USPTO Teams up With Google to Provide Free Patent Information

The United States and Trademark Office ("USPTO") announced last week that it has entered into a no-cost, two-year agreement with Google to make bulk electronic patent and trademark public data available to the public in bulk form.   Under this agreement, the USPTO is providing Google with existing bulk, electronic files, which Google will host without modification for the public free of charge.   This bulk data can be accessed at http://www.google.com/googlebooks/uspto.html.

 This arrangement is to serve as a bridge as the USPTO develops an acquisition strategy which will allow the USPTO to enter into a contract with a contractor to retrieve and distribute USPTO patent and trademark bulk public data.  The contractor will be capable of acquiring this bulk data and providing it to the public.

Until now, USPTO’s public data in bulk form has been provided solely as a fee-based service. The USPTO estimates that nearly ten terabytes of information will be made available.  Examples of the type of data that will be available through Google include:
 *   Patent grants and published applications
 *   Trademark applications
 *   Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings
 *   Patent classification information
 *   Patent maintenance fee events
 *   Patent and Trademark assignments

Patent searching data, however, is still difficult and inefficient to search on the USPTO website and a new searching engine is not a part of the Google deal.  For patent searching purposes, for example to determine patentability, right to use, validity or infringement, a search is most efficiently and effectively performed at the USPTO Public Search facility in Alexandria, Virginia.  Contact our office for more information about searching, applications, or enforcement assistance.