A Patent search is used to determine whether the time and expense of moving forward with a patent application is a worthwhile endeavor. The patent process can be expensive expensive so the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time and money preparing and filling an application when there is easy way of filing an application when there is easy way of finding prior art will likely prevent a patent from issuing. likewise, high quality patent searches can give you a good idea about the likely scope of any patent claim that you may be able to anticipate.
Still further, patent searches are excellent tool because they give you an opportunity to discover which aspect of your invention are most likely to contribute to patentablity, thereby allowing the description in any filed patent application to focus on those aspects most likely to contribute to patentability. Without a patent search you would just be describing all various aspects of your invention as if they are equally important. For these and other reasons, many inventors and businesses, will frequently choose to begin to process by paying for some kind of patent search.
Determining how prior arts are similar or different
Determining how prior arts is similar or different is being essential to being able to offer an opinion, and it also allows for the gathering of a detail of information about the inventor’s invention , which will be extremely helpful if and when the inventors decide to move forward with an patent application. The amount of details that can be put together makes writing a application a much smoother process, and invariably leads to a far more detailed written description of the invention. If no serious block roads are found the patent search can and will normally lead to a better stronger patent application. The reason a patent search leads to a better and strong patent application is because the first application filed is absolutely critical.
Detailed Disclosure of Invention
A detailed disclosure of the invention in a patent application can form the foundation of an entire patent portfolio but at least it will allow for the addition of the claims during prosecution with the patent examiner. Yes, the claims can be added to an application after the filling. The prohibition is against adding new matter. Matter is not new if it is present at the time of the filing. So it is critical to include the most detailed description possible.
Everything form broad to narrow with discussion of as many different versions of the invention as possible. Not only do the patent searches allow for focus to be placed on what is different and most likely patentable, but if knockout prior art is found then the extensive patent application has been saved. Many a times people say that they have done a patent search themselves and have found nothing, or they will say that they have never seen anything like it in industry.
If you spend all your fund and strain your resources on the first invention you may be necessarily putting yourself in a position where you cannot move forward with what is next, and what is next might be even better. There is no way to know for sure, and taking risks on some level is necessary to succeed, but starting with a patent search leads to a better product and can help you cut and run, moving on to whatever is next if the likelihood of obtaining a patent is low, or the likely resulting rights would be too narrow to warrant the time and expense of a patent application.
