Patent Search

What is a Patent Search?

• Someone or an entity sells or sold a product
• Use of the innovation in business contexts

Existing Patents or Patent Applications:
An invention or technology described in a patent or published patent application filed by someone else.
There may be instances in which your patent or published patent application describes a similar invention or technology.
These include pending patent applications, abandoned patent applications, granted patents, and expired patents.

Scientific Journals and Publications:
Scientific articles or research papers published in academic journals discuss technologies or methodologies similar to the invention.

Product Manuals or Brochures:
Manuals, brochures, and other materials accompanying a product that publicly disclose features similar to those claimed in the patent application.

Publicly Available Research:
Research findings, conference presentations, or technical reports are accessible to the public.

Public Demonstrations or Exhibitions:
Someone or an entity holds public demonstrations, exhibitions, or presentations showcasing technology or invention.

Publicly Accessible Websites: 
Information is available on publicly accessible websites, forums, or online publications that disclose aspects of the invention.

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs):
Information disclosed under a valid nondisclosure agreement is not considered prior art. This information must remain confidential, and the disclosure must not be public.

Secret or Unpublished Research:
Unpublished research, experiments, or inventions are not considered prior art.

Internal Company Documents:
Non-public company documents, emails, memos, or other communications are not considered prior art.

Personal Use or Experimentation:
A personal invention or information not disclosed to the public and used solely for experimental purposes may not be considered prior art.

Oral Presentations Without Public Disclosure:
A presentation that is not publicly accessible (not recorded, not part of a public event) may not be considered prior art.

How Long Does a Patent Search Take?

How Does One Conduct a Patent Search?

What are the Benefits of a Provisional Patent?

How Can I Tell If Someone Has Already Patented My Idea?

Is it Possible to Patent Something that Already Exists?

No. You can obtain a patent on unique aspects of your inventions, even if prior inventions are similar to your idea. It would help to emphasize those new and non-obvious aspects to someone in your field in your patent search documents, drawings, and invention descriptions. The success of your application depends on your ability to demonstrate significant improvements over prior art in your invention.

Why Should I Conduct a Patent Search Before Submitting a Patent Application?

Novelty

An appropriately done prior art search will inform you about the state of your invention’s field. A patent attorney can assist you in asserting whether your idea or innovation is novel and inventive; the grant of a patent depends on the status of your invention relative to the prior art when you file your patent application. Therefore, it is a powerful tool in assisting the patentability of your creation and can save you time, effort, and money in the long term by enhancing the probability of a good outcome. Failing to do the patent search will make getting a patent much more complicated than it needs to be.

Clearance or Freedom-to-Operate (FTO)

This patent search establishes if a product or process infringes on another’s patent. Although this search is limited to patents and not expired or abandoned U.S. patents, it must be comprehensive. It requires an analysis of claims, prosecution history, and specifications, which are critical since the primary purpose of this search is to determine if your product or process infringes on another’s patented claims. Thus, it is a time-consuming search process and requires legal and technical knowledge.

Validity

This search detects if the patent examiner overlooked similar, identical, or non-patented literature. This validity patent search tries to invalidate issued patents; consequently, the search validates the validity or invalidity of a granted patent. This complete search must employ a database including patent and non-patented public information.

IP Strategy