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Patent Search Information "A Guide to doing your own patents search on the Web"
Inventions, Inventions, Inventions, what do you do next with your inventions? If you have decided that it will be worth your time and money to pursue your invention, the next step is to do a patent search. A patent search is a very important first step. It will let you know both if someone else has already invented your invention and also gives you a look at your competition. With a little time and effort you can do this yourself. There are several search engines on the Internet, below are two I like:
Often inventors will not understand the more subtle ways of finding patents that might interfere with their invention. If this is the case, then possibly your first step would be to test a prototype to see if your invention works. However, rarely is prototyping less expensive than doing a patent search. If you would like InventionMakers to do the patent search, we will apply the cost to your patent application fee should you decide to go to that next step with us. This is non-refundable since a patent search is needed just to find out if a patent is applicable. We provide two levels of patent searches. The first is a standard computer database search and the second is a very exhaustive cross referenced patent search that we must do before engineering and improving the invention, and before applying for the patent.
We suggest doing the patent searches in steps. Doing a Computer Database Patent Search first makes sense since it is free if you do it yourself. The next step would be to do a complete search of all patents by cross referencing related patents and searching specific Classes of patents. This Extensive patent search is much more difficult to explain and requires patent resources that most inventors do not have on hand. A computer search is however, relatively easy. Step 1: Make a list of words, both nouns and adjectives, which describe your invention. Make sure you describe its components and functions in as many ways as possible. Step 2: Then go into one of the Patent Databases above and locate there search page. Step 3: Enter the words which describe your invention in different combinations into the text search box to begin the search. Step 4: In the list of patents that appear look for those patents which are similar to your invention by checking the drawings and claims on each patent. Step 5: Patents that are similar to your invention should be used to referenced more patents which are similar to your invention. Unless you are a patent attorney you may find it difficult to determine exactly if another patent will conflict with you invention. However, in general if it functions like your invention and has all the same components as your invention you can be reasonably sure your invention has already been patented. Remember patents are issued according to their actual design structure, but they are categorized according to their type of function and to a lesser extent there defining structure. This means that even if an invention looks the same and does the same thing, your invention may be patentable because of a number of structural differences which improve its function or cost. If all this seems confusing, InventionMakers can do the search for a small fee of $99. If nothing shows up and you decide you want to apply for a patent then and Extensive Patent Search will be needed. In either case we will need to know exactly what your invention is to do the patent search properly. For your protection a NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT should be filled out and sent to us to protect your invention from unwanted disclosure. Even if an invention, or inventions, are found to claim your invention, InventionMakers may still be able to invent around it, making patentable improvements. We enjoy making inventions better to stay ahead of the competition. So don't let your inventions go to waste, take action and make your inventions count. CLICK HERE to continue |
