Google Patents’ search engine gets global push with launch in U.K., Japan, and 9 other markets

Google is boosting its patents search service this week with the news that it’s adding 11 more national patent offices to the mix.
First launched in 2006, Google Patents initially only worked with searches through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), but it was expanded to cover the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2012, followed a year later by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the respective patent offices for Germany, Canada, and China.
The purpose