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The Idea - The Product - The Industry

Industrial Classification Codes
Industry classification systems indentify the industry (ies) of a particular company. Since companies can be grouped together, statistical analysis in possible.

NAICS.

The industry classification system used by the statistical agencies of the United States.
Sample Search   Do a keyword search: electromedical.
Articles

Business and Industry.

Good place to find new product introductions and industry trends. Use the menu options to set up your query. Product Codes let you search by the product. Use the Look Up feature to locate the correct code. Use the search menus
Sample Search   Title Words: drug delivery.
Sample Title   Controlled release drug delivery system: Phase I success for hepatitis therapy.

Business Source Premier

This is a good place to find trade and industry publications, including product reviews (use Document Type to limit to this.) Use the Subjects Tab to look up database specific descriptors.
Sample Search   RFID OR Radio frequency identification systems
Sample Title   Sample Title: Gambling on chips [radiofrequency identification chips - security

Factiva.

Includes over 9000 publications, including Mergent Industry Reports. Use the Intelligent Indexing to focus your search.
Hint: Click on the + at the bottom of the article to find subject headings.
Sample Search   Keyword search: sn=mergent and pharmaceut*
Sample Title   Pharmaceuticals - Europe

Industry Reports and Market Research Reports

Business Insights Interactive.

Market Research Reports. Strong emphasis on pharmaceuticals and biotech.
Sample Search   In Search box, type: Drug Delivery.

Business Source Premier.

Includes Industry Reports for about 1500 industries.
Sample Search   In keyword, type chemicals. Select: Industry Profiles.

Datamonitor (Orbis).
Contains Datamonitor Industry and Company Reports, international scope.
To access the reports use the Expert Search.

Sample Search   Click on the red arrow at the top of the page. Click Industry tab and select "alphabetical list" or click Company and type in a company name.

MarketResearch.com.
Good coverage of biotech industry

Standard & Poor's Market Insight.

Industry reports and more.
Sample Search   Click on Industry. Use alphabetical hierachy. Select Biotechnology.

Patents

Searching the current patent literature will give you an idea of similar technologies in existence and the companies that produce them. If there are several patents in existence for related technologies, then maybe your idea is not new. Check the claims information in existing patents to make sure your idea is not infringing on those patents.

Patents also give you a large amount of technical information, with detailed descriptions and diagrams. Operational information, along with names of founders and competitors, can often be gleaned from patents.

If you are doing a patent search as preparation to filing a patent application, it is critical to consult a patent attorney and not just rely on searching the following resources.

Derwent Innovations Index (DII):

DII allows you to search against enhanced titles and abstracts, as well as the Derwent Manual and Derwent and International Patent Classification (IPC) codes for patents from 1963 to the present from 40 major patent-issuing authorities. You can use the assignee field to search for a competitor's patents.
Sample Search   (RFID or radio frequency identification) and drug test* in Topic
Sample Title   Disposable container maintenance/tracking/identification method in drug testing industry, involves separating radio frequency identification device from vial for reuse, after scanning RFID

Sample Search   Assignee Search: IBM or International Business Machines in Assignee field
Sample Search   Inventor Search: Gorte RJ in Inventor field Alternative Inventor Search: Gorte R* in Inventor field - broadens search to include any or no middle initial/td>

Derwent Coding and ClassificationLook-up

Kind Codes

Status of the patent (application, examined, granted, etc.)
Thomson Guide to Kind Codes.
Delphion Guide to Kind Codes Includes EP and WO codes

WIPO Handbook on Industrial Property Information and Documentation

International Patent Classification (IPC) codes

The U.S. Patent Office:
Search for patents from the USPTO from 1790 onward. Pre 1976 you can only search by patent number or class and patents are only available in TIFF page image format. Patents from 1976 - can be searched in a variety of ways including full text and are available full-text.
Please note that there are 2 separate databases here, one for Issued (granted) patents and one for Applications (from Mar 15, 2001 forward.)
Information and a link to download the TIFF Viewer (http://www.uspto.gov/patft/help/images.htm#not) required to view all images.

Sample Search: (RFID or "radio frequency identification") and drug test$ in All Fields

Patent Term - See Patent Term Guarantee Overview and FAQ: Are Patents Renewable?

U.S. Patent Manual of Classification (http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/classification/) A hierarchical list of classes and subclasses by number.

U.S. Patent Classification Index (http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/classification/uspcindex/indextouspc.htm)
An alphabetical list of terms cross referenced to the specific classes and subclasses used to categorize patents. Note: Browsing is more effective than searching

Esp@ce.net:
The worldwide database enables you to search for information about published patent applications from over 72 different countries and regions.

For further information about patents and searching them, have a look at this British Library patent searching guide or consult Doug McGee

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