Types of Prior Art Searches

A prior art search is conducted by people with new inventions. Such a search is used to verify whether an invention can be classified as new when compared to existing information. Prior art searches fall into four categories. These include the patentability/novelty search, clearance/right to make-use-sell search, validity/invalidity search, and landscape/state of the art search.

Patentability/Novelty Search

A patentability search locates prior art and determines whether the patent application under review can be considered as a novelty. Conducting a free patentability search may save you money, however such a search may not be as efficient as one conducted by a professional. A professional search is more likely to yield results that a free search may overlook. If you’re relying on a patentability search by the Patent and Trademark Office, you may run into setbacks in the long run, since this search may only be compared to a small number of works. Therefore, the search will be invalid, and may end up costing you more than you anticipated.

Clearance Search/Right To Make-Use-Sell Search

If you have a business with a specific product or process, the clearance search will provide you with the legal means of using the item under review. If a patent is located for the item under review, this search will invalidate your idea and prevent you from selling the product under review or implementing a certain business process. While patentability searches focus on the novelty of the work under review, clearance searches look into patent infringement. Professional clearance searches will help you to identify whether or not the scope of the product or process infringes upon the patents against which it is being compared. 

Validity/Invalidity Search

The validity/invalidity search is used during a litigation or licensing discussions. A litigation may arise due to patent infringement. In such a case, the defendant must take legal action to invalidate the plaintiff’s patent. For licensing purposes, on the other hand, the validity/invalidity search analyzes the value of a patent before a person or business makes a decision to purchase a license to use the work under review. The validity/invalidity search allows companies to conduct an extensive search. Take for instance, if a company is seeking to invalidate a competitor’s patent, the company can carry out this search until it finds the information to support its case. Despite the extensiveness of these searches, it is almost impossible to go through all the patents, patent applications, and intellectual property publications available around the world.

Landscape/State of the Art Search

A lanscape/state of the art search is designed to provide information on a particular area of technology. This search is used to track new technology trends and new competitors; new areas for investment; and the overall progress of a specific area of technology. If you’re conducting a state of the art search, you may yield from 20 to 1000 patents. These searches are ideal for patent practitioners or companies with a new business/idea. Furthermore, these searches protect the commercial value of an invention, as well as save businesses the time and hassle of acquiring a patent.