Asia IP

Google is expanding its database of patent information by adding documents from four more agencies: China, Germany, Canada, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The patents will be available in their original language and in English, through Google Translate.

“Many of these documents may provide prior art for future patent applications, and we hope their increased discoverability will improve the quality of patents in the US and worldwide,” said Google on its official Google Search blog.

When Google first launched the patent search engine in 2006, it only had a collection of granted and published patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The database then expanded to European Patent Office in 2012.

Google also added the Prior Art Finder in 2012, which searches for prior art from multiple sources at the same time.