Patent searches

• a "patentability" or "novelty" search, to see if your invention is new enough to be patented or whether someone else has disclosed, perhaps patented, a similar thing before.
• a "freedom to operate" or "infringement" search, to see if other people have patents that restrict your freedom to use your invention.

We can arrange both types of searches.  We usually instruct professional patent searchers who have technical backgrounds and experience in patent searching.  For patentability searches, we may alternatively recommend a search carried out by the UK or European Patent Office, who again employ highly skilled information scientists.

Searches can be limited to a particular technical field or even focused specifically on your invention.  They can be limited by geographical area, only covering the countries where you want to exploit your technology.  They can be limited by name, for instance to find out what patents your key competitors have.

Often if you're about to try to patent a new idea, you will want a search which covers both patentability and freedom to operate; that too is possible.

Watching searches & status watches

We can also organise patent watching searches, which check regularly for new patents and patent applications in your field.  These too can be limited to particular competitors, countries or types of invention.

You can also instruct us to monitor the progress of a particular patent application – for instance, one belonging to a major competitor – and update you on significant developments.

These two types of search help alert you to potential opportunities and risks, giving you the chance to shape your business strategies accordingly.

The limitations of patent searches

No search can be completely exhaustive.  The wider the search criteria, the greater the chance of a reliable result, but this has to be balanced against time and cost constraints.  Please be aware of this when assessing patent search results – there may be errors or time lags on the databases being searched, the search criteria may not be wide enough, or in the case of patentability there may for instance have been public disclosures of an invention which simply can't be found by conventional literature searches (public use of a product, for example, or its offer for sale in a catalogue, or an oral disclosure at a conference).

You can help make your search more effective by providing us with the names of others you know to be working in your field, or details of patents or other literature that you're already aware of.  You can also start your own web-based searches, which often give valuable clues to relevant issues.  If you are generally aware of what others are doing in your field, this will help us to focus our searches for a more reliable and cost-effective result.