A patent is an exclusive right given to an inventor for around 20 years to protect their invention from being copied or used by others without permission.
Patents are not peer-reviewed in the same way that academic journal articles are. When you submit a patent application, it is examined by a patent examiner at the relevant patent office (such as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the European Patent Office).
While the examiner may conduct a search of prior art (existing knowledge, publications, patents, etc.) to assess the claims, the process does not involve independent experts or a formal peer-review process like in academic publishing. The focus is more on legal and technical aspects rather than a critical evaluation by a panel of subject matter experts.
There are three main types of patents:
Utility patents (for new and useful inventions)
Design patents (for new, original, and ornamental designs)
Plant patents (for new plant varieties).
To find a patent:
esp@cenet
European Patent Organization contains 4 databases of patent records from around the world. Includes U.S. patents after the 1820.
pat2pdf
Fast way to retrieve a PDF of a U.S. patent using a patent number.
Canadian Patent Database
Provide users with extensive information on Canadian patent documents from 1920 to present.
European Publication Server
European Patent Office patent applications and granted patents.
FreePatentsOnline.com
Covers U.S. (1976+), European, Japanese, and worldwide patents.
Patent Lens
Patent Lens searches the full text of patents from the U.S., Australia, Europe, and worldwide.
WIPO PatentScope
Searches >10 million international patent documents.