The Truth About Patent Searches

The patent search is not to be taken lightly. When properly done, it can save the inventor hundreds of dollars and several months of time in the patent office. While one purpose of the search is to determine whether an invention is new or not, a more important and often overlooked purpose is to determine the breadth of the claims we can reasonably anticipate the Patent Examiner will allow. So proper claim drafting depends on a good search. Without a proper search, one can almost be guaranteed of having their application rejected, thus necessitating an amendment and further waiting.

Most law firms and attorneys "farm out" their searches to other persons whose only job function is to do patent searches. While this is good from the standpoint that the searcher may "crank out" a search pretty quickly, it means that the attorney is not directly involved in the search. He trusts the searcher to have done a good job, and then bases all of the subsequent work on this search.  If the search comes up short, the attorney can blame the searcher.

Wouldn't it make more sense if the person who was going to write the application perform the search ? That is exactly what we do. 

You may see other people advertise patent searches for $ 100-200. I do not believe these to be real patent searches. First of all, the others who do these cheap searches are using a US Search on their computers using free databases such as the US Patent Office Search Page, IBM Search Page, etc. I list these pages on the previous menu and you can go there and do your own search for free. Be advised that these types of searches are by no means exhaustive.

Think about it - can one really expect that the $ 80 search fee advertised on 1/3/98, for example, from the guy at http://www.angelfire.com/biz/ivnet/index.html will be of value in identifying a high percentage of the pertinent prior art ? I admire these folks, since they are obviously philanthropiststs, charging only $ 80 for 6 - 8 hours of work, as advertised. Why charge anything at all, then ? Why not do it for free ?

Or how about the philanthropist at http://www.sierra-graphics.com/page2.htm These folks will work two whole days for you, for only $ 149.00. as stated in their web page on 1/3/98. If one were completely busy working at that rate, they would earn $ 372.50 per week, or a whalloping annual compensation of $ 18, 625. The cost of living where they are must be very low, or they are not true professionals.

I don't like to pick on people, but lets GET REAL, guys. When people try to mislead Inventors into believing believing they can compromise the quality of a search to save a few bucks, I become very irritated because I know the value an exhaustive search represents. There may be dozens of others who do these cheap searches. Beware!

My search is done through a more extensive and expensive global database which, although costing more initially, provides us with a more detailed search. Frequently, the on-line charges I incur exceed the total cost the bargain searchers (maybe they're carpet salesmen, too) charge for their whole search. This is how we know they are using free databases having only limited information.

Additionally, I am able to do searches right at the Patent Office using the same files which the Examiner has access to. I have spoken to Examiners, after showing them my Client's invention and asked them in which files they would look for prior art. They tell me and by this I get the best possible patent search

We get the European Patent Application art related to your invention. The Patent Examiners in the US almost always cite Eurpoean prior art when examining a typical patent application. If your "professional" searcher hasn't searched the Eurpoean art, then there can be little reason to pay him. It is, in my opinion, unexcusable bad practice to not consider the European art when conducting a patent search, because when the patent application is written, the claims will have to be drafted in order to avoid certain rejections the Examiner will raise. If you haven't considered the European Art, then you run the high risk of an extra rejection and the associated time delays and added expense. I CAN ALMOST GUARANTEE YOU THAT AT THAT STAGE OF THE GAME IT WILL COST YOU THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN ADDITIONAL PROSECUTION FEES, OR LOST PATENT PROTECTION TIME. So it might appear as though you save a couple hundred bucks in the beginning, only to lose valuable length of your patent term at extra delay in addition to added costs. DON'T be fooled by cheap searches - they are not worth your time or money. Consider what John Ruskin (1819-1900) said:

"It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it cannot be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better."

How true.

All searches are performed by either myself or my Associate in whom I have full confidence and trust. I take my high standards of professional and ethical responsibility very seriously, and I guarantee that your patent experience will be rewarding when you enlist our assistance. I will not hesitate to sign confidentiality agreements at the request of Clients (many other service providers won't sign them - beware) and I will do whatever is necessary to make an Inventor comfortable.

Although a committed professional, I tend to deal in a somewhat casual format, like a country doctor. I learned long ago that to succeed in satisfying Clients' needs, one needs to be highly customer-driven, i.e., listen to your Client. You won't be "just another number". My goal is 1) to get you a patent quickly at the lowest price consistent with high quality; and 2) to provide you with sources of bona fide help for selling your invention as quickly as possible. Satisfying these two goals will make you a satisfied Client.

Thank you for visiting.

Yours very truly,                                                 EMAIL ME BY CLICKING HERE

Christopher J. Whewell, Trustee

(512) 763-1142