Law Office of Alicia Porter

http://www.espacenet.com/

This is a site that has been constructed for patent searches for all three governments. Where the language on the patent applications isn’t English, then there’s German, French or the language from where the patent was created.

The really nice thing about this site is that there are multiple tutorials. The tutorials are depressing at times when you realize how utterly different the European system is (and how low your score is when first trying the tutorial), for example, compared to the US system. The tutoriasl are also enlightening about how easy it is to master one system, such as the US system and then have to re-think your thought processes for
the European patent system. They are short, and comprehensive, and help master the system quickly.

Some of the points that you can pick up doing the tutorials are quick- for example, no more than four search words. Others are completely different – for example the applicant may be, but need not be, the inventor. In the US, the inventor is the only one who has the right to apply for the patent.