Beyond Patents: The Power of Non-Patent Literature for Research
Deep research is important when embarking on a journey of innovation. While patent databases offer a structured overview of protected inventions, they only tell a part of the story. To gain further understanding of a technology landscape, researchers and strategists must look beyond patents to what is known as Non-Patent Literature (NPL). NPL comprises everything from peer-reviewed scientific articles and conference papers to industry reports and academic theses. NPL often contains discoveries, detailed theoretical underpinnings, and market insights that are yet to be, or may never be, captured within patent filings. This post will delve into the importance of NPL searches and useful NPL links revealing how they are indispensable for robust prior art assessment, strategic decision-making, and fostering genuine innovation.
Why should I perform an NPL search?
NPL searches are not just an optional add-ons, they are an integral and non-negotiable part of any comprehensive intellectual property strategy, research and development process, and competitive intelligence gathering. By embracing the full spectrum of published knowledge, individuals and organizations can make more informed decisions, mitigate risks, identify opportunities, and truly accelerate the pace of innovation.
The following is a representative list of NPL databases, featuring some of the most widely recognized and frequently used sources across various scientific and technical domains.
| Name of the database | Remarks |
| Google Scholar | Free search engine for scholarly literature across disciplines; includes articles, theses, books, and conference papers. |
| ScienceDirect | Elsevier’s platform for peer-reviewed journals and book chapters in science, health, and engineering. |
| SpringerLink | Offers scholarly articles, books, and conference proceedings in sciences and humanities. |
| ResearchGate | Academic networking site where researchers share publications, ask questions, and find collaborators. |
| INSPEC | Database from IET focusing on physics, engineering, and computer science research. |
| Academia | A platform for researchers to share papers and connect with peers. Hosts millions of academic papers across various disciplines. |
| ERIC
|
Education-focused digital library sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Ideal for research in learning and pedagogy. |
| ORCID | Unique researcher identifier system that helps track academic contributions and collaborations globally. |
| CORE (COnnecting REpositories) | Aggregates open-access research outputs from repositories worldwide, aiding in literature discovery. |
| MDPI | Open-access publisher offering peer-reviewed journals across a range of disciplines. |
| De Gruyter | Offers scholarly books and journals in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. |
| JSTOR | Digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources across multiple disciplines. |
| Emerald Insight | Publisher specializing in management, business, education, and social sciences research. |
| MERL | Source for technical publications and white papers in computing and electronics. Showcases applied R&D from Mitsubishi Electric’s global research lab. |
| Wiley Online | Broad collection of journals and books across science, technology, medicine, and humanities. |
| Taylor & Francis Online | Access to peer-reviewed research articles in sciences, social sciences, and humanities. |
| World Cat | Global catalog of library collections; useful for locating books, articles, and theses. |
| ARDI – Research for Innovation | Provides access to scientific literature to developing countries to foster innovation and research. |
| GlobalSpec | Engineering-focused search engine for technical articles, specifications, and standards. |
| Scopus | Comprehensive abstract and citation database for peer-reviewed literature and conference proceedings. |
| Ei Compendex | Engineering-focused literature database indexing journals and conference proceedings in engineering fields. |
| ACM Digital Library | ACM Digital Library provides access to full-text articles, conference proceedings, and journals. |
| OpenJ-Gate | An open-access journal gateway hosting thousands of scientific journals across disciplines. Valuable for identifying freely available technical literature in niche domains. |
| DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) | Indexes high-quality, peer-reviewed open access journals across all disciplines. Provides unrestricted access to a vast range of scholarly content for patent analysis. Ideal for uncovering prior art in lesser-known or emerging fields. |
| Scientific Electronic Library Online | An open-access platform for scientific journals, especially from Latin America and Iberia. Offers global insights into regional innovations and underrepresented research. |
| Cambridge Journals | Covers a wide range of scientific, technical, and social science journals. Provides scholarly evidence across interdisciplinary patent topics. |
| Questia | An online library with access to academic books and articles in the humanities and social sciences. Serves as a supplementary source for conceptual and user-focused inventions. |
| InderScience Publishers | Useful for interdisciplinary research in sustainability, IT, and industrial engineering. Helpful in sourcing niche research not covered in mainstream databases. |
| arXiv | Provides open access to articles on various fields physics, mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, electrical engineering and systems science etc. |
Area – Electrical & Electronics Engineering and Computer Science
| Name of the database | Remarks |
| IEEE Xplore | Provides access to IEEE journals, conference papers, and standards in electrical engineering and technology. |
Area – Biomedical & Life Sciences
| Name of the database | Remarks |
| PubMed | Used for identifying prior art in pharmaceuticals, biotech, and clinical research patents. Provides abstracts and links to full-text journal articles, often hosted on PMC. |
| PubMed Central (PMC) | Useful for accessing full-text research relevant to drugs, diagnostics, and therapies. Essential for evidence-based patent claims in healthcare and biology. |
| Nature | Publishes high-impact scientific research across disciplines including biology, physics, and medicine. Ideal for discovering groundbreaking scientific concepts with commercial application. |
