Prior Art Searches

What it is

Finding out what already exists, and helping you decipher what it means.

The questions a search can answer

Can this be patented? While a patent must go through the examination process at the USPTO before it is issued, a patentability or novelty search can help you get a sense of how crowded the field of invention is, before you spend money applying for a patent.

Can we sell this? A freedom-to-operate or clearance search asks a completely different question — not whether you can get a patent, but whether making or selling your product would infringe someone else's. These are not interchangeable, and a search built for one does not answer the other.

Is this patent any good? An invalidity search looks for material the patent office should have considered before granting someone's patent — usually because they are now pointing it at you.

What is happening in this field? A landscape search maps who is filing what, which helps explain the state of the industry and potential licensing landscape.

What you get

A written analysis of what was found and what it means for your question, and a conversation about it. The scope of the search — the databases, the classifications, the date range, and the question being answered — is agreed in writing before we start..

No search is exhaustive, and we will not tell you otherwise. Even the most expensive prior art searches can miss strong prior art. In fact, some of the best prior art is discovered by speaking with engineers and scientists that worked in R&D when the patent in question was filed. So, although no search is perfect, it can reduce uncertainty.

How this differs from the search inside a drafting package

Our Standard and Enhanced drafting levels include a limited search that only includes USPTO publications of U.S. patent applications and patents. With a specialized prior art or freedom to operate search, you get to decide what sources of prior art we will include in the search and where to focus your resources.

What happens next

Call or email us and tell us the decision the search is meant to support — whether you are about to file, about to launch, or looking at someone else's patent. Describe the general technical field rather than your invention, and we will put an engagement agreement in place before you send anything confidential.