Patent office teams with Google to put data online

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is turning over nearly 10 terabytes of its data to Google to manage and make accessible to the public for free for two years, officials have announced.

The office entered into a two-year agreement with Google to host and make the bulk electronic data available online, without modification and for free. It is an interim agreement intended to bridge the gap to when the data can be managed by a contractor, the agency said.

“Because the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office does not currently have the technical capability to offer the data in bulk form from our own website, we have teamed with Google to provide the data in a way that is convenient and at no cost for those who desire it,” USPTO Director David Kappos said June 2.

Previously, the patent and trademark bulk data was available solely as a fee-based service.

Under the deal, Google will be making available patent grants and published applications, trademark applications, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, patent classification information, patent maintenance fee events and patent and trademark assignments.

Google has established a new Web site, Google Patents, to distribute the government data online.

In the coming months, the USPTO and Google expect to make additional data available, including patent and trademark file histories and related data.