It recently became known that the Japanese automaker has sent an application to the US Patent Office. The purpose of what is stated in the document is to restore rights to the Celica trademark.

Patent search in FIPS databases

Patent search in the database of registered Trademarks.

Have you invented something or new way using the old one? Do you want to make money from the fruits of your mind? This means that you will have to patent the discovery, but are you sure that it really is a discovery? Wasn't anyone smarter and smarter than you? Is it necessary to conduct a patent search? How to use it correctly patent base data? What is the difference between patent and patent information searches? Highly qualified specialists of our company will be happy to advise you on all your questions.

Why is a patent search carried out?

If you need a patent search by author, patent holder or number, then we can analyze for availability within one day necessary opening database of patents of the USSR, patents of the Russian Federation, copyright certificates of the USSR, foreign patents, published applications of the Russian Federation, providing a copy of the search result containing descriptions of patents and application materials. This search extremely convenient for citizens Russian Federation, because you can quickly obtain reliable data on the validity of a patent for this moment, the possibility of its restoration (in case of invalidity), the composition of authors and patent holders, contracts that have ever been concluded under the patent of interest.

Why is a patent search so necessary?

It is more rational to start the patenting procedure with preliminary patent search, in order to reduce to zero the likelihood of refusal to register a utility model, discovery or industrial design. This procedure allows you to determine whether your invention is patentable, even before filing an application for registration. In other words, a preliminary patent search determines whether a discovery meets the criteria for patentability that are provided for Civil Code. These include:

• - originality - applicable for industrial designs;
• - novelty - for industrial designs, utility models and inventions;
• - inventive step - applicable only for inventions;
• - industrial applicability - for utility models and inventions.

Procedure for conducting a patent and patent information search

During a patent search, inventions, industrial designs and utility models are checked against patent literature databases, which also include copyright certificates and patent applications, and not just registered patents. Russian patents are processed not only through Russian databases, but also through foreign repositories.

Patent information search is an expanded version of a patent search and also includes an analysis of non-patent literature:

• - textbooks and dissertations;
• - reference and technical literature;
• - periodicals(popular science publications, industry magazines);
• - open information from the Internet.

The importance of a patent search is difficult to overestimate, because if you intend to seriously present your works, then you need to approach the matter with full responsibility so that they don’t surface later various kinds annoying surprises. Our specialists are fully aware of the importance of this procedure and as soon as possible They will competently advise you on all your concerns.

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Search in the database of registered Trademarks and designations applied for registration on the territory of the Russian Federation and in the international FIPS database indicating the Russian Federation.

TARGET: activation of creative thinking, formation of communication abilities (development of skills in searching and analyzing information).

Tasks: acquiring skills to conduct patent research using the capabilities of the information retrieval system (IRS) of the FIPS database.

THEORETICAL PART

Federal Institute industrial property Russian Federation (http://www.fips.ru) offers Internet users databases created on the basis official publications Rospatent. Information about databases and conditions for access to them can be obtained by activating the section “ Informational resources"(Fig. 4.1), and in it "Information retrieval systems" (Fig. 4.2).

Rice. 4.1 Information resources

Rice. 4.2 Search engine

In the information retrieval system (IRS), it is possible to search for abstracts of patented inventions in Russian and English, full descriptions of patented inventions, promising inventions, utility models, trademarks, well-known trademarks, appellations of origin of goods, applications for Russian trademarks, international trademarks indicating Russia, industrial designs, classifiers, documents from the latest bulletins.

Free databases operate using the password and username “guest”; to obtain the right to access paid databases, you must enter into an agreement with the FIPS Patent Information Service and receive an individual password and username. By entering the username and password in the appropriate window, you can go to the search page for selecting databases. Having selected the database of interest, you need to activate the “Search” section to start working with the selected databases, which will open the “Search Query” page.

By selecting a search type (logical, dictionary, imprecise) and entering a formulated query in the appropriate window of the page, for example, the “dictionary” search type in the form keywords in the “main query area” window, you can get search results after activating the “search” button in the form of a list of numbers patent documents indicating the names of the relevant documents. To view the document of interest (you just need to “click” on the corresponding line in the list of found documents. The request can be clarified by indicating on the search page other data about the subject of the search. The free database contains abstracts Russian patents and applications for inventions since 1994. An abstract and a drawing, submitted in many cases, are sufficient to get an idea of ​​the essence of the invention and to decide whether to order a full description of the invention. The information provided also contains the exact title of the invention and bibliographic data.

