This information is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, please consult with an attorney.
Our advanced AI is a powerful tool to search for patents, but using the tool is a little different than conducting a search with your favorite search engine. The key difference is that instead of searching with keywords, you need to describe what you are looking for just like you would to another person.
For example, let's say you want to patent the following innovation:
A drone that detects and then fights wildfires. The drone uses infrared cameras to find and analyze fires. The drone sprays fire suppressant to extinguish small fires.
If you were conducting a keyword search, you might type, “drone wildfire camera extinguish.” The problem with this old-fashioned keyword search is that it's a jumble of unrelated words that will (1) return many irrelevant patents and (2) fail to return the most applicable patents.
Keyword searches cannot compete with our advanced AI because keywords do not communicate complete ideas. This is a fundamental shortcoming of keyword searches.
In contrast, our advanced AI understands complete ideas (in full sentences) and then carefully analyzes millions of patents to find those ideas.
The quality of your search results is heavily dependent on the clarity and conciseness of your description. For example, if another person could not read your description and then explain exactly what you want to find in a few sentences, our advanced AI will also be unable to understand what you want to find.
You can test whether your description is clear and concise enough by entering your description into the free patent search and then seeing if the results are relevant. If the results are not relevant, please clarify your description and try your updated description with the free patent search. Once your description yields relevant results via the free patent search, then you are ready to run the pro patent search, which is far more thorough than the free patent search.
Please do not just use keywords. Instead, please write two to five sentences that explain the invention for which you are searching.
Here is an example of a poor search description. (Mistake = Only uses keywords.)
Drone wildfire camera extinguish
Here is an example of a mediocre search description. (Mistake = Not detailed enough.)
A drone that detects and then fights wildfires.
Here is an example of a good search description.
A drone that detects and then fights wildfires. The drone uses infrared cameras to find and analyze fires. The drone sprays fire suppressant to extinguish small fires.
This is a great description because it is specific (so our advanced AI knows what you want to find).
If you describe the drone invention as simply, “A drone with a camera,” our advanced AI will show you many patents about a drone with a camera, but the search results might not include the specific details of your invention that you did not describe.
To avoid wading through many patents that aren't precisely what you're looking for, please carefully describe exactly what makes your invention unique. The more precise you are in your description, the more our advanced AI can find just what you're looking for.
Please do not include any introductory words before you start describing the invention. For example, please do not start by typing, “The invention I want to find is …” Instead, you should immediately describe the invention.
Example of a poor search description:
“The invention I want to find is a drone that detects and then fights wildfires. The drone … ”
Example of a good search description:
“A drone that detects and then fights wildfires. The drone … ”
If your initial patent search does not identify the patents you need to find, consider conducting additional patent searches. If you do not want to pay for additional pro patent searches, then you could conduct additional free patent searches (although free patent searches are not nearly as thorough as pro patent searches). Please note that free patent searches are not a substitute for the depth of pro patent searches. If you are serious about finding applicable patents, you will need to conduct pro patent searches.
Patent examiners often reject patent applications if they find the claimed inventions in other fields. For example, the U.S. Patent Office might reject a patent application regarding a braking system for a bike if the braking system was previously used in another field (such as to brake the rollers of manufacturing equipment).
As a result, our advanced AI looks for your innovation in many fields (not just your target field). Before dismissing search results that are in surprising fields, please read why the AI thinks these patents might be relevant.
The best way to learn how to work with our advanced AI is to do a few free searches. Before long, you'll feel comfortable describing the invention you want our advanced AI to find just like you would describe the invention to a person.
If you conduct a patent search using other methods and also using PatLab.AI's pro search, and then determine which search found the patents with the highest applicability, we are confident you will be amazed by the indispensable capabilities of PatLab.AI's pro search.
You cannot patent an idea if someone else has already patented the exact same idea. This is why searching for previous patents that disclose your idea is so important.
For example, let's say you want to patent a bike brake with your special cantilever beam design. You need to search for patents that disclose a bike brake with your special cantilever beam design. If you find patents that disclose your exact same design, then you likely cannot patent your idea.
In reality, the analysis is often more difficult than it may initially appear:
Identical Match Scenario:
If you find the exact same bike brake design in a previous patent, then you cannot patent the exact same bike brake design. (But perhaps you can think of unique improvements to the design. These unique improvements might be patentable.)
Similar Match Scenario:
What if you don't find a patent with your exact same bike brake design, but instead find a similar, yet not identical bike brake design? In this case, you might be able to patent your specific design (but your patent would not enable you to stop competitors from using designs that are similar to the bike brakes shown in the patent you found).
Because the analysis is legally complex and requires substantial experience, we recommend conducting a patent search and then sharing the results with a patent attorney for further analysis.
There is a chance you will not be able to patent your idea if one patent shows one part of your idea and another patent shows the other part of your idea.
To be patentable, your idea must not be obvious to “a person having ordinary skill in the art.” This means that your idea cannot be an obvious extension or combination of existing patents.
To help explain this requirement (called “non-obviousness”), think about the bike brake with your special cantilever beam design. Let's say your patent search does not show any bikes that include your bike brake design, but your patent search identifies a car that includes your brake design. The patent office might reject your patent application by showing (1) a previous patent on bikes and (2) the previous patent on the car that includes your brake design.
