Patent Searches

Patentability Search

Our patentability searches are designed to determine if inventions are new or novel.  To be patentable, an invention must be novel and non-obvious compared to the prior art.  Our patentability searches endeavors to identify all of the prior art related to your invention.  A patentability search is very useful prior to drafting and filing a patent application.  Our patentability searches will cover both patent and non-patent literature.  We use a variety of databases and search techniques to ensure that the search we conduct for you is as comprehensive as possible.   We offer various levels of searches.  Please contact us for a quote.  We can also customize a search for your particular turnaround time and budget requirements.
 

Validity Search

Our validity searches are designed to determine if granted patents are valid. Occasionally, due to an error or oversight in examination, the patent office will grant an invalid patent or a patent with one or more invalid claims.  Our invalidity searches endeavor to find prior art that the patent office missed. The validity search will locate both patent and non-patent literature that was published prior to the filing date or priority date of the patent.  Our validity searches enable your patent attorney or lawyer to provide an opinion on the validity of a patent.   We also offer claim charting services as a raw validity analysis that your patent attorney or lawyer may use to complete the validity analysis and to provide a validity opinion.   Claim charting is an analytical technique that methodically dissects each claim of a patent into its constituent elements and compares each element with the prior art to provide a highly detailed element-by-element analysis of each claim of a patent.   
 

Freedom-to-Operate / Infringement Search

Freedom-to-operate (FTO) searches are also known as infringement searches or market clearance searches.  Our FTO searches identify patents that your product or service may infringe, and which thus block you from making, using or selling a product in one or more jurisdictions.  Our FTO searches enable your patent attorney or lawyer to provide an opinion as to whether you can safely commercialize a product in each jurisdiction without infringing any patents.   Claim charting services are also available for FTO requests.
 

Landscape Search

A landscape search is meant to identify all patents in a particular technical space.  A landscape search is useful for competitive intelligence, i.e., to understand what competitors are patenting and also to inform a decision about whether to enter a particular market space.  A landscape search may also be useful to identify potential licensors of key patents that you would need to commercialize a technology or even to identify potential licensees of your own patents.