Patent research

Patent Fund Study Objectives

  • Analog identification when patenting an object or litigating a patent.
  • Patent clearance of a development for civil commercialization.
  • Defining innovative trends in different fields of activity.

Purpose

Search for analogs in patenting an invention, utility model, and industrial model is  necessary for preparing an application and reduces the risk of patent refusal. In case of necessity to contest a patent, the search allows to find sources that disprove patentability of a solution (novelty, inventiveness, originality). Such kind of search is conducted not only through patents, but also through scientific articles, and Internet information.

When a new design is to be commercialized, it should have guaranteed patent clearance which means that a product or a technique has the legal property not to violate third parties’ protected exclusive rights. The missing patent clearance can cause a real headache such as an arrest at the customs, a ban on production and sale, confiscation and destruction of products, significant fines and compensations, and what you have. A patent clearance search concerns patent documents valid in the territory for which the patent clearance is acknowledged.

Another practical goal of the patent research is to reveal developments available for implementation.

The exclusive right for a patent is limited by time (patent validity term), territory (the state of patenting), and patent substance (the combination of features). Therefore, as soon as a patent is expired or invalid in a certain country, or some of its features have undergone amendments, the innovation can be exploited absolutely legally by whoever. Facing a technical challenge does not inevitably mean a start from scratch and heavy investments in R&D. The response may hide in a patent which does not apply just where the solution is intended to be implemented.

Stages

Preparation

Posing the research task, scheduling search.

Search

  • Database lookup for inventions, utility models, scientific publications, browsing through Internet open sources and examination of official international patent data bodies using up-to-date dedicated software.
  • Source Selection.
  • Selected Information Review.

Report

  • The review results systemizing, inferring conclusions and recommendations.
  • Illustration of the results by means of infographics (diagrams, patent landscapes, etc.).
  • Reporting on the patent research, including on the GOSTs.
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