Standards and patents are essential tools in engineering, design and innovation. This page introduces what standards and patents are, why they matter in engineering and research, and shows you where and how to find them.
Standards
- Documents that specify agreed-upon requirements for materials, products, methods or services.
- Created by national or international bodies such as Standards Australia, ISO or ASTM.
- Help ensure safety, quality, efficiency and compatibility of designs and processes.
- Provide a common language between engineers, manufacturers and regulators.
- Ensure compliance with legislation and industry practice.
Patents
- An official legal right granted to inventors that protect new and useful inventions for a limited time. A patent stops others from making, using or selling the invention without permission.
- Showcase the latest innovations, often before they appear in journals.
- Provide technical details not published elsewhere.
- Protect your own inventions if you are developing new technologies.
Finding standards
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Standards Australia (via Engineering Workbench) This link opens in a new windowThis database provides the full text of current Standards Australia documents across engineering, construction, manufacturing, and safety topics.
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Australian design rules This link opens in a new windowStandards for vehicle safety, anti-theft and emissions apply to vehicles manufactured in Australia or imported as new or second hand vehicles.
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Food standards code - Australia and New Zealand This link opens in a new windowAll food sold in Australia and New Zealand must comply with food standards. These standards are compiled in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
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National Construction Code This link opens in a new windowRequires free registration for access. The Building code of Australia (BCA) is a uniform set of technical provisions for the design and construction of buildings and other structures throughout Australia. Included are volumes 1 & 2 of BCA plus access to all of the referenced standards, archived BCA amendments dating back to 1988, and the ABRB newsletters dating back to 1997. The BCA is produced and maintained by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) on behalf of the Commonwealth Government and each state and territory government.
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ISO : IEC : ASTM : API : ACI standards (via Engineering Workbench) This link opens in a new windowAccess full text access to International Standards - ISO; International Electrotechnical Commission Standards - IEC; American Society for Testing and Materials - ASTM; American Petroleum - API; American Concrete Institute - ACI.
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ASCE: American Society of Civil Engineers standards This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive online tool for locating articles of interest across all disciplines of civil engineering. Provides access to papers from ASCE Journals and Proceedings and ASCE standards.
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ESDU - Engineering Sciences Data Unit This link opens in a new windowESDU International provide validated engineering design data, methods and associated software for the engineer. It provides validated engineering methods, data, principles, worked examples, programs, and related equations on over 1,200 specific aerospace, process, structural, and mechanical engineering topics.
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IEEE Xplore This link opens in a new windowA powerful resource for discovery and access to scientific and technical content in electrical engineering, computer science and electronics. Provides full-text access to IEEE journals, transactions, standards and conferences.
Tips:
- Search standard by standard number, title keywords, and issuing organisation.
- Check the publication date and status - standards are updated regularly.
- Common terms include:
- Current/in force – most up-to-date version
- Superseded – replaced by a newer version. Useful to use for historical research and to understand earlier requirements.
- Withdrawn – removed from active use without replacement.
- Draft – still under development and not yet approved.
- Look at related standards – they often reference or build on others, follow those related standards to get a complete picture.
Finding patents
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The Lens This link opens in a new windowAccess to a worldwide, open access, free full text patent informatics resource. Search and retrieve the full-text of more than 80 million patent documents from US, Europe, Australia and WIPO, their status and counterparts in up to 90 countries
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Australian patent searchAccess to Australian patents from 1904.
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Google patentsSeach and read the full text of patents from around the world.
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Espacenet patent searchAccess to patents on inventions and technical developments from 1782 to today.
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Dimensions This link opens in a new windowA linked research data platform that includes research publications, funding information, clinical trials, datasets, patents and policy documents.
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SciFinder-n This link opens in a new windowThe most comprehensive resource for chemistry and related disciplines. Produced by the American Chemical Society. 1907+ SciFinder tutorials and guides
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IP AustraliaAdministrators of intellectual property (IP) rights and legislation for trade marks, patents, design rights and plan breeder's rights (PBR) in Australia.
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World intellectual property organization (WIPO)The United Nations agency that serves the world’s innovators and creators, ensuring that their ideas are protected and promoted.
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United States patent and trademark office (USPTO)The US federal agency that grants patents, registers trademarks, and advises the Administration, through the Secretary of Commerce, on intellectual property policy.
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Canadian intellectual property officeThe official government body responsible for administering intellectual property (IP) rights in Canada, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs.
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UK intellectual property officeThe official UK government body responsible for intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.
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The European patent office (EPO)The EPO is Europe’s central patent authority.
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Japanese patent office (JPO)Japan’s national authority for patents, utility models, designs and trademarks.
Tips:
- Combine keywords and key inventors or organisations, then refine using the filters to improve search precision.
- Check the patent's legal status – this tells you whether the protection is still in force.
- Common legal status terms:
- Active/in force – the patent is still valid
- Granted/patented – the application has been examined and patent rights have been granted.
- Withdrawn/discontinued – the application discontinued, withdrawn or rejected.
- Expired – the protection period has ended.
- Lapse/inactive – the patent ceased before the expiry because conditions were not met. (e.g. non payment).
- Use the cited by or reference to see related patents and competitors.
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