Documenting Your Collections
Info-Muse Network Documentation Guide

Previous page Table of contents Next page

Patent Date (Identification)

Definition:

Observations:

1. The patent date generally follows the patent number. These two details are marked on the nameplate on the object.
2. This field is used in conjunction with the Patent Number field.

Entry rules:

1. Enter the patent date in the form YYYY (Y for "year").
   Example

   	Patent Date	1957

2. If the month and day on which the patent was registered are known, enter the information in the form YYYY dash MM dash DD, in numbers only (Y for "Year," M for "Month" and D for "Day").
   Example

   	Patent Date	1957-10-25

3. If you are unsure whether your information is correct, include a space and a question mark after the date.
4. If the patent date is not marked, leave the field blank.
   Example

   The nameplate on an ohmmeter shows the patent number 342415, but no patent date.

   	Object Name	ohmmeter
   	Patent Number	342415
   	Patent Date

5. This field may contain multiple entries separated by a semicolon followed by a space. They should be entered in the order in which they appear on the nameplate and correspond to the entries in the Patent Number field.
   Example

   The nameplate on a pressure meter shows the following patent numbers and dates: 1673524-1897 June 3^rd and 1683452-1898 May 5^th.

   	Object Name	pressure meter
   	Patent Number	1673524; 1683452
   	Patent Date	1897-06-03; 1898-05-05