Main steps of patent validity searches

Patents are issued by a patent office on the basis of the explanation of the claims of the invention and their comparison with the closest referenced patents identified. The references are provided by the applicant to the patent office to help the examiner in the examination process. Once the examiner has considered the provided references, he/she makes a fresh search in the patent and non-patent databases to identify if there are other arts available to the near invention. After conducting the search, the examiner will either take the decision to reject the claims of the patent and force the applicant to make changes to claims of the patent or issue the patent if the invention satisfies all the requirement of patentability.

A patent validity search focuses on finding a reference or a piece of information which can be proved that a patent has been incorrectly issued. There are many reasons for conducting these searches. Just think of the situation when your product may face a threat from an active patent or you wish to purchase a license of another’s patent rights. In the case of violation of suits, where your product is in trouble because it violates the right of an active patent, one of the best ways to defend is to prove the patent in question is invalid.

Expert helping businesses with patent validity searches and patent filing in India follow a step to step procedure to make sure the search is done accurately.

Important patent validity searches steps

• Evaluate if the patent is active or not
• Review the file history of the patent which shows the complete protests and arguments between the applicants and the examiner at the patent’s office.
• Evaluation of patent and non-patent literature search to find out relevant references before the critical date of patent in question.
• Examine and compare the search results with the issued claims, and prepare a claim chart to show to what degree the claims in question match the scope of the uncovered reference.

Getting a patent validity search done is a daunting task and needs knowledge and experience of a professional. It is highly recommended to hire a service provider that has knowledge and experience in your specific industry and has a good understanding of the need of the validity search. They should have proficiency in searching patent and non-patent literature by using world leading databases to find out the closest matching references. Your patent expert should have the skills to prepare a well-informative report that helps you to judge the extent of the claims to be invalidated.

We are committed to delivering the highest quality of Patent Litigation Support services to help our Corporate Clients and International Law Firm achieve their goals.For more information visit www.iiprd.com