Patents as technical literature

Patents are an important technological information resource. They are different from journal literature in that they are stand-alone documents and have a uniformity of presentation. Studies show that eight out of ten US patents contain technology not disclosed elsewhere in the scientific and technical literature. However, there is evidence to suggest that, outside of the chemical field, patents are not utilized as a major source of technological information. Currently, some of the more significant efforts concerning patent information dissemination are those involving the 30 Patent Depository Libraries in the United States which maintain patent collections and serve the public in the use of these collections. The Patent and Trademark Office distributes some ten million copies of patents annually as well as some 5000 copies weekly on its Official Gazette which contains a summary of the approximately 1500 US patents issued each week.