Just thought people might like to try patent searches as a tool for
genealogical research; I have been amazed to use these searches to find
information about relatives I didn't know existed, and fill in little gaps
of information for those I already know about.

I used to search individually at the US Patents site, the Canadian site,
etc., but just learned you can do a free search of several international
sites all at once, at:

http://www.surfip.gov.sg/sip/site/sip_home.htm

Just enter your surname into the Show News - Search Patents Web banner in
the middle of the page. They also have a free membership level, but I found
the banner search pretty comprehensive, sometimes even with images of the
applications.

These are the databases searched:

WIPO/PCT - World Intellectual Property Organization - Patent Cooperation
Treaty
IPO Singapore
European Patent Office
UK Patent Office
United States PTO
JPO-IPDL
Canada IPO
Taipei Patents Index

I have no commercial or other interest in the site.

Best of luck in your research,

Jane Ehrlich Reifer
Fullerton, California, USA

Researching: REIFER (all countries); REISCH (Ukraine); ROESSLER / RESSLER
(Ukraine); HOROWITZ (Horodenka, Chernivtsi [Ukraine]; SPASSER (Ukraine);
HERZ, DAVIDSON, SCHOEN (Hungary); EHRLICH (Hungary, Czechoslovakia )