A patent search cannot be performed by just anyone!  Each search is carried out by an engineer or scientist who is a native English speaker and an expert patent searcher.  The searching strategy and final results are approved by a licensed Patent Attorney.  The combination of these elements enables the search to be comprehensive and thorough.  A Patent Attorney is familiar with patent drafting which aids in the formulation of keyword combinations, an engineer or scientist uses his technical vocabulary to broaden the search and a fluent English speaker utilizes uncommonly used keywords and their synonyms, which may have been used to describe an invention.

Fill out our patent search form or contact us to schedule a meeting at one of our offices around the country prior to ordering the Search.

We use numerous techniques to find the most relevant prior art. These include:

Keyword searching – Every search comprises an advanced boolean based keyword search of the relevant sections of issued and published patent applications, including the abstract, claims and description. Typically, multiple sets of keywords are used for completeness.

Cross referencing – Relevant patents often cite other relevant patents, and are also cited by later-filed applications. Cross referencing is a very valuable tool for finding important prior art.

Class/subclass searching – Patents in the appropriate classes and subclasses according to the International Patent Classifications (IPC) and the US Classifications (USC) are reviewed for relevant prior art.

Assignee search – Companies that produce similar products are often a valuable source of  relevant prior art.  This search may catch references that were not uncovered by any of the above techniques.

Internet search – Our searches aren't limited to patent databases. We also use Internet search engines when necessary to find other types of relevant art.