PRACTICAL PART

1. Explore theoretical part work;

2. In accordance with the theoretical part, step by step reach the “search query” page.

3. Write down keywords related to the company’s field of activity ( business game“Firm” - game stage);

4. On this page, select the “dictionary” search type;

5. Type keywords one by one into the “main query area” window;

6. Activate the “search” button;

7. In the list of patent documents provided by the search engine by patent name, select the documents that correspond to your request;

8. Having activated the corresponding lines, read the presented abstracts;

9. Write down the numbers and names of the patents you are interested in.

QUESTIONS FOR SELF-CONTROL

1. About what objects intellectual property contains information information search system?

2. What should be the type of search in a search query when searching using keywords?

3. What information do free and paid databases contain?

Laboratory work № 5

ANALYSIS OF A TECHNICAL OBJECT THAT IS THE OBJECT OF RESEARCH.

GOAL OF THE WORK : formation of the activity component of competence in innovation engineering activities, namely, the formation of the ability to analyze and highlight the main thing.

TASKS: learn to qualify the resulting technical solution, correctly determine subject of search .

THEORETICAL PART

The exact wording of the search subject will allow you to correctly determine the search field.

As an invention, you can patent a product (device, substance, microorganism strain, plant and animal cell culture) and a method of influencing material object with the help of material means.

A design or device can be patented as a utility model.

If the object of research is device(machine, equipment, device, etc.), then the subject of the search can be: the device as a whole, the method of its operation, the functional elements of the device, the method (technology) of manufacturing the device and its functional components, materials (substances) used for manufacturing device and its functional elements, appearance(design) of the device, means of individualizing the device.

If the technical object relates to electronic devices, which include semiconductor microcircuits, then the subject of the search can be the topology integrated circuits. If the device belongs to computers, then the subject of the search can be a software product.

If the research object belongs to the category " way"(or " technological process"), then the search subjects can be: the method as a whole, individual operations (stages) of the method, initial products and methods for their preparation, the final product (product), equipment and instruments used in the implementation of the method.

If the object under study belongs to the category " substance"(composition, chemical compound, etc.), then the search subjects can be the substance itself (chemical formula, etc.), the method of obtaining the substance, the starting materials of the substance, the areas of its possible application.

PRACTICAL PART

1. Before conducting a patent search, you need to accurately determine object of study, i.e. select the technology, machine, mechanism, individual machine unit that needs to be improved. Trying to upgrade the entire machine may not give a positive result.

2. List possible directions improvements. Concretize direction of improvement. In some cases, a more thorough acquaintance with the machine or mechanism from technical literature and textbooks is required.

For example, the task says: “Improve the feeding mechanism of a rotary debarker.” Then there are several areas for improvement:

Complete replacement existing feeding mechanism;

Partial replacement;

Use of devices with a different principle of operation;

Changing the stop of an existing feed mechanism;

Changes in the design of feed rollers;

Changing the kinematic scheme of the roller drive;

Creation of a new feeding mechanism, etc.

3. Having several search directions, you need to choose one of them, because searching in all directions will require large quantity time. Fix the selected search direction.

For example, we select “change in the design of feed rollers” as the search direction.

4. Subject of search in in this case May be: device (feed roller design), way(technology) for manufacturing the device, materials(substances) used to manufacture the device.

Write down all the keywords associated with the possible search subject.

IN abstract databases data from the official FIPS website, conduct a search using keywords to find existing patents in relation to the listed three search items and stop at one.

For example, device (feed roller design ) selected subject of search.

When finally installed subject of search, is formed in consciousness information model technical object, with the help of which a search will be carried out to identify similar similar technical solutions when viewing descriptions of inventions.

We conduct a detailed search on the selected search subject (see LR 4).

QUESTIONS FOR SELF-CONTROL

1. Which concept is broader than the object of research or the subject of search?

2. What could be the subject of the search if the object of research is a device?

3. What could be the subject of the search if the object of research is a substance?

4. What could be the subject of the search if the object of research is a method?

Laboratory work No. 6

Patent search methodology

http:// www. it4 b. icsti. su/ itb/ ps/ ps_ all. html

Step 1: About Patents

What is a patent

A patent for an invention is a document issued by a competent government agency and certifying: the priority of the invention, authorship and exclusive right for an invention. Valid within the territory of the state whose agency issued it.

