On September 30, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) consolidated and replaced four legacy search tools with a single Patent Public Search tool. The new tool is intended to streamline the search process for users and to incorporate new, useful features.

The legacy tools that were phased out include:

• Public-Examiner’s Automated Search Tool (PubEAST)
• Public-Web-based Examiner’s Search Tool (PubWEST)
• Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT), and
• Patent Application Full-Text and Image Database (AppFT).

The new Patent Public Search tool can be accessed here.