Research Databases FAQs

  • General Questions

    Visit our Ask a Librarian webpage for a list of ways you can get assistance from our staff.

    You'll need your library card number and PIN to access these resources from your home, office, or school. Each resource has different requirements, so instructions may vary. Your library card number is the eight-digit number below the barcode on the back of your library card. Unless you have changed it, your PIN is the last four digits of the phone number that you gave us when you applied for your card.

    Due to vendor licensing restrictions, a few resources are only accessible from inside a library location. These resources are marked as “in-library only.”

    No. The Library provides the databases free of charge to our customers. All you need to use them is your library card.

    The licensing restrictions of a few vendors prevent us from offering our customers remote access to a few of our research databases. These databases are clearly marked.

    If the error message is about your library card number or PIN, contact the Library at 513-369-6900. If your card number and PIN are accepted, but the database asks you for another username and password, see the FAQ about browser settings. Still having trouble? Email us and our staff is happy to assist you.

    If you are using a browser that is more than a couple of years old, you might want to consider upgrading to a newer version.

    Many of the resources use cookies and/or Javascript, so you’ll probably want to have those enabled. If you are using Internet privacy software, be aware that one of the things it can do is block referring URLs. If you are having trouble accessing a resource from home, you may need to configure your privacy software to allow these.

  • Cincinnati Inventors Database

    Patents are granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C. Each patent application is examined by someone knowledgeable in the field of invention. An initial filing fee is required, as well as additional fees when the patent is granted and renewed.

    There are no fill-in application forms; the document is drawn up much like a will, with specific sections that must be included. Guidelines are available in the Information & Reference Department and online at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, opens a new window website.

    A copyright protects original artistic, dramatic, musical, or literary works. It is intended to cover creative expression as it is embodied in a tangible medium (such as a book, an audio recording, or a film), not just as an idea or concept. The time of coverage varies, but a copyright often can last for 100 years. Copyrights are registered with the Library of Congress, opens a new window.

    A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, design, packaging, or sound that is used in business to identify the source of a product or service. Trademarks must be in continuous use to be protected and protection can last indefinitely. Trademarks may be registered nationally with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Business names also may be registered in individual states; in Ohio, registration is through the Secretary of State’s office. 

    An invention qualifies for a patent if it is new and non-obvious. "New" means that some aspect of the invention is a substantially novel development, never before patented. "Non-obvious" means that the development is unexpected or surprising, one that would not be obvious to someone who is an expert in the field of invention.

    Many types of inventions have received patents, including bicycle parts, jewelry designs, computer hardware, chemical formulas, musical instruments, magic tricks, and board games. Browsing the patent collection is a good way to explore inventions that have received patents.

    The purpose of patents is to make public recent scientific discoveries that promote the development of new technology and new products. When America was founded, the fledgling government followed the British practice of granting patents to spur the economic growth of the country. The right to patent is guaranteed by Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution.

    A patent is a legal document that gives an inventor the right to exclude anyone else from making, using, or selling an invention for a specific period of time, usually 20 years.

    People use the patent collection for a variety of reasons. It is searched by:

    • Inventors to explore what has already been patented in their area.
    • Genealogists to locate inventions related to their family histories.
    • Students to study the history of invention and inventors.
    • Researchers to analyze the connection between patents and social history.
    • Marketing firms to identify areas for new product development.

    The page you initially access on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) site is doing a “redirect” – when it is loaded it is automatically going to another page. When you use the back button on your browser at this page, it puts the page in a continual loop and therefore keeps redirecting it back to the same page. You can work around this by doing a couple of different things.

    When you are on the USPTO page, use the drop down list that is attached to the browser’s back button. Access it using the downward pointing arrow to the right of the back button. The first entry in the list is “Single Document.” You want to point to the page following that—it gets you back to the Inventors Database.

    You can open the USPTO page in a new window by holding down the “Shift” key on your keyboard while you click on the link to the USPTO page. The Inventors Database remains in the same window and a new window opens displaying the original patent at the USPTO site.

    At this point, you cannot search by assignee name. We have not made a concerted effort to enter assignee names unless they are extremely well-known. However, any assignee names that have been entered in the database do display when you retrieve that item.

    More historic inventions patented by Cincinnati inventors are going to be entered in the database. Note, many inventions are never patented. Unless an inventor applies for a patent and receives patent protection, the invention won’t be included.

    Contact the Information & Reference Department by email or phone at 513-369-6900.

    Contact the Information & Reference Department by email or phone at 513-369-6900.

    Main Library reference staff participated in data entry and proofing of the site contents. A University of Kentucky library science student also assisted with the project.

    No. The database includes only inventors from Hamilton County. No inventors from southeastern Indiana or other Ohio counties are included either.

    Copies of patents are available in hard copy, microfilm, or DVD disks from the Information & Reference Department. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, opens a new window has the full-text and images of all available U.S. patents back to 1790. To retrieve a patent if you know the number, use the U.S. Patent Full-Text Database Number Search. Enter your patent number. Choose the number and patent text appears. If you want to see the drawings or the full-image of the patent, choose the “Images” icon.

    Note: Your computer needs to have a free TIFF viewer downloaded. It is available on the Patent & Trademark Office website free of charge. To download the TIFF viewer, visit the U.S. Patent Full-Page Images page.

    We used the comprehensive Subject-Matter Index of Patents for Inventions 1790–1873 as the source of the file.