According to Russian law, a patent application is submitted by the author or organization to the state patent office of the Russian Federation (Rospatent). The issuance of a patent is carried out in accordance with the norms of patent law of the Russian Federation.

After two months from the date of receipt of the application, the Patent Office conducts a formal examination. If, based on the results of the latter, a decision is made to refuse to issue a patent, the applicant may file an objection to the Chamber of Patent Disputes.

In case of a positive result of the formal examination, the Patent Office, at the request of the applicant, conducts a substantive examination. If, as a result of this examination, it is determined that the invention expressed by the formula proposed by the applicant is patentable, a decision is made to issue a patent with this formula.

Patentability

Patentability – legal property an object of industrial property, which determines its ability to be protected by a document of exclusive right (patent) in the territory of a particular country during the validity period of the patent.

There are three criteria for patentability:

Usefulness: the invention must be useful, incl. must function and be suitable for industrial use.

Novelty: the invention must be new (i.e. not part of existing level technology).

Non-obviousness: the invention must satisfy the requirement of non-obviousness (have an inventive step).

The invention cannot be used without the consent of the patent owner. Only the patent owner can grant permission to use the invention or assign the patent entirely.

Types of patents

There are the following types of patents that an inventor can obtain.

Patent for industrial model – document of protection, issued by the state patent office of the Russian Federation, confirming the right of its owner to an industrial design. A patent certifies the priority, authorship and exclusive right of its owner to use an industrial design.

Patent for selection achievement – a document issued in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation “On Selection Achievements” and certifying the exclusive right of its owner to use the selection achievement.

Certificate for utility model – a document of protection certifying the priority, authorship of the utility model and the exclusive right to use it is issued Patent Office to the author, his successor or employer as a result of filing an application for a utility model certificate.

Patent for invention is a type of patent that is issued based on the results of a qualifying examination of an application for an invention. Qualification examination (or substantive examination) establishes the compliance of the invention with the conditions of patentability, i.e. novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability.

A patent in the Russian Federation is issued to: the author (authors) of an invention, industrial design, utility model, individuals and (or) legal entities (subject to their consent), who are indicated by the author (authors) or his (their) legal successor in the application for a patent or in the application , filed with the patent office before the registration of the industrial property object.

Parts of the patent

A patent is a complex description of an invention, consisting of documents of various types. The patent contains a complete description of the invention, the necessary illustrations, drawings, mathematical calculations, as well as any additional information necessary for its complete description.

Patent Application

Rules for drawing up, filing and considering an application for a patent for an invention.

http://www.sciteclibrary.ru/npdoc/VEDOM/PR_is00.HTM

How to apply for an invention online.

http://www.sciteclibrary.ru/npdoc/zayavka.htm

Step 2: Preparation

What is a patent search

A patent search is the process of selecting documents or information that correspond to a request based on one or more criteria from an array of patent documents or data, while the process of searching from a variety of documents and texts only those that correspond to the topic or subject of the request is carried out.

A patent search is carried out through an information retrieval system and is performed manually or using appropriate computer programs, as well as with the involvement of appropriate experts.

The subject of the search is determined based on the specific tasks of patent research, the category of the object (device, method, substance), as well as what its elements, parameters, properties and other characteristics are supposed to be investigated.

During a patent search, expressions of the semantic content of the information request and the content of the document are compared.

To evaluate search results, certain matching rules are created that establish the degree to which the formal match of the search image of a document with the search prescription should be considered to correspond to the information request. Why conduct a patent search?

Among the main goals of a patent search are:

Verification of the uniqueness of the invention

Determining the features of a new product

Identifying other applications for the new product

Search for inventors or companies that have received patents for inventions in the same field

Search for patents for a product

Find latest news in the study area

Search for patents for inventions in related fields

Determining the state of research in the technological field of interest

Find out whether your invention infringes on someone else's intellectual property

Get information on a specific company or the state of the market sector as a whole

Get information about individuals who have patents for similar inventions

Search for potential licensors

Search for additional information materials

A patent search is a time-consuming but necessary undertaking. It is necessary not only for individuals or organizations wishing to patent an invention, but also for industrial enterprises wishing to use this invention.

For example, the use of patented inventions by other legal entities and individuals leads to huge fines and possible ruin of enterprises.

