What specialized services does STIC offer for examiners?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

The Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC) offers several specialized services to support patent examiners:

• Foreign patent document retrieval: STIC can obtain copies of foreign patent documents not available in USPTO databases.
• Translations: STIC provides translations of foreign language patents and non-patent literature.
• Scientific and Technical Literature: STIC maintains extensive collections of scientific and technical literature, including journals, books, and conference proceedings.
• Prior Art Searches: STIC librarians can assist examiners with complex prior art searches.

As stated in MPEP 901.06(a): “STIC provides technical literature, foreign patents, NPL patents, database access and search experts to assist examiners in the patent examining process.”