DOE Patents
Stored: DOE Patents
| Type | Program |
|---|---|
| Sponsor Organization | Office of Scientific and Technical Information |
| Top Organization | Department of Energy |
| Creation Legislation | Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 |
| Website | Website |
| Purpose | DOE Patents offers a searchable database of DOE-funded patents, sharing innovations to aid research, industry, and public access. |
| Program Start | 1994 |
| Initial Funding | Not publicly specified; part of OSTI budget |
| Duration | Ongoing |
| Historic | No |
DOE Patents is a specialized search tool developed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) within the Department of Energy, designed to catalog and provide access to patents stemming from DOE-funded research.
DOE Patents provides a searchable database of patent information resulting from Department of Energy-funded research and development, showcasing the department’s contributions to scientific and technological innovation, while aiming to preserve and disseminate intellectual property from DOE-sponsored projects to support research, industry, and public access.
Notable features include its comprehensive coverage of over 39,000 patents as of 2025, sourced from DOE national laboratories, universities, and other funded entities, with full-text access often linked to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Goals
- Collect and make accessible patents resulting from DOE-funded R&D across various funding mechanisms like grants and contracts.
- Demonstrate DOE’s impact on scientific progress in fields such as energy, physics, and materials science.
- Facilitate technology transfer and public use of DOE intellectual property with searchable metadata and full-text links.
Organization
DOE Patents is administered by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), a unit of the Department of Energy responsible for scientific and technical information management. OSTI oversees the program’s operations, including patent identification via USPTO searches and data curation from DOE-funded entities. Funding is integrated into OSTI’s budget, derived from DOE appropriations. The program’s leader is the Director of OSTI, currently Kristin Bingham as of 2025.
History
DOE Patents emerged from OSTI’s mission to preserve and share DOE-funded research outcomes, formalized with the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977, though the database itself launched in 1994 as a digital tool. It evolved from earlier STI efforts to a web-based platform, incorporating advanced search features like Boolean operators and CPC classification by the 2000s. Its growth reflects DOE’s expanding R&D portfolio, with plans to enhance integration with tools like the Visual Intellectual Property Search (VIPS) database, launched in 2024.
Funding
Initial funding for DOE Patents, while not separately itemized, was part of OSTI’s budget under DOE appropriations starting in 1994. The program’s financing continues through annual DOE funding, with no specified end date, supporting ongoing maintenance and updates. OSTI’s broader STI budget, in the millions annually, encompasses DOE Patents, though exact allocations are not publicly detailed.
Implementation
DOE Patents operates by compiling bibliographic records of patents from DOE-funded projects, identified through USPTO data and submissions from labs and grantees via OSTI’s E-Link system. Implementation began with its 1994 launch and continues as a dynamic database, updated weekly with new patents. It has no fixed end date, serving as a permanent resource for DOE’s intellectual property.
Related
External links
- https://www.osti.gov/doepatents
- https://www.energy.gov/science/office-scientific-and-technical-information
- wikipedia:Office of Scientific and Technical Information