Patentability Search

A patentability  search, or a patent search, may be performed to help determine whether or not an invention has already been disclosed by a patent, patent application, or other public disclosure.  A patent search may be helpful in gauging the likelihood of obtaining a patent.  The patent search may also be used to tailor the form in which an Applicant’s patent application is structured.  This approach may help in reducing subsequent prosecution costs during the examination of the patent application by the USPTO.

Although patentability searches are useful in helping determine whether one might be able to receive a patent, a patentability search should not be mistaken for a freedom-to-operate search/opinion, which is used to determine whether ones activities, such as the use of a particular technology, infringe upon someone else’s patent.