How to get a patent or patent application permalink at the USPTO website?

Question

I'd like to link to certain patents or patent applications filed with the USPTO.

Google Patents makes this relatively straightforward, hosting patents & applications at this URL scheme:

http://www.google.com/patents/[publication number]

URL schemes at the USPTO aren't so simple. An example of an application URL found at the Patent Application Full-Text and Image Database (AppFT):

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=3d.AS.&OS=an/3d&RS=AN/3d

Will that application permanently live at that link? And is there a simpler way to link to applications and granted patents at the USPTO?

Answer 1

From the USPTO web site:

To the Full-Text of a Particular Patent: A special shortened URL format: http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=5123456 where the patent number "5123456" may be replaced by any valid patent number within the database, has been established to enable users to more easily construct a URL for bookmarking or linking to the full-text of a single granted patent.