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Traditional types of patent searches include the following (Konold, et al., pp. 17-23):
- State of the Art Searches
A State of the Art Patent Search
is a patent search that seeks to collect most -- or at least, several
-- patents that disclose information concerning a "new product or
apparatus in which an improvement is desired" (Konold, et al., p. 18).
The purpose is to detail a patent history of a particular art or
subject matter with the idea of determining if it is possible to create
or derive a sufficiently new product that goes beyond the current state
of the art.
Essentially, an effort
is made to employ a set of patents as "stepping stones toward the
development of new products or improvements" (Konold, et al., p. 18).
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- Patentability Search
Whether or not an invention is "patentable" is a subject belonging to
patent law. Accordingly, it is beyond the scope of this tutorial.
However, it is important for searching purposes to note that an
invention "must have novelty, or be new and original" (Kinney, p. 5).
Specifically, "'novelty' means that before the 'invention' by the
applicant the exact invention disclosed and claimed in a patent
application must not have been: (i) known or used by others in the
U.S.; or (ii) patented or described in a printed publication anywhere
in the world; or (iii) invented by another in the U.S. who has not
abandoned, suppressed or concealed the invention; or (iv) described in
a patent application filed by another where that patent application
later issues as a U.S. patent" (Kinney, p. 5).
A significant purpose of a patentability search
is to determine if an invention is suitably "novel." If the invention
can be patented, the search also helps to determine "what the scope of
that protection will be" (Konold, et al., p. 19).
Essentially, a thorough patentability search should "define the prior
art and the background of (an) invention," which can reveal the
"patentable features" (or claims) of the invention (Konold, et al., p. 20).
By retrieving relevant prior patents, the patentability search can also
help to insure that the claims of the new invention are not too broad
-- which would invalidate them -- nor "so limited as to fail to provide
the scope of protection deserved" (Konold, et al., p. 20).
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- Infringement Search
Patent infringement is "the unauthorized practicing of a patented invention" (Foltz and Penn, p. 19). As with a patentability search, an infringement search
is concerned with novelty and prior art, but for different reasons. An
infringement search is carried out specifically with the idea of
determining whether or you can make, use, or sell an invention "without
infringing the unexpired patents of others" (Kobold, et al., p. 21). The infringement search is intended "to insure that the subject matter you are acquiring is not covered by other patents" (Konold, et al., p. 21).
An infringement search is also sometimes carried out as part of an
effort to prevent others from making, using, or selling the invention
claimed in your patent (Foltz and Penn, p. 19).
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- Validity Search
A validity search
is sometimes undertaken to determine if a patent is actually valid and
in force. This type of search is essentially an example of the use of
patents as a competitive or strategic weapon.
The idea is to locate "prior art patents or other facts
(italics added) which will anticipate the claimed subject matter of the
problem patent or will render it obvious to one of ordinary skill in
the art, either of which would invalidate the patent" (Konold, et al., p. 22).
In this type of search, other materials can be particularly helpful,
such as "old sales catalogs, trade journals, (and) prior literature" (Konold, et al., p. 22).
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- Other Searches
Particularly important in establishing the "novelty" of an invention, an international patent search is easier today because of some very good web-based tools.
Useful for locating the owner of a patent, an inventor or assignee search is a very common type of patent search.
| For example, here are the names of a just a few professors at MSOE who have been awarded patents:
Dr. Richard Mett, for several patents, including Number 6,304,424, "Method and apparatus for minimizing plasma destabilization within a semiconductor wafer processing system." Dr. Glenn Gratke, for three patents, including Number 4,920,342, "Membrane switchcores with high resisitivity ink circuits."
Dr. Kishore Acharya, for several patents, including Number 6,470,208, "Method and apparatus for controlling x-ray exposure during gated cardiac scanning."
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