Patent searches

Before filing a patent application, it is highly advisable to conduct a patent search. A patent will be granted only if the invention is new (and nonobvious). A patent search is helpful because it can identify many prior inventions that may block your patent application. A basic patent search includes both patents and published patent applications in the United States. A more extensive patent search may include patents and patent applications in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, as well as published patent applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

If you are just starting out in the patent process, we recommend first conducting a brief patent search on your own through the US Patent and Trademark Office website. This can give you an indication as to how many inventions are in your particular technological field.

The US Patent and Trademark Office allows you to search both issued patents and published patent applications. Published patent applications are only available back to March 15, 2001, for applications that were filed on or after November 29, 2000. The patent search site permits three types of searches for both issued patents and published patent applications: 1) Quick Search, 2) Advanced Search, and 3)Patent Number Search.

The Quick Search feature allows you to search up to two search terms in patents or published patent applications through a variety of search fields. For example you can search by patent application number, keywords in the patent's title, abstract, specification, and claims, and even by the inventor's name, city or state! However, remember that the Quick Search can only be used for up to two search terms. The US Patent and Trademark Office also offers a patent help link for the Quick Search.

If you want to search more than two terms you should use the US Patent and Trademark Office's advanced patent search. The same search features that are available in the Quick search are also available in the advanced search; the advanced search simply allows you to search using more than two search terms. Using the advanced search tool, you can search an inventor's name, city, keyword, filing date, and examiner name simultaneously. The US Patent and Trademark Office also provides an advanced patent help link.

As a final search option, if you already know the issued patent number you should simply use the US Patent and Trademark Office Patent Number Search. For published applications, that do not have an issued patent number you can search by the Published Application number.

If you want to search for two terms together place them in quotes. For example if you wanted to search for patents related to an electric razor, type in "electric razor" as a keyword. The character $ is a wild card in the US patent database search. A search for >electr$< will search for (electricity OR electronic OR electrical). Unfortunately, $ does not work with quotation marks.

In addition to searching patents in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, it is also recommended to search patents worldwide, as any published patent or patent application in the world could potentially be used to block your patent application. The European Patent Office offers both Quick and Advanced searches in the European Patent Office and worldwide.

It is important to note that even if you come across a patent or published patent application that seems very similar to your invention, you still may not be blocked from obtaining a patent. Without an extensive knowledge of patent law, it is very difficult for a layperson to decipher patent search results. Even after you conduct your search, you should still contact a patent attorney to help you make sense of the results. A search by yourself is never a good substitute for a patent's lawyer's years of experience.

A reputable law firm, as opposed to a low-cost online shop, will have an experienced patent attorney carefully review the patent search results and provide the client with an opinion as to the patentability of their invention. A typical patent search can take a couple of weeks. While other sites may advertise that they can conduct patent searches faster than one week, we feel that it is important to have an experienced patent attorney carefully review the results of the patent search.

Achtel Law Firm can provide patent searches and a patentability opinion for approximately $1000 (depending upon the complexity of your invention.) More extensive patent searches and analyses, including searches in the European Patent Office and worldwide are also available. The rate for these advanced searches and analyses vary depending on the technology and other factors.

While a patent application can be filed without conducting a patent search, it is strongly discouraged. Oftentimes an anticipating patent that could have easily been discovered through a search will block the patent application during examination. Meanwhile, the patent applicant has already paid attorney fees and US Patent and Trademark filing fees. These problems can often be avoided by carefully conducting and analyzing a search before drafting and filing your patent application.

Conducting a preliminary patent search is also beneficial when your attorney drafts your patent application. By reviewing closely related prior art, your attorney can emphasize your invention's unexpected advantages over the prior art. This strategy can be very beneficial when confronting rejections issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Please visit our patent resources page to view a list of useful websites: Patent Information