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You May Have Done Plenty of Market Research, but You'll Still Need to Search Existing Patents for Similar Products.
The patent search is a major form of research for all new product developers. You can do this search yourself at one of the U.S. Patent Libraries or you can use an attorney or agent to do the search for you. Remember that the more detail you use in describing the way your idea works, the better the searcher can look for inventions similar to yours.
When visiting a patent library, be sure to engage the services of the patent librarian, who can help you focus and avoid wasting valuable time. Other ways to have searches done are:
1. Computer Searches--Some websites will allow users to do minimal patent searches, but the databases are sometimes small or restricted (as opposed to the computers in a patent library). In addition, some computer companies can do the search for you (for a fee, of course). These are often restricted, as well, often going back only to the 1960s.2. Patent Attorney/Agent--If you have a Patent Attorney or Patent Agent do a search, he/she simply calls up a searcher in Washington, D.C. and gives that person a description of your product. They then review what the searcher finds and offer an opinion of patentability. Attorneys and agents often charge around $1,000 for this service.
3. International Patent Search--You can also have an international search done, but these can be quite expensive and usually, even if a product is invented in another country, if it's a commercial success, a U.S. Patent will already have been applied for.
Patents typically take eight months to two years to be issued. During that time, the public has no access to them. So someone may have filed a patent on your idea in the last eight months to two years and you'll have no way of knowing about it.
When you get your patent search back, don't be dismayed at the amount of patents that are close to your idea. This issue is whether your idea is mechanically different in any way from the patents already issued. The difference can be quite small.
The patent search gives you 200 years of thought about your product category. It will help you define how your idea is different and better.
The above article was excerpted from Ken Tarlow's MIND TO MONEY, a cassette tape/workbook package that can help you develop a new product from the idea stage to the marketplace. MIND TO MONEY may be ordered from the Dream Merchant at $59.95 plus $4.95 CA sales tax and$5 shipping and handling ($69.90 total). Send orders to the Dream Merchant, 2309 Torrance Blvd., Suite 104, Torrance, CA 90501.
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