Documenting Your Collections
Info-Muse Network Documentation Guide

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Patent Number (Identification)

Definition:

Observations:

1. The patent number is the number assigned to an object by the patent office in the country in which it was manufactured or marketed. The patent holder has the exclusive right to manufacture, use or market an invention in the country in which the object was patented.¹
2. The patent number consists of a group of numbers, and is often preceded by the letters "PAT".
   Example

   A Ruhmkorff coil bearing the inscription "PAT: 1309857" on the nameplate

   	Object Name	Ruhmkorff coil
   	Patent Number	1309857

3. The patent number is marked on the nameplate affixed to the object.

Entry rules:

1. Enter the whole patent number, making sure to respect the punctuation.
   Example

   A battery patented on April 12, 1903, in Canada, bearing patent number 564982

   	Object Name	battery
   	Patent Number	564982
   	Patent Date	1903-04-12
   	Patent Country	Canada

2. This field may contain multiple entries separated by a semicolon followed by a space. They should be entered in the order in which they are shown on the nameplate.
   Example

   A sewing machine in which two patented parts were used. The nameplate shows the patent numbers in this order: 1149314, July 23, 1983, and 1149309, July 5, 1983.

   	Object Name	sewing machine
   	Patent Number	1149314; 1149309
   	Patent Date	1983-07-23; 1983-07-05