How to check if your invention is new and can be registered as a patent
What is a patent verification and why is such verification required?
Before you file a patent application for your invention, you need to check if it is really new. If there is already a registered patent for your invention, or there is a patent that is similar enough to your invention, you may not be able to get a patent, and any additional investment in filing a patent application will be a waste of time and money. your money.
The patent search will also help you learn more about your invention, see alternative solutions that have existed, and even better differentiate your invention from existing ones.
What types of patent checks are there?
The most common check is a prior art check, which means all information that has been made publicly available in any form. This includes essays, the Internet, newspapers, existing registered and pending patents, etc. It is practically impossible to review all the existing information when verifying a patent, hence the importance of wisely selecting a large enough pool of relevant information for the search.
The following are issues that patent verification may need to address:
1. Find all existing relevant prior art
2. Is the invention already in use somewhere?
3. What are the possible uses of the invention?
4. Determine if this invention infringes existing patents
5. Differentiate this invention from similar inventions
6. Patentability, or novelty, to decide if a patent can protect a new invention.
How can you do the control yourself?
The official place to start your search is the United States Patent Office (USPTO.gov). Look on the website under PatFT: Patents:
patft.uspto.gov/
Here are some more important search-related links:
International Patent Applications – http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/
Google Search: http://www.google.com/patents
Each site presents and searches for results differently, and not all use the same search tools and input keywords. For each result, you should review the abstract as well as the title, as the titles may not reveal the necessary information you are looking for.
How do you know if your search is good enough? Based on my past experience, many times investors find that prior art exists that jeopardizes obtaining a patent for their invention, only after turning to a professional. An expert in this area will thoroughly review existing patents; he will discuss potential features of new inventions and companies that can license such a patent, and can save you a lot of additional time and expense.
Should I Hire a Patent Agent or an Attorney? An experienced attorney may be better than an agent in finding and filing a patent application. This is because the knowledge and experience that the lawyers have of the cases they have represented, allows them to consider them during the search and thus provide an even better result.
recommendations
A search is one of the most important first steps in turning an invention into a patent. A free search is a good start, however, to really make sure you are the first to publish what your invention is about, you should hire a patent agent and, if possible, a lawyer.