Doing a search on patents can be complex and lengthy but there are resources available to you free of charge that can help you refine your search for the most efficient results, get exactly the information you need, and pursue your own patent.

The Patents & Trademarks Resources Guide, from Penn State University Schreyer Business Library, an official depository of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), provides information on frequently asked questions related to patents and trademarks as well as information about services from University Libraries available to the public.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office is a comprehensive site from the United States Department of Commerce that offers an overview of this agency as well as information about nearly anything the inventor would like to know about patent and trademark policies and procedures. From this site, depending on the information with which they are beginning their search, users may want to initiate their searches from the Classifications page or search by keyword on the Full-text Patent page.