Patent search is the process of searching through existing patents and patent applications to determine if an invention or idea has already been patented. The goal of a patent search is to identify prior art, which refers to any existing knowledge, products, or technologies that could potentially prevent an invention from being patented.
The importance of a patent search lies in the fact that it can prevent individuals and companies from wasting time and resources developing and pursuing a patent for an invention that has already been patented by someone else. It also helps inventors and patent seekers to determine the likelihood of obtaining a patent for their invention, and to identify potential infringement issues that could arise if they do obtain a patent.
Details of the applicant
Details of the invention
Drawings (if any) for better clarity
To register a Patent, the person needs to invest time and money. To save time and money, it is advisable to conduct the patent search. From this process, the person who wants to apply for the patent gets an idea if their invention is really a new one or is already exists in public domain.
After filing of patent and, the Patent Office examine the proposed invention for its novelty, inventive step and industrial application. This examination may found some closest prior arts of the proposed invention during the patent search in India. If the patent search is conducted than it is easy to show technical differences in the reply against the cited prior arts.
The patent search helps the applicant and the patent agent in drafting the claims and specifications of the patent. This is to ensure that the claimed features of the proposed invention are not overlapping with any prior arts. If the patent search is conducted before, then it is easy to draft the strong specification which can eliminate the chances of overlapping of the invention with prior arts disclosing similar invention.