What to expect

There are two ways to conduct a patent search: entrust it to a company specializing in this or conduct it yourself; in the latter case, all responsibility for the result will rest only with you.

A patent search is a labor-intensive and expensive process; in addition, the result directly depends on the integrity and qualifications of the experts performing it.

Prepare a complete description of the invention;

News detailed records throughout the patent search;

Explore information sources, not related to patenting, but related to the scope of your invention;

Conduct some market research to identify inventions similar to yours.

What you need to conduct a search

The initial patent search can be conducted via the Internet.

In addition, you may need:

employees, experts knowledgeable patent search and trained to work with the relevant databases;

printed sources, materials, catalogs, etc.

on patents;

patent databases;

additional scientific and technical information, books, materials.

Who can help

Patent attorneys, consulting firms providing similar services According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, a patent attorney is a citizen who, in accordance with the Patent Law of the Russian Federation, the Law of the Russian Federation "On Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin of Goods" and the "Regulations on Patent Attorneys" is granted the right to represent individuals and legal entities

before the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks (ROSPATENT) and organizations included in the Unified State Patent Service. As a patent attorney, in accordance with the Regulations on Patent Attorneys, a citizen of the Russian Federation who has permanent place residence in the Russian Federation, higher education and at least 4 years of practical experience in the field of industrial property protection or professional legal representation (lawyer or other person authorized to engage in law enforcement activities); has knowledge of legislative and other regulations of the Russian Federation, international treaties and agreements necessary to carry out activities to protect rights to industrial property objects, to the extent determined by Rospatent, and their corresponding skills practical application

, confirmed by the results of a qualifying exam.

In addition, there are a large number of companies providing patenting and patent search services.

Property registration organizations

For example, in Russia the Federal Institute of Industrial Property (FIPS) has several databases. One of them contains information on registered objects of intellectual and industrial property, and the other provides results up to the last application submitted to FIPS.

Step 3: Select Search Type

Selecting a search type

The main types of patent search: subject, nominal (or company), numbering, analogue patents. The choice of the type of patent search is determined both by the required depth of the search and time constraints, and by the search capabilities of the person or organization conducting the search.– is the main and most often used. In this type of search, a technical problem (subject of search) is formulated, the selection of a heading(s) of the patent classification limits the thematic area of ​​the search, patent materials related to it are identified and analyzed for the required time period.

Personalized (or branded)– a search is carried out when the name(s) of the inventor(s) or company names are known. This type of search complements the subject search.

Number search– carried out when the number of the title of protection is known and by its number it is necessary to find out other data about the invention, utility model, industrial design.

Search for patent analogues– carried out to identify patents issued in one country and then patented in other countries, i.e. patents issued in each patenting country for the same invention are identified.

It is advisable to resort to this type of search if a patent of interest to a specialist is found in a rare language (for example, Japanese), and analogous patents allow you to familiarize yourself with the description of this invention in other more accessible languages ​​(for example, English).

In addition, this type of search complements the subject one and is carried out at the stage of detailed familiarization with full descriptions to patents.

Most databases can be searched using the following criteria:

systematic search (using MCI indices);

lexical search (by keywords);

corporate search (by applicant’s name);

search by publication data (by publication number and date);

search by priority data (by number and date of the conventional application);

search by application data (by application number and date).

Step 4: Conduct a search

General strategy

Defining the search area and classifiers

Search by words and classifiers

View additional information based on found patents (images, drawings, etc.)

Identification of companies and inventors most often found in the found material, studying their patents in related fields

Printed Resources

Magazine "Patents and Licenses"

Magazine "Intellectual Property"

Magazine "Inventor and Innovator"

Materials of the information and publishing center of Rospatent

In addition, various methodological recommendations and tutorials on patent search and patenting may be useful.

Internet and network resources

Conducting a patent search is a complex and lengthy procedure, but there are free Internet resources that can help you achieve the most effective results and obtain accurate information in a fairly short time.

An information retrieval system is a logical system designed for finding and issuing information, including during a patent search, in documentary or other form, and is a set of information retrieval language, rules for translating texts into this language, general search rules and semantic criteria correspondence of the text content to the information request.

If a patent search in a database of registered objects does not produce results, then it is necessary to conduct a search back to the last filed application, but this is much longer and more expensive.

