ABSTRACT
Basic searches are important tools in the context of quick and qualitative acquisition of information contained in patent documents. Within this profile, this chapter presents a comparison of the most common search databases, such as Google Patents, National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI; Brazil), Derwent (via Web of Science), SciFinder, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO; USA), Espacenet (Europe), and Free Patents Online, considered as robust patent search platforms. Several strategies are explored for patent searches through keywords combined with Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT), patent number, inventors’ name, assignee, and title, among many other ways, to quickly and efficiently find key documents. This chapter explains how to access and understand each of these platforms and compare advantages and disadvantages among them and highlights SciFinder as a strategic platform for document search using drawings of molecular structures of organic substances or through Markush structures. During the study of these platforms, the importance of mutual and complementary use of at least two of these databases for the search of a certain patent document, new ideas, and concepts of technological interest is clarified.
