There are three major categories of patents:

Utility Patents are granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. "Process" means a process or method; new industrial or technical processes may be patented. "Manufacture" refers to articles which are made. "Composition of matter" relates to chemical compositions and may include mixtures of ingredients as well as new chemical compounds.

Design Patents are granted to any person who has invented a new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. The appearance of the article is protected.

Plant Patents are granted to any person who has invented or discovered and asexually reproduced any distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber-propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state.

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 37; Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
Doc AE2.106/3:
Contains the Rules of Practice in Patent Cases, the Trademark Rules of Practice, and the Copyright Rules of Practice. It is a technical compilation of laws in force.

General Information Concerning Patents: A Brief Introduction to Patent Matters.
Doc C21.26/2:yr.
Provides general information about patents and the operations of the Patent and Trademark Office. Includes patent application forms.

Guide for the Preparation of Patent Drawings
Doc C21.14/2:D79
Details the drawing requirements which are allowed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Includes published rules with respect to the patent drawings.

Index of Patents (Annual)
Doc C21.5/2:
A two-volume set which summarizes the classification and inventor/assignee information published weekly in the Official Gazette. Part 1 contains an alphabetical listing of every patentee or assignee recorded at the time the patent was published. Part 2 contains a listing of all patents for the year according to U.S. Patent Classification class and subclass designation.

Index to the U.S. Patent Classification
Doc C21.12/2:yr.
An alphabetical list of approximately 65,000 common, informal headings of terms, which refer to specific classes and subclasses in the classification system used to categorize patents. It is designed as a means for initial entry into the Classification System.

List of Patent Classification Definitions
Doc C21.3/2: no. (microfiche)
Provides detailed definitions for each class and official subclass included in the Manual of Classification. The definitions indicate the subject matter to be found in or excluded from subclass by limiting or expanding in a precise manner the meaning intended for each subclass title. They serve as a guide to users of the Manual to refer to the same subclass for patents on a particular technology by eliminating subjective and varying interpretations of the meanings of subclass titles.

Manual of Classification
Doc C21.12:yr.
A publication which will allow the locating of information on specific areas of technology contained in U.S. patents. It presents listings for approximately 400 main classes and approximately 118,000 subclasses into which patented subject matter is classified. Each subclass has a short, descriptive title often arranged in a specific hierarchical order designated by dots for indentation levels. Useful in conjunction with the "Index" in identifying the classification to which a patent or patent idea falls.

Manual of Patent Examining Procedures
Doc C21.15:yr.
A collection of loose-leaf material which details patent examining practice and procedure.

Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Patents (weekly)
Doc C21.5: (paper 1908-1993, microfiche 1993- )
Presents an entry for each patent granted that week, as well as indexes of patents, lists of patents available for license or sale, and general information such as orders, notices, changes in rules, and changes in classification. Every entry includes a brief summary in the form of one or more representative patent claims together with, where appropriate, a reduced scale figure of a representative drawing. The patent entries are arranged according to U.S. Patent Classification class and subclass designations.

Roster of Attorneys and Agents Registered to Practice Before U.S. Patent Office
Doc C21.9: yr. (microfiche)
Alphabetical and geographically arranged listing of patent attorneys and agents registered to practice before the Patent and Trademark Office.

Index of Trademarks
Doc C21.5/3:
An annual publication providing an alphabetical index of trademark registrants, registration numbers, dates published, classification of goods for which registered, and decisions published during the year.

Official Gazette: Trademarks
Doc C21.5/4: (1971-Oct 1993 paper) (1992- microfiche)
The official journal of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with respect to trademarks. Published weekly, it contains an illustration of every trademark published for opposition, a list of trademarks registered, classified list of registered trademarks, index of registrants, and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office notices.

Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure
Doc C21.14/2:T67 (microfiche)
Written for trademark examiners, trademark applicants, attorneys and representatives for trademark applicants, this manual describes in detail the practices and procedures of trademark registration in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Return