Russian databases

Currently the most effective and free way conducting patent research in Russia is viewing patents and inventions in the data bank Federal Institute industrial property ( see Appendix 1).

http://www.fips.ru

The All-Russian Institute of Scientific and Technical Information (VINITI) offers paid access to a database (based on abstract journals (RJ)) containing patent and scientific and technical information. Searching is possible using bibliographic data of documents and abstracts.

http://www.viniti.msk.su/

The International Center for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) offers free access to several databases.

http://www.icsti.su/

The All-Russian Scientific and Technical Information Center (VNTIC) offers free access to a number of databases. Including, a polythematic database of abstract information about research and development work, and a database of abstract information about candidate and doctoral dissertations in all fields of knowledge protected in Russia.

http://s1.vntic.org.ru/h2.htm

The State Public Scientific and Technical Library (SPNTL) offers free access to a database of: abstracts of dissertations, algorithms and programs, electronic catalogs; catalog State Public Library for Science and Technology of Russia, Russian Union Catalog of Scientific and Technical Literature.

http://www.gpntb.ru/

Database of world patent offices

World Intellectual Property Organization

http://pctgazette.wipo.int http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en

The United States of America offers access to a full-text database of patents since 1976, an abstract database of patents since 1976, and a trademark database. You can search by bibliographic data and document text, as well as view facsimile copies of pages, found documents in graphic format ( see Appendix 2).

Japan has offered access to the Patent Abstract Database (PAJ) since 1993 (PN 05000001-11299300) on English language and a trademark database in English. You can search by bibliographic data and abstract text.

http://www.ipdl.ncipi.go.jp/homepg_e.ipdl

The AIPN database contains Japanese patent documents published since 1995, as well as documents from the USA (since 1987), EPO (since 1994) and WIPO (since 1994). For Japanese documents, there is information about family members, documents cited, and legal status. You can also familiarize yourself with the application materials at all stages of the examination in English. English translation available full text document.

http://aipn.ipdl.ncipi.go.jp

Through the website of the European Patent Organization you can search for patent documents: European Patent Organization (EPO), World Organization intellectual property rights (WIPO), Japan, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, England ( see Appendix 3).

Through the website of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) you can search for patent documents: Japan, Canada, USA, European Patent Organization (EPO), France, India, China, countries Latin America and PCT applications. Databases on international trademarks, industrial designs and the database of patent-associated literature (JOPAL) are also available.

http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/search/pct/search-adv.jsp

Commercial information retrieval systems

Delphion provides free access to databases containing US documents. Ordering and sending copies of patent documents for a fee.

http://www.delphion.com/home

The commercial information retrieval system Questel-orbit offers access to 37 patent databases, 19 trademark databases and 25 scientific and technical databases.

http://www.questel.orbit.com/

Derwent is a world leader in the production of patent and scientific-technical databases. The WPI (World Patent Index) database contains documents on pharmaceuticals since 1963, agriculture and veterinary medicine since 1965, pesticides and plastics since 1966, chemistry since 1970, and all other industries since 1974. The database contains patents and applications from 40 countries.

http://www.derwent.com/

The commercial information retrieval system STN International (The Scientific & Technical information Network) offers access to more than 200 patent and scientific and technical databases.

http://www.fiz-karlsruhe.de/home.html

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) is a world leader in the production of chemical abstracts. The Chemical Abstracts (CA) & Registry database contains 15 million documents and more than 22 million chemical compounds.

http://www.cas.org/

Search engines

Yandex – www.yandex.ru

Rambler – www.rambler.ru

Aport – www.aport.ru

Yahoo www.yahoo.com

AltaVista – www.altavista.com

Google - www.google.ru

Step 5: Review Results

Studying the information received

When you think you've done absolutely everything to find relevant patents, and have looked at a lot of them, you can probably conclude with some confidence that there is a prototype that is completely or partially duplicated by your idea, or that there is no prototype, in which case your the idea may be original.

If it is obvious that there is a prototype of your idea, you will not be able to patent it, and the possibilities of developing it are limited. If the picture is not so clear, only a lawyer patent cases has the competence to understand the results of your searches and determine whether your idea is protectable. (Many patent attorneys will give you a free first half-hour consultation. If you're well-prepared, that can go a long way.)

It is also advisable to answer the following questions:

Do patented inventions have features that you can include in your product?

Are there any additional possible areas applications for your product mentioned in the patents?

Do they include various additional reference materials? (books, articles, etc.)

