Search Tools for Patents and Trademarks

The following search tools are provided by national and international patent and trademark offices and can be used free of charge for searching of patents, designs and trademarks:

1. Search Tools for Patents

The following search tools can be used for prior art searches (invalidity searches) and – with limitations – for freedom to operate searches (FTO searches):

• DEPATISnet (database of the German Patent and Trademark Office)
• Esp@cenet (database of the European Patent Office)
• DPMAregister (patent register of the German Patent and Trademark Office)
• PAIR (patent register of the US Patent and Trademark Office)
• EPOLINE Register (patent register of the European Patent Office)
• PATENTSCOPE (patent register of the World Intellectual Property Organization)

2. Search Tools for Trademarks

The following search tools may be used for trademark identity searches:

• DPMAregister (trademark register of the German Patent and Trademark Office)
• TESS (trademark register of the US Patent and Trademark Office)
• TMview (trademarks of all trademark offices participating at national, international and EU level)
• eSearch plus (trademark and design register of the European Union Intellectual Property Office)
• ROMARIN (international registrations of trademarks of the World Intellectual Property Organization)
• Global Brand Database (brand-related searches across multiple collections provided by the WIPO)

Recommendations for the classification of goods and services of trademark applications can be found using the following search tools:

• TMclass (classification database of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market)

3. Search Tools for Designs

The following search tools can be used for design searches:

• DPMAregister (design register of the German Patent and Trademark Office)
• DesignView (centralized access point to registered designs information held by any of the participating national offices in the EU)
• eSearch plus (design and design register of the European Union Intellectual Property Office)
• Hague Express (international registrations of industrial designs of the World Intellectual Property Organization)

Update (April 8, 2016): All links were updated in order to reflect the recent changes at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).