Patent Search: Hire a Professional
Many firms will perform a patentability search for you at a reasonable price. You may use a specialized patent search firm or even find one through a patent practitioner. Some of them will perform your search for you, have an associate do it, or even outsource the patent search duties to a search company. In addition, you may continue with your search all on your own.
Just remember that a good patentability search scours all existing patents, national and globally as well as publications in magazines, technical documents and even physical materials.
You can get a reasonable patent search for a few hundred dollars. An in-depth comprehensive search will cost more (around a $1,000). Most patent searches just consist of a list (often with print-outs) of patents and other printed materials describing inventions similar to yours. These will all be made available for your review. You may also want a formal review of these patents by a patent agent or attorney. This is often called a patentability opinion and normally starts at about $1,000.
It is important to note that no patent search firm or professional will be able to provide you with a guarantee on these services. Unfortunately, examiners may find patents that you did not know about when examining and comparing your invention to what has been described in the past. A patentability opinion is just that ... an opinion. An examiner may have a different take on how similar your invention is to those that have already been described.
For these reasons, a patent search and patentability opinion should only be used to gauge whether or not you want to pursue a patent by submitting a patent application. They cannot accurately be used to determine whether or not you will ultimately gain a patent on your invention.
Find a patent searcher through our patent search directory.
