How To Conduct a Patent Search North Dakota

A patent search can be important for a new product-invention because it can confirm the originality of the idea or reveal that it has already been marketed or protected under a previous patent application.

Following are three steps for conducting your own patent search.

1. First search the shelves of major department stores. While this step isn’t actually part of a patent search, it is a step that may help confirm the value in conducting one.
   
   Checking stores may also confirm that a patent search would not be necessary, if you discover the invention has already been successfully marketed by someone else. As a first step in establising the originality of your product invention, it's a good idea to make sure a product is not already widely available in major chain stores or even in major catalog outlets.
2. Conduct a search on major search engines. This is a second preparatory step in getting ready for conducting an actual patent search at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) website. There are websites that are not actually connected to the USPTO, yet still index patented inventions and even non-patented inventions on the search engines, as part of their services to inventors. By doing a search on the search engines, you can better establish the need to do a more detailed and thorough search on the USPTO website.

   If, for example, you have a new type of windshield wiper for automobiles, use several variations of search terms that describe your product invention. You might also include the word “patent” in that search. This step not only helps to locate any pages of patented inventions that might be similar to your invention, but also displays results on any non-patented products in general that might already be on the market. A widely marketed product might pose too much competition for your invention and might be a deciding factor against further search using the USPTO website.

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Author: James Lowrance