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The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and its sister organization, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) define a standard as "a document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context".
The UVic Libraries house a collection of standards published by both Canadian and American standard-issuing bodies, such as the National Research Council of Canada, the Canadian General Standards Board, and the Canadian Standards Association.
The resources listed in this guide will help you identify and find standards and patents from all jurisdictions. Please note that UVic Libraries has limited access to standards.
Patents "provide a time-limited, legally protected, exclusive right to make, use and sell an invention" - Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
Patents can be a useful resource for information on inventions and also provide some background and preliminary information on a method or a product. Patents are also great to find what other literature exists in the field. Patents are usually granted in Canada and the US for a period of 20 years.
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