Engineering

Standards are used in engineering to ensure anything you make or design meets certain requirements, and in other fields such as computing to ensure best practice and service quality.

Standards often contain technical specifications and guidelines for manufacture. Many companies and countries have their own standard guidelines, while ISO standards are agreed internationally. They may relate to performance, design, specifications, etc.

Some standards are available on CityLibrary Search:

• Search by the standard number. 
• Or you can enter keywords and refine the results to include only standards:
  • Under the Content type heading in the filters section on the left of the screen, select the More... button .
  • Select Standard from the list and then Apply.

Otherwise, search the relevant database such as British Standards Online (BSOL). 

Some advice on referencing standards can be found on Cite Them Right Online in the Technical and Scientific Information section.

To be patentable an idea must be new, be innovative and ideally have an industrial application. In the UK patents are granted by the Intellectual Property Office and are only valid in the UK.