Search Descriptions

Novelty/Patentability/Pre-examination Search
A review of prior art to determine novelty of a single method or apparatus (assists in making patent application decisions).

State of the Art/Collection Search
A review of prior art to collect patents directed to a single idea/concept (assists in patent portfolio development, competition scoping, or research decisions).

Freedom to Operate/Right to Use Search
A clearance search with inclusion of expired art and non-patent literature (associated with a product announcement).

Validity/Invalidity Search
A review of prior art showing one or more of the claimed features of a patent; prior art must predate subject patent's earliest priority date (assists in enforcing or defending subject patent in litigation/licensing).

Clearance/Infringement Search
A review of claims of unexpired patents directed to a single specific technical method or apparatus (associated with a product announcement).

Accelerated Examination Search
An extended novelty search with preparation of an accelerated examination report which makes possible a faster (usually within 12 months) prosecution of the patent at the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Design Search (US only)
A search of patents granted on the ornamental design of a functional item.  Design patents are a type of industrial design right.  Ornamental designs of jewellery, furniture, beverage containers and computer icons are examples of the subjects of design patents. 

Opposition Search
An extended novelty search formatted for opposition position (assists in submitting prior art to patent offices against other filed patent applications).

Patent Watch
A process for monitoring newly issued patents on a periodic basis to see if any of the patents might be of interest.  Patent watches may for instance be performed on a quarterly basis.  A newly issued patent may be of interest if it appears to cover one or more products or processes sold by a given company.

Chemical Search
Searches involving reviews of patent and non-patent literature related to chemicals, pharmaceuticals and often chemical structures.  The resources, databases and time required are tailored to the specific project.