Search for information on inventions to identify the issued patents or new developments of competitors, which are closest to your invention

Who needs a patent search?

   Every year around the world, thousands of patents are issued for a variety of inventions, utility models, and industrial designs. Information contained in the patents forms the so-called “prior art”, that is the level of development of industrial technologies in various industries. Without knowledge of current state-of-the-art information it is impossible to patent the invention and to produce a new product.

   Patent search is necessary

•  For those who want to obtain a patent. Before patenting, it is necessary to find patent-analogues that will be used to prepare a patent application.
• For the companies that plan to produce a new product. Even before entering the market with a well known product, you need to be sure that it will not infringe any patent rights. Such an evaluation is referred to as a patent clearance search or freedom to operate search.
• For the companies that work in a strong competitive environment. Patent search will help them realize the intentions of their competitors, identify weaknesses in their patent protection, work around the blocking patent, and create their own patent portfolio.
• For scientific organizations and developers of new products. They need to know the state-of-the-art technology to understand technological trends and to create new competitive products.

 Types of patent searches

   There are several types of patent searches depending on the purpose of a search.

• Assignee and inventor based patent search is a search for patents using the name of inventor or assignee. The assignee is the individual or entity who owns a patent. This type of patent search is used when you need to identify a patent portfolio of a particular company or when you need to find out which field the company's promising developments are focused on. Assignee and inventor based patent search allows you to determine what kind of products the company is going to deliver to market in the near future.
• Patent search by number is a search through the patents using the number of a patent. If the numbers of certain patents are known, then they can be found. This type of search is rarely used.
• Patent search by topic is a search for patents on a specific topic. This patent search is required for the preparation of an application for invention or utility model. Patent search by topic identifies the closest patents to your invention that will be used for preparing the patent application. Furthermore, patent search by topic is useful if you need to find out what are the latest trends in a particular field of technology, how far the technology has come, and what is relevant today.

How to perform a patent search?

   Patent search is performed using specialized databases, which are selected depending on the purpose of the search. Most often, we use the following patent databases:

• databases of the Ukrainian Intellectual Property Institute (Ukrpatent) (contain information on patents and applications in Ukraine)
• database of the European Patent Office (provides access to patents issued in European countries and not only)
• database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (provides access to US patents dating from 1790)
• World Intellectual Property Organization database (provides access to patents issued in a number of countries as well as to international (PCT) patent applications)
• Rospatent database (provides access to patents issued in Russia and to USSR author's certificates)

   These databases contain information about millions of patents that have been issued in all industries. When conducting a patent search, it is important to understand for what purpose it is performed and to possess information about the object of the search. This allows you to choose the appropriate patent search strategy and to find information in huge information arrays.

How to request a patent search?

   To request a patent search, contact us in any convenient way. Search results are provided as descriptions of found patents or as a search report.