Guide to finding patents, based on the collections of the State Library of Victoria
Do you know?
If you know these details contact staff who can order the relevant patent held in the Library's store. You can view or copy the patent in the Library. When ordering this item, the Library staff will need to include the patent number and the date (it is optional to include patent title and patentee's name).
If you do not have these details you will need to search the relevant indexes listed below on this page. See the boxes below for particular year ranges for more information about variations to the numbering system. To initially refine your search, refer to the Finding patents page in this guide.
No patents held at SLV
• Indexes - 1791-1976 - Subject-matter index of patents for inventions (brevets d' invention) granted in France from 1791 to 1876 inclusive - SF 608.744 UN3S - onsite
No patents held at SLV
• Indexes - 1848-1882, - Subject-matter index of patents for inventions (attestati di privative industriali) granted in Italy from 1848 to May 1, 1882, SF 608.745 UN3S - onsite
No patents held at SLV
• Indexes - 1898-1908, titled Recueil des brevets d'invention, YA 608 B41R - offsite
• Indexes - 1864-1922, Patent Numbers 16,652 to 307,898 - titled Le Moniteur belge : Belgisch staatsblad, YA 354.493 M74 - offsite. Fortnightly lists of patents in numerical order, giving name of applicant, title of the invention, type of patent, date, and originating province (eg London) of the application.
No patents held at SLV
No print indexes held at SLV
• Electronic Resources - search the online DEPATISnet service (click link to English User Interface), the in-house patent information system of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (GPTO)
Canadian patents began in 1869. Prior to the 1920's, Canadian patents were granted for 5 years, with the possibility of two extensions, each of 5 years. The term was subsequently changed to 17 years, and then to 20 years in 1989..
• Patents of Canada - We hold 1824-1849 offsite at YA 608 C16P.
• The Canadian Patent Office record and Mechanics' magazine - the journal has numerous title changes.
We hold 1873-1940, 1959-1977 offsite at YA 608 C16C.
• Library and Archives Canada website. Canadian patents 1869 to 1919.
• Canadian Intellectual Property Office. Canadian Patents Database Searchable 1869 to the present. You can search and retrieve over 2 million patent documents. Search by patent number, patent holder, patent title, filing year, city, province or state. Titles, names and classifications are searchable from 1869. See the Canadian Intellectual Property Office website for more information.
Country codes are two letters indicating the country or organisation where the patent application was filed or granted (eg GB. The list of countries covered by our worldwide database is shown in this table (European Patent Office)
Espacenet offers machine translation of patents into a selection of other languages. First, search for and then display a patent in Espacenet. Select a language, then click on the translate box.
Specifications of inventions... - SLV holds 1861-1879
Patents, designs and trade marks: annual report of the registrar - SLV holds 1899, 1902 - 1906
The New Zealand Gazette - SLV holds 1857-2008
Patent Office Journal - SLV holds 1912-1999
Details of patent applications were published in The New Zealand Gazette from 1860-1912, and includes names of applicants, titles of inventions, patent numbers from January 1876 +, and drawings from April 1899 +.
Details of patent applications were published in the Patent Office Journal from July 1912 +, and includes names of applicants, abridgements, and drawings.
Name Index - NZ patents 1860 -1890 : an index to applications by New Zealand residents - excludes applicants residing outside of NZ.
Name Index - New Zealand patents, 1891-1912 : an index to applications by New Zealand residents - excludes applicants residing outside of NZ.
Overseas patents be searched on the European Patent Office (EPO) database Espacenet
Search options include Quick Search, Advanced Search, Number Search and Classification Search (Subject Search).
The WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) enables full text searching of over 1.6 million international patent applications from 1978, including selected British patents, via its PATENTSCOPE database
Many British patents were also registered in the US, so it may also be worth searching both the Google Patents and USPTO (United State Patent and Trademark Office) sites.
