Frequently Asked Questions

What is the coverage of this database?
Patents are legal documents and often include information on legal name changes. This database indexes United States patents in which a personal name change is specifically identified in the document. The name change may not necessarily be the inventor on the patent. The oldest patent in the database is from Canandaigua, New York issued in 1851.

If no address for an executor is listed, the address for the deceased is used.

I cannot find a patent in the database that I believe exists.
All attempts have been made to make this database as comprehensive as possible. If you cannot find a patent in the database which you believe includes a legal name change, please contact the PTDL and we will search for it.

When I click on the USPTO link, I do not see the patent.
When you click on the USPTO link in the Name Changes in Patents Database you will be taken to the patent located on the USPTO web site. Patents appear two ways on the United States Patent and Trademark Office site. Only the most current patents appear in textual form when you click on the USPTO link. The USPTO has been adding the text version of patents retrospectively but currently only 1976 - Present are available.

However, most of the patents from 1790 - Present are available as a scanned image on the USPTO web site. TIFF software is required to view the patent images. To download free TIFF viewing software, go to the USPTO website.

Once you have installed the TIFF software, click on the patent link on the USPTO page. If it is a newer patent, you will see the text version. If it is a pre-1976 patent, the screen will be blank. New or old, to see the actual patent with drawings, click on the Images button at the top of the screen.