What is patent search?

[Pooja]

Related to engineering projects

[Gerald]

a patent is a legal document someone applies for to protect an idea/invention from being copied and merchandised these can be issued in different countries so it is necessary to acquire them where ever you are going to sell this product two people can invent the same thing at the same time in different countries so in order to sell this product one must know they are not breaking the law so a search must be made to see if a patent has already been granted

[fazlul]

A patent is a way that inventors can protect their ideas.

[Maria Lusia]

Prior art (also known as state of the art, which also has other meanings, or background art), in most systems of patent law, constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality.

[bcnu]

Like Maria says, "prior art" search informs inventors what has already been publicly disclosed, meaning it is no longer patentable. A "patent search" is also used as a "clearance" for a manufacturer who merely wants to make sure there are no ENFORCEABLE patents in their country that could be used to stop them from implementing their business. This type of search is much quicker and simpler than one for potential "patentability".

[Richard]

This is a way to protect creations from fraud. In the US, you can check through the USPTO dot org website

[Alfred]

A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. The reasons for performing a patent search are many. The most obvious is to determine whether or not you can get a patent or if your invention has already been patented. Other reasons include:

getting a general idea of how an application and patent is structured to help in the preparation or your own application

learning more about a new field

for market information

competitor tracking

technology tracking