CLASS 99
The blog for design law, in Europe and worldwide. This weblog is written by a team of design experts and fans. To contribute, or join us, or for any other reason, email class99@marques.org.
Want to receive Class 99 by email?
Click here subscribe for free.
Click here subscribe for free.
Who we all are...
THURSDAY, 10 JUNE 2010
Espacenet and other search databases
Searching for designs worldwide is a difficult job, and there is no single free worldwide search site. However, the patent search site espacenet appears to include an increasing amount of design coverage, which might occasionally be useful, though it is unclear how complete or consistent it is. Most designs seem to be distinguished by a publication kind code starting with "S". Thus, S, S1, S2, S3 and S4 all bring up some designs. However, this isn't universally true as Uruguay designs appear to be denoted Q (which is a kind of dustbin code). There may be other exceptions.
The largest contingent are US design patents, which appear to be covered back to 2001. These are also, of course, on the USPTO site but the espacenet records have pdf documents. Many of the other countries covered are in South America. The data included is very variable - publication number and application and priority data, but in some cases there are also titles (in original languages), applicants, inventor/designers, and original documents. No IPC, Locarno or other classifications, of course.
Here is what I have gleaned:
a very few Japanese and Australian designs are also under code S. You can limit to these types by using the publication number field (e.g. a string such as "US and S1" will limit to US design patents).
Other lists of free design databases are at:
Posted by: David Musker @ 12.46
Tags: searching,
Perm-A-Link: https://www.marques.org/blogs/class99?XID=BHA137
Espacenet and other search databases
The largest contingent are US design patents, which appear to be covered back to 2001. These are also, of course, on the USPTO site but the espacenet records have pdf documents. Many of the other countries covered are in South America. The data included is very variable - publication number and application and priority data, but in some cases there are also titles (in original languages), applicants, inventor/designers, and original documents. No IPC, Locarno or other classifications, of course.
Here is what I have gleaned:
State | Code | Coverage | Number |
US | S1 | back to 2001 | Lots |
Chile (CL) | S1 | back to 2005 | 391 |
Costa Rica (CR) | S | back to 2004 | 51 |
Ecuador (EC) | S | back to 2000 | 1357 |
Indonesia (ID) | S | back to 1996 | 53 |
San Marino (SM) | S, S1, S2, S3, S4 | back to 2001 | 240 |
Uruguay (UY) | Q | back to 2002 | 557 |
a very few Japanese and Australian designs are also under code S. You can limit to these types by using the publication number field (e.g. a string such as "US and S1" will limit to US design patents).
Other lists of free design databases are at:
Posted by: David Musker @ 12.46
Tags: searching,
Perm-A-Link: https://www.marques.org/blogs/class99?XID=BHA137
MARQUES does not guarantee the accuracy of the information in this blog. The views are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of MARQUES. Seek professional advice before action on any information included here.
The Class 99 Archive