| Embase | Particularly useful for pharmaceutical and medical device patent searches. Provides deeper coverage than PubMed in drug efficacy and adverse effects. |
| International Journal for Biological Sciences | Useful for uncovering recent biological research relevant to biotech patents. |
| Sage Journals | Useful for behavioral sciences, healthcare innovation, and education-related inventions. Enables access to multidisciplinary insights supporting inventive claims. |
| Lippincott Williams & Wilkins | Useful for clinical validation of medical innovations and therapeutic methods. Often cited in pharmaceutical and healthcare device patent literature. |
| Oxford Journals | Helps in identifying academic literature supporting interdisciplinary innovations. Frequently referenced in life sciences and evidence-based medicine patents. |
| CAB Abstracts | Useful in identifying prior art in agritech, pest control, and food sciences. Covers international literature often overlooked by mainstream databases. |
| Science AAAS | Publishes peer-reviewed research in all scientific disciplines with a focus on innovation. Provides authoritative literature for validating novel scientific inventions. |
| Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering | Key resource for prior art in agricultural innovations and equipment. Includes region-specific technologies relevant to global patent filings. |
| Bentham Open | Provides easily accessible research for prior art searches in a range of domains. Supports novel findings in biomedicine, materials, and environmental sciences. |
Area – Mechanical Engineering, Energy, Civil Engineering & Physics
| Name of the database | Remarks |
| American Society of Mechanical Engineers | Publishes journals and conference proceedings in mechanical engineering and related fields. Frequently referenced in mechanical and industrial patent disclosures. |
| Journals Of Geophysical Research | Publishes research in Earth sciences, including geophysics, hydrology, and atmospheric science. Backs inventions with geophysical applications and data-driven insights. |
| Association Of Energy Engineers | Publishes energy-focused research and insights on efficiency, sustainability, and technology. Provides real-world data and trends for energy-based innovations. |
| ASCE Research Library | Offers journals and conference papers from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Supports civil engineering patent applications with technical details and standards. |
| Physical Review Online Archive | Hosts full-text physics research journals published by the American Physical Society. Supports patents in high-tech, materials, and scientific instrumentation. |
| Institute of Physics (IOP) | Publishes journals covering physics, materials science, and engineering. Provides peer-reviewed evidence to establish novelty and inventive steps. |
| Society of Manufacturing Engineers | Publishes resources on advanced manufacturing, automation, and production techniques. Useful for technical documentation in mechanical and process innovation patents. |
| Begell House | Publishes scientific and engineering journals focused on heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and energy. Supports in-depth technical analysis and modeling for inventive claims. |
| HIS | Provides technical standards, material properties, and industry specifications. Used to verify the state of the art and industry best practices in patents. |
| Science World Journal | Accessible source for emerging research in developing regions. Useful for identifying early-stage innovations and applied scientific methods. |
| Society of Automotive Engineers International | Essential for patents involving vehicle systems, electric mobility, and autonomous technologies. Provides robust technical documentation and industry trends. |
| Physics Review Journal | Covers frontier research in all branches of physics from fundamental to applied. Provides scientific rigor for validating complex inventions. |
Area – Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
| Name of the database | Remarks |
| ACS Publications | Covers peer-reviewed journals by the American Chemical Society in chemistry and related fields. |
| Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) | A comprehensive database of chemical compounds, reactions, properties, and literature abstracts. Used to verify novelty and prior disclosure of molecules, polymers, and materials. |
| PubChem | Provides detailed compound data, structures, and links to bioassays and literature. Helpful in pharmacology, drug discovery, and biochemical patent research. |
| Royal Society of Chemistry | Publishes high-impact journals and databases in chemical and related sciences. Useful for sourcing recent studies, reviews, and data across analytical and synthetic chemistry. |
| ChemSpider | A free chemical structure database by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Integrates chemical data from multiple sources, including experimental properties and spectra. |
| Chemical Business NewsBase | Covers business, regulatory, and market-related news in the chemical industry. Supports competitive intelligence and innovation tracking. |
| Beilstein Abstracts | Part of the Reaxys database, focusing on organic chemistry reaction data and compound properties. Aids in verifying compound novelty and known synthetic routes. |
| Analytical Abstracts | Indexes literature related to analytical chemistry techniques and instrumentation. Supports method-based patent claims in chemical and biomedical domains. |
| Chemindustry | Helpful in identifying commercial chemical compounds and formulations. Supports prior art searches in industrial and specialty chemicals. |
In an increasingly innovation-driven world, relying solely on patent databases for prior art searches is no longer sufficient. Non-patent literature—ranging from academic journals and conference papers to technical blogs and product manuals—often holds critical, unpublished knowledge that can make or break the patentability of an invention. Incorporating NPL searches into the patent search process not only strengthens the quality of patent applications but also mitigates the risk of infringement and invalidation. By broadening the search horizon beyond traditional patent records, inventors, IP professionals, and R&D teams gain a more accurate, comprehensive view of the existing technological landscape which leads to an ultimately supporting stronger and more defensible intellectual property strategies.
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