Are companies that patent products in a similar field to yours potential licensees for your invention?

Does your product have advantages over inventions found during the search (or compared to those already existing on the market)? Why might they buy your product? Build a comparative table of the features of your invention and the ones you found to determine which is better and why.

Is there a company or group of companies that has a significant advantage in this area? Or owns important patents in this area?

Is there an inventor or group of inventors that has a significant advantage in this area? Or holding important patents in this area?

Is the average annual number of patents granted in a given field changing or remaining constant?

Are there very significant patents in this area? When do they expire? How will the situation change when this happens? Do they allow licensing agreements

other companies to produce the product now? What are the terms and conditions of these agreements?

Pay attention to the patents cited in most of the patents that interest you. Is there a patent cited by most of them? Study it too.

Evaluation of finished products

If you find a patent for an invention that has already been implemented in a product and it is being mass-produced, then you need to find information on this product, technical information, etc.

Significant patents of the developer company may be indicated in the information for this product, and its specific properties may also be a product of intellectual property and, as a result, are protected by patents.

Annex 1:

Search for patents and inventions in the data bank of the Federal Institute of Industrial Property of Russia

Open in a new window http://www.fips.ru For free search

in the invention database, you must enter a username and password, that is, you must write the word guest twice in the Username field and in the Password field (in this case, the entry in the Username field is displayed as guest, and in the Password field - as five stars *** **)

After displaying the Patent Documents page, you should select the conditions for displaying patent documents in Russian or English, and then click on the Search button. In the window that appears, you can formulate a search query or an application for an invention according to various criteria, for example, the Main request area field is intended for entering a request for the text part of the document, that is, obtaining information about the title page of the document, as well as the abstract, description, claims, title, etc. In addition Therefore, the search can be performed by document name, number, main index, etc., that is, by 21 criteria. After entering the search criteria, click the Search button. For getting information certificate

For a specific search criterion, you need to click on the button with a question mark. To view the required document

you need to click on its name or number. The output is carried out for 25 document titles. After viewing 25 documents, the next 25 documents are highlighted, and so on until complete viewing. To save the required part of the document to disk, you need to output necessary information screen, then from the Edit menu select the Select All option, then select Edit/Copy, and then open

text editor

Word or Notepad and paste the selected information with the commands Edit/Paste then File/Save As, specify the name of the disk and the name of the file in which to save the selected information.

Appendix 2 View patents and inventions via U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

Go to page

http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/search.html

You should start by searching for any patents in your field of study that you know anything about; patents of companies conducting research in this area; patents owned by private inventors, etc. Only after this can you proceed to the next procedure.

Having selected several keywords, we conduct a search and study everything that was found. If there are references to other patents that may nevertheless be useful, these should also be examined.

Be sure to keep notes and note all the keywords you search for.

Access Classification Definitions.

They are now also available via the Internet. Find the required classification class and subclass.

Make sure again that they are actually suitable for your invention.

Carry out the selection several times, selecting all the most suitable classes and subclasses.

Search the database for selected classes and subclasses.

Examine the descriptions and images (diagrams, drawings, drawings) for these patents to identify those that are similar to your device. Make copies of drawings and descriptions of patents that closely resemble your invention and inventions that serve the same purpose. After completing the above, pay attention to: Companies often act as patent owners. Search for other patents owned by

to these companies

to get more information on your invention.

Inventors with multiple patents. Search for other patents they own to get more information on your invention.

Highlight words and combinations of words in patents of interest; sort the words into groups.

Groups of words can describe different aspects of the invention. Reflect what you found in the list of keywords compiled earlier. Search for other patents containing these words to identify more patents in your area of ​​interest.

Research the cited patents as some may also be of interest.

Review the class and subclass information to identify other possible classes and subclasses that may contain the patents you are interested in. Conduct a search in these classes and subclasses as well.

Conduct your search until you can identify all patents that meet the required criteria. Appendix 3:

Free patent search with Espacenet

Go to

Don't limit yourself to just one search with a single keyword. Keep in mind that, like any database, Espacenet cannot do your thinking for you. She will only find what you ask her to find, so for effective search choose a range of different keywords. Some will find nothing, while others will find many hundreds of patents. If Espacenet doesn't find anything suitable, it's not because it really doesn't exist, but because the wrong keywords were used. By selecting and refining keywords, you will eventually get a list of the most relevant patents that you can already work with.