Understanding a Patent Search
Understanding a Patent Search.
Before you can begin to do a patent search, you will want to understand the entire patent issue. It all begins with the formal "patent office" for the country of origin, but most products end up needing more than a single national patent in order to protect their rights. In the U.S., it is the United States Patent and Trademark Office that issues the various patents available.
What is a Patent?
If you inquire about the technical meaning of the term patent, you would quickly understand that it is both a document and a guaranteed "right". It is the right to "exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" the item or invention that has the patent applied to it (that is according to U.S. standards).
So, if you designed a special medical syringe that many physicians and hospitals began using, and you received a patent for that design, you would be able to prevent any others from slapping a different name on the design and making money from it. If you went ahead and patented it with many different international offices, you would have nearly global protection.
Types of Patents
This indicates that patents have to have specific designations to really clarify what the invention or product is all about. It also makes things a bit easier when any patent search is conducted to know if there is a very clear category for the product. This is done through the three different patent "types" that include:
- Plant patents;
- Design patents; and
- Utility patents.
This means that you might discover or create a new variety of plant (such as a hybrid tomato) and receive a patent. You might invent a new design for a manufactured good and get a design patent, or you might discover a new "process" or machine and get a utility patent.
Using the Details for a Patent Search
What would these things mean to someone doing a patent search? They indicate that a search is going to have to be done in several ways to ensure that no infringement or gross similarities appear in the application for a patent. For instance, most engineering and design firms are going to tell clients that they must do a search or review against existing patents or registered products to prevent unnecessary investment in an item that is already patent protected.
Usually someone conducts a patent search as he or she begins the process of seeking to obtain a patent or trademark for the invention. They do this for commercial reasons and even to get a few ideas about language or research from similar products or inventions. People will also do a search to see if a patent has expired, and then seek to incorporate some of the ideas from that product or invention into their new patent application.
How it is Done
Most people begin with a simple "Google" search (or use another type of engine). The reason we suggest Google is because it actually has a formal Patent Search tool that is global and much more streamlined than a visit to individual country's patent offices.
If things look good, it is then advisable to hire a patent professional to do further investigation and to begin the process of creating the application.