Patent Search
A Patent search is done to get an idea about the patentability of the invention in question. A good patent search makes an applicant/inventor aware about the novelty aspect of the invention. It also helps an applicant in deciding whether to file a patent application for the said invention or not. Thus, conducting a patent search is generally recommended before filing of a patent application. During the course of examination of the application by examiners of the Indian Patent office, searches are conducted by the examiners, who on finding the invention to be non patentable will raise objections on the patentability of the invention. Therefore, it is advisable to do patent searches before the filing of the patent application or before filing of the request for examination of the application, as it will save the time and money of the applicant or the inventor.Experienced patent professionals conduct searches with accurate results and the reports prepared by them are comprehensive. Thus, it is advisable to get patent searches done by experienced patent professionals like Patent Agents and Patent Attorneys.
Glister Group Of Company offers a wide range of Patent Search services rendered by professionals like Patent Agents and Patent Attorneys. Searches are conducted on paid databases like Delphion, Orbit, Thomson Innovation etc. and also on free databases on reasonable prices. We conduct patent searches in India as well as worldwide. KPS believes in providing high quality services to the clients and gives special attention to every client.
Patentability search/Novelty search
Patentability or novelty search is done to find if the invention in question is patentable or not. This is the basic search which is done generally before drafting and filing of the Patent application. Search is conducted using keywords relevant to the invention. Generally, the granted patents and the non patent literature like the scientific publications and research papers are searched to determine the novelty of the invention. An invention is not considered novel, if it can be found in prior arts. Anything which has been made available to the public before the filing date or the priority date of application for patent claiming the invention is known as Prior art.
Validity/Invalidity search
An invalidity search is conducted to find skipped prior arts so that a patent can be declared invalid. This is done generally in cases of infringement where a product is charged of infringing a patent. In counter claim of infringement, the owner of the product can declare the patent to be invalid, if any prior art can be cited. The idea behind the invalidity search is that generally a patent is granted to an invention by the Patent office after searching and examination done by the examiners. Examiners though carry out an extensive search, can skip some prior arts which could be crucial for declaring a patent invalid.
Freedom to operate search
A Freedom to operate search or FTO is conducted to uncover the enforceable patents, which a product to be commercialized has the risk of infringing. Freedom to operate search is jurisdiction based and only the active enforced patents are considered while doing the searches. These searches are generally done to determine the potential risk of infringement a product possesses, if launched in the market of a given jurisdiction. Thus, these searches are also known as infringement search or clearance search.
State of art search
State of art search is conducted to know potential existing competitors and solutions within a given field of technology. Generally few patents are randomly chosen representing a field of technology. The state of art search is done is to plan research and development activities more efficiently and to know which areas are not covered by the existing players.
Patentability analysis report
The patentability analysis report contains the detailed analysis of the scope of patentability of the invention. The report is prepared based on the result of the searches conducted, mainly the worldwide patentability search done on paid and free databases. The search is conducted by patent professionals who are experienced and expert in their field.
- The report is beneficial for an applicant of a patent to know the scope of patentability of the invention in India and worldwide.
- The report guides the applicant in right direction and prevents the applicant from incurring any further costs of filing and drafting of the patent application, if the search report suggests that the invention is not novel.
- Detailed search report is provided along with the results of the searches conducted. Relevant prior arts are mentioned in the report and an explanation is provided on the patentability of the invention with respect to those prior arts.
- A thorough patent search is advisable before proceeding with the filing of patent application. An applicant gets an idea about the novelty of his invention and also can broaden/narrow claims by studying and comparing the prior arts.
