images, Videos, etc.) – click more. A drop-down list with more options will appear. Go to the bottom and click the even more>> option.
The next page that appears is chock-full of Google goodies, but the option we’re looking for is on the left side about a third of the way down the list. It’s called Patent Search.
Click on it, and you’ll be brought to this screen.
Now, simply type the name or description of your invention into the search box and Google will look through over 7 million patents to see if anyone has beaten you to the punch!
You can also click the Advanced Patent Search link to the right of the search box and input other criteria like patent number, inventor and more!
How useful!
~Andrew