When you search for patents that might block you from getting a patent, be sure to save patents that collectively show all the parts of your idea (even if individually the patents do not show each part of your idea).
Because predicting how the patent office might combine patents to reject your patent application is legally complex and requires substantial experience, we recommend conducting a patent search and then sharing the results with a patent attorney for further analysis.
There are additional requirements to consider:
Abstract ideas, natural phenomena, and laws of nature are generally not patentable. While few people try to patent natural phenomena and laws of nature (such as the law of gravity), the patent office sometimes rejects patent applications because the idea is too abstract to be patentable. To be patentable, ideas generally need to be tied to a specific application, and ideally, to hardware (which could be any object such as a robot, car, or bike). If you are concerned your idea may be too abstract to be patentable, please consult with an attorney for advice about your unique situation.
You can patent an idea before you have built a product that uses the idea. However, your patent application must describe your invention in sufficient detail so that “a person skilled in the art” can make and use the invention without “undue experimentation.”
To be patentable, your idea needs “utility.” In other words, people should be able to appreciate why your invention is useful based on the characteristics of your invention. Few patent applications are rejected due to lacking utility.
If you launch a product, there is a risk that your product could violate (“infringe”) patents owned by other companies. These companies could sue you to collect money from you and, in rare cases, stop you from selling your product.
The patent owners may send you a “cease and desist” letter demanding that you stop infringing their patents. They may sue you in federal court. If your company is small, the court case could bankrupt your company (because just defending yourself in court could cost many hundreds of thousands of dollars). If your company has sufficient resources to avoid bankruptcy, the amount the court orders your company to pay the patent owner could be staggering.
As a result, many companies choose to search for patents that their future products might infringe. If you find patents with claims that your product might infringe, you can explore ways to “design around” the patents (by changing your product's design such that it does not infringe the patents).
One common mistake inventors make is they sometimes do not realize that the patent “claims” define the inventions owned by the patent holder. (If you look up a U.S. patent on Google Patents, you will see a section called “Claims.”)
For example, let's say you find a patent that shows your bike brake design in a drawing. Do not immediately assume that the patent will prevent you from making your bike brake design. There is a chance the patent talks about the bike brake design but does not legally claim the exclusive right to use the bike brake design.
Determining if the patent claims the exclusive right to use the bike brake design requires a patent attorney to carefully interpret the claims of the patent and then predict whether future judges and juries would decide that your design infringes the claims of the patent.
When you find a list of patents with claims that your product might infringe, we recommend not recording any legal conclusions about the patents without the help of a patent attorney. For example, don't write an email that says, “Here's a list of patents that we violate,” because that email could be used as evidence that you “willfully” infringed patents (which could result in a court making you pay more money to the patent owners). Instead, without writing any legal conclusions, share the list of patents with a patent attorney for further analysis.
Unless you have extensive patent training, writing a patent application by yourself and then working with the patent office to get it approved is very unlikely and, even if you get it approved, the resulting patent will likely provide much less legal protection than would be possible with a patent attorney. You can, however, reduce your legal expenses by doing some of the work yourself, which you can then present to a patent attorney. Also, you are the expert about your invention, so you can provide immense value helping your patent attorney understand your invention and the other patents in your field. Getting a patent is a team effort with you and your patent attorney.
Interview potential patent attorneys. We do not recommend any specific patent attorneys, but you can conduct an online search to find patent attorneys (which are a specialized type of attorney). You might prefer to work with a local patent attorney. Many patent attorneys would be happy to have a brief phone call with you to answer your questions and to give you a chance to determine if you would like to work with them.
Find a patent attorney who wants to work with you. Some attorneys prefer to work with large companies because large companies have a lot of legal work and deep pockets. If you are a startup or solo inventor, you could ask them about their experience working with startups and solo inventors.
Find a patent attorney with applicable technical training. Nearly all patent attorneys have an undergraduate degree in engineering or a similar STEM field. You should ask the attorneys if they have a technical degree that is related to your invention.
Patent attorney or patent agent? Both patent attorneys and patent agents (1) met the technical training requirements of the U.S. Patent Office and (2) passed the test of the U.S. Patent Office. The difference is that patent attorneys also graduated from law school. There are some things (such as patent litigation) that require a patent attorney. Patent agents sometimes charge less than patent attorneys. Patent attorneys who work by themselves (rather than at a law firm) sometimes charge less than law firms.
Costs? Be sure to ask about hourly fees, whether there is a flat fee for patent applications (which means that the fee is fixed), and whether there is a fee cap for patent applications (which means that they bill by the hour, but the total amount should not exceed the fee cap).
Note that the cost to file a patent application is not the total cost to get a patent. After the attorney files the patent application, after 4 months (for additional fees) to about 24 months, the patent office will send an “Office Action,” which is a letter that almost always explains the patent office is not ready to approve your patent application. At that point, getting a patent approved (“issued”) will require you to pay the patent attorney to reply to one or two (and sometimes more) Office Actions.
Many patent applications never become approved (“issued”) patents because the patent office finds that the idea was already patented. For this reason, it’s very important to search for previous patents before spending a lot of money and time on a patent application that will never become a patent.
Another advantage of finding previous patents before writing your patent application is that your patent attorney will be better able to focus your patent application on innovations that the patent office is more likely to approve.
Costs to consider:
