U.S. patents can be searched through the United States Patent and Trademark Office website (http://www.uspto.gov/)
For general search methods, please refer to the following steps:
1. Enter the patent search page through the USPTO website (Official website of the Patent and Trademark Office - Patents - Search for Patents)
2. Select the search database, here we take the full-text database as an example: USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT)
3. Enter Quick Search to query the patent number, application number, applicant and other field information.
4. Or enter Advanced Search to edit your own search terms for more complex queries.
U.S. patents include three types: inventions, designs, and new plant varieties.
U.S. invention patent: 20 years from the date of application, maintenance fees shall be paid three and a half years, seven and a half years and eleven and a half years from the date of registration respectively. The validity period of a patent covering a composition or a method of using the composition may be extended by up to 5 years.
US design patent: fourteen years from the date of registration. A patent application can still be filed within six months after publication (this is a major difference between the novelty judgment of US patents and Chinese patents).
New plant variety patent: 20 years from the date of application, maintenance fees shall be paid three and a half years, seven and a half years and eleven and a half years from the date of registration respectively.
There are three ways to apply for a patent in the United States: 1. Apply for a patent directly in the United States (a confidentiality review is required in advance at the China Patent Office. After passing the confidentiality review, you can directly apply for a patent in the United States); 2. Pass Apply for a patent in the United States under the Paris Convention (the priority is only 12 months); 3. Apply for a patent in the United States through the PCT Patent Cooperation Treaty (the priority can be up to 30 months).