Based on a comparison of the results of national and international patent search databases, the forms of inclusion of sociological activity in the patenting process are identified, the earliest records marking the start of this process are determined, as well as the first examples of registration of rights to the tools of sociological research. The key methodological problem in the aspect of quantifying the volume of the array of «sociological» patents is the relevance of the results of patent search due to the different interfaces of patent data-bases and the variety of forms of participation of sociology in the trans-fer of scientific knowledge to the economy and public practice. The similarity of the development of «sociological» patenting in Russia and the USA has been preliminarily determined, despite the quantitative superiority of the USA as the leader of world patenting.
patenting in sociology; chronology, periodization; patent search databases, cross-country comparison; relevance.