You have an invention and you want your idea be protected. Before filing a patent application, you would want to find out if the same idea has been published. A good patent search will help you identify prior art references that are critical to the patentability of your invention. Whether you are an inventor/entrepreneur or someone who just has an interest in patents, we designed this class to help you understand patent documents and navigate through multiple free online patent databases effectively.

• Part One: Introduction (including patentability requirements, identification of patent documents, patent classifications and patent search strategies)
• Part Two: Hands-on practice (covering classification search using USPTO's PatFT/AppFT, and EPO's Espacenet; Hybrid search using classification and keywords)

Prerequisites: Preview the 7-Step patent search strategy video by the USPTO before coming to class

For more information, please email: patentscoordinator@library.gatech.edu

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