United States Patents and Trademarks

• How to Conduct a Preliminary U. S. Patent Search : A step-by-step strategy  [via the USPTO] This link provides a detailed video tutorial about the benefits of conducting a thorough patent search, what can be patented, concepts like prior art, international patent agreements and classifications and a recommended strategies for searching for patents.
• Manual for Patent Examining Procedure is published to provide U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent examiners, applicants, attorneys, agents, and representatives of applicants with a reference work on the practices and procedures relative to the prosecution of patent applications and other proceedings before the USPTO. For example, the Manual contains instructions to examiners, as well as other material in the nature of information and interpretation, and outlines the current procedures which the examiners are required or authorized to follow in appropriate cases in the normal examination of a patent application. The Manual does not have the force of law or the force of the rules in Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

• United States Patent and Trademark Office - The principle resource for cataloging and retrieving patent and trademark information in the United States.
• Espacenet  (via the European Patent Office)

Direct URL : https://www.epo.org/en/searching-for-patents/technical/espacenet

Contains over 150 million global patents.  Search by : Applicant name, Inventor, Country of patent issue, Language, Publication Date and  Priority date, Various classification headings/keywords.

The European Patent Office also curates the Global Patent Index a more advanced application for patent attorneys, analysts etc. and requires a subscription, though offers a limited free trial.

• World Intellectual Property Organization - a United Nation's patent resource providing inform for approximately 115 million patents 
• Google Patent Search - An international meta-search resource for patents from around the world.

European Patent Office Annual Reports (2012-2021)

Direct URL : https://report-archive.epo.org/about-us/annual-reports-statistics/annual-report.html)