Standards and Patents: Standards

An introduction to standards and patents, and key online tools to find them.

Standards Information

Standards are officially approved criteria designed to ensure that products and services meet minimum thresholds. They cover areas such as: Quality, Performance, Design, Safety & Environmental Impact. The Library holds Irish standards as well as subscriptions to the National Standards Database and IEEE Standards.

An example of a successful international standard is the universal USB connection on laptops and PC’s.

Standards and Stantardisation (NSAI presentation)

Irish (I.S.)

British (B.S.)

European (E.N.)

International (I.S.O.)

Many Irish Standards are developed nationally or adapted from European or International standards and can be found in the National Standards Database.

ISO - International Classification for Standards

National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) Database This link opens in a new window
ASTM Compass This link opens in a new window
Construction Information Service (Accuris) This link opens in a new window
IEEE Xplore This link opens in a new window
Engineering Workbench (Accuris Knowledge Workspace) This link opens in a new window

International and American Standards Databases

NSAI Database
ASTM Compass

The NSAI database provides full text access to Irish (I.S.), European (EN) and International (ISO) standards. The full-text of standards are not directly accessible through OneSearch.

For American Standards ASTM Compass is a collection of industry-leading standards and technical engineering information. Covers a broad range of engineering disciplines, including aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, environmental, geological, health and safety, industrial, materials science, mechanical, nuclear, petroleum, soil science, and solar engineering. UCD Library provides access to ASTM journals, ebooks and standards.

Accessing Building Regulation British Standards

The full text of key building regulation British Standards (BS) can be accessed through the CIS Database (please note Irish and European standards also exist and maybe more pertinent for current projects). The following five steps will help you locate the full text of the standards. The Library also holds many print copies of British Standards.

Search for "CIS" in OneSearch on the UCD Library homepage.