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Searching the FSTA Sections Index

This search aid allows you to add one or more FSTA sections and/or subsections to your search query. There are 20 FSTA sections in the index and 130 subsections among those 20 sections.

See FSTA Section and Subsection Names for a complete listing of these items.

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Find Option

1. Enter a word or phrase in the text field. Wildcards (* ?) are permitted.

2. Click the Find button to go to a list of items that contain the characters that you entered. For example, if you enter nuts as the search term, the product returns two entries called "Fruits, vegetables and nuts" and "Nuts and seeds".

3. Click the Add button to select an item from the list. The selected item is added to the text box at the bottom of the page.

4. Click OK to transfer the selected item(s) to the FSTA Sections field on the Search page.

   If you are performing an Advanced Search, the product transfers the selected item(s) to the field box on the Advanced Search page along with the correct field tag. For example, FS=(Fruits, vegetables "and" nuts).

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Browsing the Classification Hierarchy

1. Click the Expand icon to expand the list of subsections under a particular section.

2. Click the Add button to add a section or subsection to the text box at the bottom of the page.

3. Click OK to transfer the selected item(s) to the search page.

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Booleans

Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) are treated as regular alphabetic characters. Do not use them in your search.

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About Sections U and V

Records under Sections U and V are available from 1969 to 1991. Keep this in mind when searching for patent records under these two sections.