Google Launches US Patents Search

Google has launched a new search service, specifically for patents, with a database of over 7 million US patents, dating from 1790.

Google Patent Search, launched in beta this week, will add additional patents in future, using the same technology as Google's existing Book Search. The search allows users to scroll through pages and zoom into text and illustrations. It also has an Advanced Patent Search page, for a faster search by criteria, including patent number, inventor, and filing date. Users may also view images of original patents online.

Doug Banks, Software Engineer posted on the Google Blog, "We've all heard about the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell — famous inventors whose creative minds changed the course of history. But there are many more like them, and millions of inventions that have been patented in the U.S. alone — from useful everyday items such as adhesive tape and contact lenses to, er, things useful in specific situations, like a shark protector suit or an amusement device incorporating simulated cheese and mice."

The Google Patent Search is aimed at inventors, as well as intellectual property firms conducting research on their clients' behalf. However, the search does not include patent applications, international patents or U.S. patents issued since mid-2006. Google is currently working on the patent search, to enable surfers to save and print results, in the near future.

Read more here.