The Google Patent Search tool seems to be rather useful for some kinds of patent search activity. I had been using SciFinder or other search tools to find patent numbers that I would then enter into pat2pdf.org to get a single download file copy of the patent. The reason for going to pat2pdf was that it would combine the individual pages of the patent from the USPTO and download a single combined pdf document of the patent. The Google search tool does this and more.
Our patent office seems to have failed to catch on to the fact that users would prefer not to download patents 1 page per file. Maybe the USPTO has changed this recently or has an upgrade in process. I don’t know.
Among the nice features, it provides links to citation and reference patents. It also provides links to the US classification designations listed in the patent. The default page seems to include the claims and with the click of a button the user can pull up the description or abstract. It also provides a link to download a pdf of the patent or a direct link to the USPTO. A person can scan a patent without having to download a pdf.
I would say that Google has a handy search tool for at least fairly superficial work.
Lamentations on Chemistry 
I had no idea pat2pdf.org was available, thanks a lot! It has already proven to be very useful.
I’ve liked http://www.freepatentsonline.com for quite some time. It seems to have more advanced searching capabilities than Google – actually it’s the same as the USPTO – so that you can search applications and EP patents as well. However, for simple searches, Google might be the way to go. It’s just that nothing in my life is ever simple!
It really is quite handy.
Gaussling — I gave up on USPTO + PAT2PDF a while ago for Google Patents, but worry about missing things. Are there any disadvantages to Google Patents (in terms of what it might miss in a search, or what it doesn’t index?)
Jordan
Gosh, that’s a good question. For IP due diligence, I use SciFinder to locate patent families by structure or CASRN search and then use a tool like pat2pdf or Google Patent to obtain a copy of the document. I would say that my reliance is primarily on SciFinder. Sometimes I will google a patent number to explore the hits or a CASRN number to see if there are any patents that come up.
I will often do a series of keyword searches at the USPTO Quick Search site to extract a list of patents that have the key words present.
It is important to say that this is a very global kind of approach and not necessarily the way an examiner or a patent attorney would approach the task. Attorneys seem to want to use Derwent services or try to enter the literature from the patent classification system. I am not that confident with the US classification system. I would prefer to have CAS filter the search and neck-down the final list of hits rather than rely on the patent system. Partly because as a chemist I am more familiar with this system and partly because I feel that CAS has a better grasp on the taxonomy than do the PTO sources.
On one occasion a law firm specializing in chemical patents double checked my IP search and was unable to dig up any further hits.
Watch out for google patents. It often misses patents or refuses? to reveal them? I notice that the patents that are several hundred pages long often do not appear. Recent patent are sometimes missed as well. Could be they are trying to save bandwidth. Right now I see it as EXTREMELY dangerous to your prior art searches.
1. Use the PTO database for search. (It will be up to the minute)
2. Download on google.
I agree that Google Patent is not a good way to do prior art searches. But in the field of chemistry, famous for exhaustive Markush claims, I am left with few warm fuzzies with the use of the PTO search functions. I have had good luck with Scifinder in fleshing out the application families and digging in from there.
My experience with the search feature at the PTO is that the search result is highly dependent on the exact words (and spelling) used in the search. And when you do get hits, it is the result of a simple string search and no context has been used to filter the result. If the patent was written with IUPAC chemical nomenclature and you are searching with CAS nomenclature, you may be sunk.
With SciFinder, you have the opportunity to start with an unambiguous definition of a species and begin the search from there.
That being said, I still agree there is merit to searching from the PTO search tool. Once you find assignees in the area of interest, it is a simple matter of searching by assignee and finding out what they have been up to. This maximizes the chances for serendipious discovery of art.
I recommend adding http://www.wikipatents.com to the page. WikiPatents has the largest database of patents open for public comment on the internet, allows PDF downloading of patents, free patent translation into multiple languages, and additional information and resources. It is the best free patent site on the web.
Have a nice day,
Jamie
Hi
Look at Competitive and Technical Intelligence Toolbox
http://www.vinodksingh.com/
You will get all of useful informations.
Hi Vinod,
Thanks for the link. Looks very interesting.