A Search for patentability (Aka Prior art Search) is an important first step before investing in intellectual property. When properly executed, searching helps determine the extent of patentability and innovation of ideas. This survey also helps professionals draft patents and searches by experts and helps to convince investors of your patent value.
To search and interpret the search results properly, efforts and understanding of intellectual property law are necessary. For this reason, it is mandatory to use a qualified patent expert (patent attorney or agent). If you are hiring a law firm to conduct a search, you will examine who is actually searching. You may be paying a premium price to the law firm to have the searcher do the work. Individual attorneys or distributors may use better search methods and lower price search methods than larger companies. If you are using a laying out person, please sign a non-disclosure agreement before providing documentation explaining the invention. Before using a lawyer, please get detailed explanation of work he consented and cost estimate.
The two heads are better than one (sometimes cheaper). An important trick to do a good search cooperates with your lawyer. Before asking a lawyer for a prior art investigation, it is necessary to perform preliminary work in advance. First, a comprehensive patent search should be based on clear ideas. You need to give the searcher a clear and concise description of your invention. Also, do not provide your investigators with a list of products that closely compete with their closest competitors (preferably what you wrote) and the idea of an important difference between your idea and that product There is no doubt. We will also provide the searcher with a glossary of terminology (and definitions of terms different from the meaning of standard English) that are likely to apply to your invention. It is essential to hear opinions from lawyers. Ask lawyers to look at the results of the preliminary investigation in consideration of the contents of the present invention. Does the result seem to be related to your patent purpose? If not, reveal the reason. Did lawyers see the importance which is not obvious to you? Did he misunderstand the invention? Does he focus on the marketable aspect of the invention? Did he misunderstand the prior art? Is the technology compatible?
Detailed searches usually need to be an interactive process. If the preliminary search results have not reached the goal, it helps the attorney to concentrate the search on more relevant prior art and more important aspect of the invention. Ultimately, we need to clarify not only whether the idea is patentable but also which aspects of the idea are patentable.
There is a second kind of search. Freedom of operation search. A Freedom of operation Search determines whether you can practice your invention freely without infringing other patents. Freedom to operate the search application only for very specific inventions. If your invention is not yet clearly defined and in its final form, the freedom to manipulate the search is probably a waste of time and money.
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