PATENT SEARCH SERVICES

The patent search services offered by P. F. O’Reilly Law Office include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Prior Art Novelty Searches 
• Patent Validity Searches 
• Patent Infringement Searches 
• State-of-the-Art Searches   

 Prior Art Novelty Searches – The first type of search performed by P. F. O’Reilly Law Office is the prior art novelty search, which is otherwise known as the patentability search.  The purpose of the prior art novelty search is to determine the body of the prior art that is relevant to an invention that the inventor is interested in patenting.  Thus, the prior art novelty search typically is performed prior to the filing of a patent application.  Prior to requesting a patentability search, there is one important caveat that the inventor must keep in mind…all results of the patentability search are required to be disclosed to the USPTO.  Thus, prior art discovered during a novelty search may be used by an examiner to reject the claims of the subject patent application.

 Patent Validity Searches – Another type of search performed by P. F. O’Reilly Law Office is the validity search.  The purpose of a validity search is to assess the validity of patent that has been issued by the USPTO.  In the typical situation, a company, which is normally a competitor of the patent holder, will request a validity search in order to determine whether or not the issued patent is valid in light of the prior art.  Normally, the requesting company is presently manufacturing, or wishes to manufacture, a product that would infringe the claims of the subject patent if its claims were determined to be valid.

 Patent Infringement Searches – The third type of search performed by P. F. O’Reilly Law Office is the patent infringement search, which is otherwise known as the right-to-use search, clearance search, or the freedom-to-operate search.  The purpose of a patent infringement search is to verify whether or not a proposed product or invention infringes any active patents.  If it is determined that the proposed product or invention does not appear to infringe the claims of any patents that are in force, the company or individual that owns the proposed product or invention is able to practice their invention, or market their product, with a reduced threat of being sued.  Conversely, if it is determined that the proposed product or invention would potentially infringe the claims of an active patent, the owner of the proposed invention may choose to “design-around” the claims of the problematic patent so that they can still practice their invention without being subject to an infringement lawsuit.

 State-of-the-Art Searches – The final type of search performed by P. F. O’Reilly Law Office is the patent state-of-the-art search, which is otherwise known as a collection search.  The purpose of a state-of-the art search is to enable someone to expeditiously determine the technology that is being developed in a particular field.  Typically, the searcher selects certain pieces of art (e.g., patents) that are representative of that technology in order to give the requester of the search a “flavor” of the current developments in that field. 

** The list of search services provided above is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all search services provided by the P. F. O’Reilly Law Office.  Rather, it is merely intended to give the reader a general idea of the type of searches offered.  Consequently, the reader is strongly encouraged to contact P. F. O’Reilly Law Office in order to inquire about the particular search that is desired.  All initial consultations are provided absolutely free of charge.