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If you are an inventor or owner of a business engaged in research and development, this chapter shows how to:
Check out new ideas
You come up with what seems like a new way to solve a problem or accomplish a task. But you wonder if somebody has already trod this ground before you and either succeeded in obtaining a patent or proved that your idea is not feasible.
You have been told that to answer these questions you will need to have a patent search performed by a lawyer or professional patent searcher at a cost of $500.00 or more possibly much more. You know you cannot afford to spend that much money on an idea that someone else may well have thought of already. May be you should just forget about it.
Well, think again. The fact is you can do your own patent search in your spare time and with only a reasonable amount of effort. Even better, you can do this without spending more than a few dollars. It is burns out that your idea has never before been addressed in a patent, it may that its time for a patent has come. And depending on what you do with that patent, you may gain a new amount of independence and ability to fulfill your life goals.
An invention must be judged both novel and unobvious to receive a patent. The novelty of your idea will be judged not only against all previously issued patents, but also against all previous developments in the same field, whether or not they were ever patented. For instance, the grooves in an automobile steering wheel were deemed to be a non-patentable invention because of the traditional use of grooves in sword handles. This rule means that to be absolutely sure that your idea is patentable you will have to go beyond the patent database and examine all written references to similar developments and all real life items that may embody your idea. But that type of comprehensive search can wait until later.
For now, a search of the U.S. patent database is a good place to start. If someone has thought of your idea before and deemed it valuable, chances are the idea will show up in one or more patents. Keep in mind, however, that pending patent applications are kept confidential for 18 months and cannot be searched until that time has been exceeded.
The traditional method of searching the patent database is to hire a search professional to travel to the U.S. patent and Trademark Office in Virginia and conduct the search there. While very effective, this process is also very expensive. However, you can save yourself some money by performing a preliminary search yourself. If your search reveals that your idea has already been described in one or more previous patents you will have saved yourself the expense of hiring a search professional.
You do not have to go to Virginia to perform your preliminary search. Instead, you can use the World Wide Web. The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) provides an online database where you simply type in words which describe your invention called keywords to search for patents as far back as that contain those same words. Patents can also be searched on a much more limited basis.
Another great resource for patent searching is a network of special libraries called Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDL). At a PTDL you can perform computer searches of the PTO's electronic database.
As you learn how to search for patents, you also will learn how to think about your ideas in the same way that the patent office would were you to apply for a patent on them. This knowledge will enable you to search for ideas that are not only the same as yours, but similar to yours. This process will allow you to determine not only if your invention is the first, but also whether it is the best. And if it is not, the search may inspire you to refine your idea in ways that will qualify it for a patent.
Key to assessing the patentability of your new idea is understand what previous developments known in the trade as prior art, the patent office will consider when deciding whether to issue a patent on your idea. This chapter will help you to:
By doing your own preliminary patent search, you will become educated about the true nature of your idea. Strangely enough, many people who come up with new ideas including full time inventors often do not fully understand what they have invented. They may dwell on one particular aspect of their invention and miss a much more valuable general concept that is revealed to them in the course of their patent search.
As an after thought, you check the U.S. patent database for similar designs. You find out that no one has patented a retractable banner system for balloons using compressed nitrogen and a rod. Your search reveals that compressed nitrogen has been used to inflate air bags, but not banners. But wait, inflating air bags with compressed nitrogen makes you to realize that the rod itself could be eliminated from your design. Compressed nitrogen alone could be used to inflate an inner chamber in the banner. This will greatly simplify the design. Hold on, why limit yourself to nitrogen when you could use any compressed fluid You now have a much more general deployment system that can be used in several applications.
Performing patent search is a great way to get familiar with patent terminology. This will come in handy during all aspects of the patent search as well as the patent application process itself. In particular, when dealing directly with the patent examiner who is reviewing your application, it helps if you are both speaking the same language.
Check product submissions
So far we have addressed you as if you are an inventor, whether formal or informal. But this chapter can also be of great benefit if you are a business owner who, because of the nature of your business, tends to be approached by people who want you to manufacture or distribute their new invention. The outside inventor wants you to invest thousands of dollars in special tooling and related manufacturing or marketing costs. The idea seems good. It looks like it will enhance your existing product line. But how do you know that another company is not making the same or a similar product. If another company is manufacturing a similar product, you need to know about this before investing time, money and effort on the submitted idea. This does not necessarily preclude the submission, but gives you a warning flag to seek an expert opinion before proceeding.
Save time and money
Performing your own preliminary patent search can save you a lot of money and time. If you want the patent office to grant you a patent on a particular invention, you will have to file what is known as a patent application. It is essential to perform a patent search before filing. Because, filing a patent application, with its associated specification drawings and fees is an expensive, time consuming process.
Avoid reinventing the wheel
By checking the U.S. patent database first, you can avoid spending a lot of time tweaking your invention, only to find out later that you have reinvented the wheel.
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