The patent search portal PatentMonkey.com, which I reviewed last February, has been acquired by Patents.com, a new firm headed by venture capitalist Robert Monster, PatentMonkey founder Paul Ratcliffe and Steve Pinkos, former deputy undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and deputy director of the the USPTO from 2004-2007. According to the Patents.com website, the new service will “provide the most comprehensive worldwide source of patent data – to include 450 million searchable indexed patent pages available in 15 native languages.” The launch is anticipated in the first quarter of 2008.