Infringement search or Non-Infringement Search identifies patents having claims that may read on a prospective product or service. It is important to establish the features of the product or service prior to conducting the search that should be considered for infringement.
A complete infringement search is directed to the claims of all in-force patents and patent applications.
Infringement searches are basically a sub-set of freedom -to-operate searches. They are used to determine whether an enforceable patent claims the same matter as a concept or product which one may be planning to launch in a market.
Strategies to Consider while Conducting an Infringement Search
Following are some tips-and-tricks to follow while doing Infringement Search:
- Ideally, you should begin the search by comparing the concept against the claims of relevant in-force patents, particularly for the target market.
- You should thoroughly search all the available patent documents of the jurisdiction or patent offices that covers the target market.
- Do not necessarily search for the patent documents of countries where infringement has not been alleged.
- You may not need to search for non-patent or other literature in such case.
- Patents that may have been expired for failure to pay maintenance fees should be included. As, in many cases such patents may be revived by paying proper fees or completing other formalities as prescribed.
- You should include other patent documents which covers the concept with claims of broader scope. In addition, cite the patent document which claims the exact concept of the inventor/client.
- Try to include legal status and other relevant information in the final search report. This may be useful for ready reference of the inventor and/or its patent counsel, as such information may be important to form the infringement opinion.
- You should also include supplemental information about relevant patents, such as patent adjustments and extensions.
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Other Related Articles:
- Patent Infringement Analysis: What’s Inside?
- Professional Patent Searches: Importance and Necessities
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