Patents consist of highly detailed descriptions, drawings and diagrams. Patents can be of historical significance, enabling researchers to trace the development of technologies. Patents can be used as a source of information about people, enabling researchers to identify experts in a particular area. Patents can be used for commercial information. Their specifications can reveal which companies are active in a particular market.
Patents usually refer to products or processes that contain new functional or technical aspects.
Patent information in the Pilkington Library is available via CD-ROM, the World Wide Web, or a mediated online search performed by Library Staff. These resources are described in this handout. Unfortunately there are no printed patent collections in the Pilkington Library . Copies of every UK patent are deposited in Patent Collections in various libraries around the country - these are listed at the end of this handout. Finding the IPC code assigned to your subject and searching on it will reduce the number of irrelevant results.