First, let’s understand what patents are with a simple example.

Amazon had a one-click patent that allowed customers to place orders in one click by using existing customer data. This created a seamless experience for the users.

This patent stopped anyone from using one-click orders without Amazon’s permission. And Amazon charged other companies to use this one-click feature in their products.

Apple used to pay an “undisclosed” amount to Amazon to implement this one-click feature in its App Store purchases. 

Thus, patents can be a valuable asset for a business.

But getting anything patented is no easy task. Patent office experts scrutinize your patent, putting it through many evaluations. 

So, here are some foundational patent searches that you need to know before you even think about patenting something.

1. Patentability/Novelty search

This is the most basic type of search conducted by a patent analyst and is pretty self-explanatory. If your patent application is similar enough to someone else’s existing patent, the patent office will reject it.

So, to have the best chance of getting your patent approved, it needs to be unique and novel enough than other similar patents, anywhere in the world.

Thus, Patentability search is one of the first searches you need to do when you’re planning to apply for a patent. And if you find that a similar patent already exists, you could alter or improve your patent to meet the criteria.

Also, a patentability search helps you check your idea’s uniqueness. This, in turn, helps you draft a strong patent application.

2. Freedom-to-operate (FTO) search

Suppose you’re developing and launching a product in a new country (i.e. a new jurisdiction). There is always a risk that a competitor holds a patent for a technology used in your product. 

This means you’ll be infringing on someone else’s patent, which is an invitation for a lawsuit, sooner or later. This is especially true in sectors that involve extensive patenting.

So, what should you do?

Assuming that the patent they hold is valid, you can strike a deal with them to either buy the patent or license it.

This is why conducting an FTO analysis is important. An FTO search ensures that you are not overlapping with anyone’s patent in any way possible. And you have unrestricted freedom to operate in a jurisdiction.

3. Patent Invalidity Search

If someone files a patent infringement suit against you, you can respond by searching for invalidity in their patent.

This means looking for prior art (references, documents, patents or non-patent literature) that can invalidate the claims of their existing patent.

But how could this happen? If a patent is invalid, how did the patent office approve the patent in the first place?

The patent office has too many applications to handle. Plus, they don’t have the resources (nor the incentives) to go through everything that is out there. 

Thus, the invalidity search aims to uncover prior art that the patent examination may not have considered. As a result, it is much more thorough and broad compared to novelty searches.

Uncover prior art, and you can render their patent invalid.

You can also conduct an Invalidity search on your competitor’s patents. And if you find out that they hold an invalid patent, you can overthrow that patent in court, weakening their patent portfolio. 

You can also use it to establish freedom to operate. You can invalidate an existing patent from a competitor, which establishes your freedom to operate.

4. State-of-the-art search

So far, we have discussed searches that focus on a specific patent or a narrow part of the field. State-of-the-art search is the complete opposite of this.

It is a comprehensive review of all the patent and non-patent literature in the field. The aim here is to get a bird’s-eye view of the field. 

State-of-the-art search is a helpful tool that can help you when you’re entering a new field. It helps you understand what the trends in the field are and make an informed decision.

This is often used to guide the direction of your research. As it helps you to avoid reinventing the wheel and wasting resources. 

Patent landscape search is a helpful tool that can help you access the state of the art and attain a visual indication of what is going on.

Conclusion

These are some of the most basic patent searches you should know about. And even though you now know a lot about patent searches, it’s NOT a good idea to go ahead and do all this yourself.

The purpose of this blog is to give you a basic understanding of what different types of patent searches are and why we conduct them.

But these searches are complex. So, it’s wise to hire an expert to do this, especially for a high-stakes project.