United States

• The United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • Search US patents using the USPTO seven step strategy
• Patent and Trademark Information Guide.
  • The University of Washington Engineering Library is a designated Patent and Trademark Resource Center for Washington State.

International

• Patentscope
  • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
• European Patent Office (EPO)
  • Search European patents through Espacenet.
• Google Patents
  • Indexed patents and patent applications from USPTO, EPO and WIPO.

Why search patents?

• MIT Libraries video tutorial "Patents: An Introduction - Why search for patents? What is a patent?"

• This brief 5-minute video explains why a patent search is an important part of your research.