USPTO opens the door to 4 decades of patent data

The United States Trademark and Patent Office has teamed up with the Center for the Science of Science and Innovation Policy (CSSIP) to launch a prototype web tool called PatentsView.

The new tool allows individuals to explore data on patenting activity in the United States dating back to 1976. Users can search patent titles, types, inventors, assignees, patent classes, locations and dates. The data also displays visualizations on trends and patent activity. In addition, searches include graphic illustrations and charts.

Researchers, inventors and startups can now identify trends, search the patents of specific companies and see what technology is on the rise or starting to drop in popularity. In addition to a visualization tool, PatentsView offers a query tool and a flexible application programming interface (API) that allows quick access to patent data.

PatentsView is part of a broader open data initiative by the USTPO, which is seeking to improve the accessibility and usability of valuable patent and trademark data. According to a Sept. 17 announcement, the project was sparked back in 2012 as part of a collaborative effort between the USPTO, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the CSSIP and the University of California at Berkeley.

The USPTO is hosting a workshop on Sept. 24 where experts in patent and open data, science and innovation will showcase new approaches for inventor disambiguation -- differentiating inventors with the same name across decades of U.S. patent data.