Patents are issued by a patent office on the basis of the explanation of the claims of the invention and their comparison with the closest referenced patents identified. The references are provided by the applicant to the patent office to help the examiner in the examination process. Once the examiner has considered the provided references, he/she makes a fresh search in the patent and non-patent databases to identify if there are other arts available to the near invention. After conducting the search, the examiner will either take the decision to reject the claims of the patent and force the applicant to make changes to claims of the patent or issue the patent if the invention satisfies all the requirement of patentability.

A patent validity search focuses on finding a reference or a piece of information which can be proved that a patent has been incorrectly issued. There are many reasons for conducting these searches. Just think of the situation when your product may face a threat from an active patent or you wish to purchase a license of another’s patent rights. In the case of violation of suits, where your product is in trouble because it violates the right of an active patent, one of the best ways to defend is to prove the patent in question is invalid.

Expert helping businesses with patent validity searches and patent filing in India follow a step to step procedure to make sure the search is done accurately.

Important patent validity searches steps

• Evaluate if the patent is active or not
• Review the file history of the patent which shows the complete protests and arguments between the applicants and the examiner at the patent’s office.
• Evaluation of patent and non-patent literature search to find out relevant references before the critical date of patent in question.
• Examine and compare the search results with the issued claims, and prepare a claim chart to show to what degree the claims in question match the scope of the uncovered reference.

Getting a patent validity search done is a daunting task and needs knowledge and experience of a professional. It is highly recommended to hire a service provider that has knowledge and experience in your specific industry and has a good understanding of the need of the validity search. They should have proficiency in searching patent and non-patent literature by using world leading databases to find out the closest matching references. Your patent expert should have the skills to prepare a well-informative report that helps you to judge the extent of the claims to be invalidated.

You need to file a patent application at the United States Patent and Trademark office near you if you want a patent on a certain product or an invention. It can be difficult for you to get a patent for your product even though the invention might have been an easy success for you.  So, most of the investors opt to hire a patent attorney to help them streamline the entire process.

There are commonly three types of patents available in the Unites States. They are utility patent, plant patent, and design patent. Let’s discuss them in more details.

Utility Patent – The utility patent is normally issued when an individual applies for a specific process and/or product. For example – a new product, matter composition, method of manufacturing, a machine or any improvement of the already existing product or process. This type of patent permits the owner the ability to exclude other individuals from using or creating the invention. However, it should be noted that there is a timeframe on how long this patent is valid. Normally, the time period is 20 years from the original date the owner of an invention filed the patent application.  A utility patent is also called by another name, which is patent for invention.

Design Patent – A design patent covers the novel, ornamental or a new design that is included in or can be applied to a previous article that has been manufactured. Just as a utility patent, it also rules out anyone but the owner from using, selling or making the design. The owner has the right to hold this patent for fourteen years.

Plant Patent – As agriculture is the large part of United States, many endeavors to discover new plant species either by invention or discovery. Whether it is a hybrid or a seedling, a patent for this kind of discovery is called plant patent. Just like other patents, the owner of the invention or discovery is the sole owner. This means no one else can make it or use it for a period of twenty years.

You can get more information from an expert who deals with patent preparation. If you are interested in obtaining a patent, you should also conduct an exhaustive research about the location as many states may have other regulations or requirements. It is crucial that these regulations need to be met before applying and being approved for a patent.  A patent attorney with good experience in patent drafting/preparation would be a great help.

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If you have an idea for an invention that you envision being made by yourself or by someone else to make a profit, you will probably think about having a patent. You will have a very common question in mind

Do I really need a patent? It is highly recommended to go for a patent if you have a profitable idea. But at times, it is not easy to decide and the decision is to be taken only by you.

There are many criteria that will help you understand if you need a patent or not.

Here are some of them.

Who will be manufacturing?

A very simple way to decide whether you need to file a patent application is finding if your invention is something you want to manufacture or license to another company for manufacturing. If you are manufacturing yourself, you may or may not require a patent but if you are licensing your invention to another business for manufacturing, then you definitely need to file a patent application.

Level of complexity

Another thing you should note is the level of complexity. If you are inventing something big, you will definitely need to license as you practically cannot do it alone and you should go for a patent. But if it is a small invention, you can make it yourself and do not seek a patent. However, the choice is always yours.

Shelf life

If you are producing a product, you should consider its shelf life. Products with short shelf life mainly do not need protection from competition. According to service providers who deal with patent research/analytics and prepare patent infringement claim charts, getting a patent will take a couple of years after filing the application. So, it is important to think about the shelf life of the product. If you have planned to invent a toy, apparel or a device with short shelf life, then you may decide to spend your resources on marketing instead of filing for a patent.

What is the product’s future value?

Deciding whether to patent an idea or not also depends on the value you give it and what is the projected future value. If your invention has value in real, then you should seek the help of a patent professional to help you file a patent application and help you throughout. You should think about your idea in the same way as you are protecting your personal property. Patent is similar to insurance which protects your valuable items. Patent acts as an insurance protecting your idea.

Hopefully you have a good idea now to consider when you need a patent for your idea. But remember, there are more chances of your idea getting copied if your idea is more successful. So getting a patent makes a lot of sense.

Read more at :www.iiprd.com