U.S. Patents and Trademarks
The U.S. Patents collection is the largest and most comprehensive source of scientific and technical information in the world, with more than 8.1 million patents issued as of May 2012. An estimated 75% - 80% of these patents contain technical information not available in any other source or format.1
Inventors, scientists, engineers, historians, students, government officials, and marketing researchers can use the patent collection to:
- determine the patentability of a new idea
- obtain state-of-the-art information in a specific technical area
- find specifications and drawings of patented inventions
- determine the research areas and interests of a particular inventor or company
The Marriott Library is one of 79 U.S. Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRCs) in the country, and the only PTRC in Utah. Due to our status as a resource center, the Marriott Library receives full-text and image copies of patents with complete specifications, claims, and drawings soon after they are granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Our collection includes complete U.S. patents from 1790 on optical disks, and all federal trademarks that are registered or pending. Marriott Library staff attend annual training programs at USPTO to ensure effective use of the database and materials. All PTRC documents and their reference materials can be found at the Knowledge Commons Desk on Level 2 of the Marriott Library. The government documents collection on Level 1 of the Marriott Library contains additional indexes and finding aids for both patents and trademarks.
1 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Office of Technology Assessment and Forecast, Washington, D.C. 8th Report, December 1977, p. 37.