Patent basics + Patent search

Explore the basics of patents and intellectual property, learn to conduct patent searches, protect inventions, understand the patent system and costs, and interpret patent documents and infringement risks.

Explore how intellectual property rights protect inventions through patents, trademarks, and designs, and learn their economic rationale, key differences, and real-world examples.

Define what a patent covers, including invention, novelty, and inventive step for patentability. Explain state of the art, prior art, and rights like injunction and compensation.

Examine worldwide patent activity and trends, including USA, Germany, and China, and access WIPO and IP Statistics Data Center resources on AI and digital technology.

Learn the standard patent structure, from the front page with bibliographic data to the description and figures, and read the claims that define the protection scope.

Claims define the scope of protection and must be supported by the description, detailing all important features. They include device and procedural claims, independent and dependent, one- or two-part formats.

Learn to build a step-by-step patent search strategy using keyword, title and text searches, date filters, domain name searches, and subject searches to find the most relevant documents.

Learn to conduct effective patent keyword searches by choosing the search area (title, claims, all text fields) and using operators (and, or, not), synonyms, proximity, and truncation.

Explore the period search and patent timeline—from priority date and first national application to 18-month publication and grant—and use publication dates for state-of-the-art and freedom-to-operate checks.

Learn to search by applicant or inventor names using company or inventor lists from the european patent office Basnet, and combine name searches with keywords and technical classes.

Explore international patent classifications, such as IPC and CPC, to search by technology fields and refine results with text search and advanced search features.

Walks through a step-by-step example of a pattern and prior art search on water cooling of lithium-ion car batteries, outlining keyword, time period, name, and subject searches and patent classes.

Navigate Espacenet in a live screencast to perform an advanced search with text fields, groups, truncation, and CPC/IPCA classification refinement, then view drawings, claims, and the claim tree.

Explore four patent databases, including Basnet, Google Patents, and Puppis, and compare their advantages and disadvantages for patent research, from search options to legal status, translation, and data analysis features.

Learn how to draft a patent, navigate the application process, perform a patent search for novelty and inventive step, and understand costs and international protection.

Extend patent protection across countries by using the priority year and Paris convention to link filings into one patent family, and compare national, european, and PCT routes for international protection.

Explore the costs of patent applications, including attorney fees, national vs European fees, examination and annual costs, and ways programs like Germany's Nexus help reduce expenses.

learn what a patent attorney does, why you might need one, typical costs, how to prepare for a meeting, what to bring, and drafting tips.

Learn how patent infringement is defined as a territorial right enforced by national courts. Discover what is forbidden for products and processes, plus exceptions and remedies like compensation and recall.

Learn how to manage intellectual property through four pillars, from technology transfer offices to IP protection, commercialization, and contracts, with best practices like freedom-to-operate analysis and NDA management.