Before beginning the Patent Process, a Prior Art search may
be in order. We are pleased to offer
Prior Art searching services at the present time. We presently use www.planetpatent.com
(Glen Kopatish) for our Prior Art searching services. Planetpatent provides copies of references and a list of areas
searched, but no analysis of the references or discussion. We provide an analysis of the search in
addition to the raw search data.
For basic mechanical and electrical inventions, our Search
Fee is $750, inclusive of the Planetpatent costs. More complex inventions (computer hardware and software, internet
methods of doing business, etc.) may be $1500 or more. We do not perform searches on chemical and
biotech inventions.
For new clients, we do require a 100% advance on search fees
(or for any service less than $1000).
Our Prior Art Search includes:
1. Full day search by Planetpatent including electronic
search of patent files, foreign art, technical references, scientific library
search (if appropriate), consulting with Examiner(s) in the art (if
appropriate) and extended on-line search.
2. Evaluation of the references and a brief discussion
of each relevant reference in a search report and patentability opinion letter
3. Discussion of most relevant references and discussion of
Patentability issues in view of these references. Note this is not a formal Patentability Opinion.
4. Copy of all relevant references discovered,
photocopying and postage.
5. A price quote for filing a Provisional and/or
Formal Patent Application as well as a quote for Prosecution expenses and an
estimate of issue fee costs.
COMMON QUESTIONS:
Q. How do I know you will not steal my idea? Will you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement?
A. In the past, I have been more than happy to sign a
non-disclosure agreement (NDA) if that put a client at ease. However, I no longer do this. Clients who are obsessed with secrecy are
usually problem clients and are not compatible with my practice. Moreover, such NDA’s are unnecessary.
I am registered with both the Patent Office (Reg. No. 34,546) and the
Virginia State Bar. As you can imagine, any attorney who steals
inventions or money will find himself on the wrong side of an ethics complaint.
Your invention is also protected by attorney-client privilege.
Moreover, obsessive secrecy is contrary to the whole theory
of the Patent system, which relies upon public disclosure of your
invention in return for a limited monopoly.
If you keep your invention secret, you can’t get a Patent, and moreover,
you can’t make money from the invention by selling product. It is better to document your date of
disclosure and file an application (if warranted) than to try to keep you
invention secret from everyone.
Q. Does a Prior Art Search guarantee that all relevant Prior Art has been found? How do I know for certain that a relevant reference might not be discovered during Patent Prosecution? How can I be certain that I will not infringe someone else’s Patent?
A. See item #11 on my FAQ (recently revised).
There is no 100% risk-free way of avoiding undiscovered Prior Art.
A search is only a means of managing that risk, not a guarantee of
discovery of all relevant references. Business is all about risk-taking -
and risk-takers should get rewards for their efforts (which is why Socialism is
such a bad idea). I wish I could offer
some guarantee, but that is just the nature of being an entrepreneur. The only 100% safe way to avoid such a
scenario is to not try in the first place.
A Prior Art Search is NOT an infringement study or Opinion –
only a review of references discovered during an initial search. If one of the references discovered is of
concern, we can prepare an infringement study or opinion upon request.
Q. How long does it
take to perform a search?
A. At the present
time, my searcher is running 2-4 weeks to perform searches. It may take me another 2 weeks or so to
review the materials and provide you with my analysis. In any busy Patent practice, there is a
regular stream of cases (new applications, amendments, and other action items)
which must be attended to. I cannot put
aside other pressing matters to take one client’s matter out-of-turn. See my Firm Policy Page. There are other places to have a search
performed if this timetable is not acceptable to you. See the United Inventor’s Association website or the classifieds
in Inventor’s Digest, for example.