"I'm an energy vampire. I just suck
off everybody's energy. But I give it back." Dolly Parton
Once each year, PTQ-Petroleum Technology Quarterly publishes a special issue on
Gas. The latest issue has just been produced.
One of the articles in this issue is of particular interest to sulfur nerds.
TIP:
PTQ (www.eptq.com) is an excellent source of
very practical articles on all aspects of the oil and gas industry.
Visit the site to register for free PDF versions of their publications.\
And here is a taste of the article I referenced above …
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Revamping the sulphur plant
Sulphur is present in
natural gas mainly as hydrogen sulphide (H2S). Many processes in the refinery
produce acid gas which is rich in H2S. This acid gas is further captured in
clean sour water and lean amine. Further, the sour water is processed in a sour
water stripper (SWS) and the off-gas produced is sent to the sulphur recovery unit
(SRU). The sour acid gas produced, also called ammonia acid gas (AAG), is
usually rich in ammonia and H2S. The rich amine from different refinery units
is collected and processed in an amine recovery unit (ARU). The produced gas,
also called clean acid gas (CAG), is rich in H2S. The SRU processes CAG and AAG
in order to recover sulphur from the H2S molecule. The tail gas treatment unit
(TGTU) is usually installed downstream of the SRU to capture unreacted H2S and
to meet environmental specifications. The SRU uses the Claus process. Table 1 shows
typical compositions of AAG and CAG. Expanding the capacity of sulphur recovery
and tail gas units requires a thorough review of all plant systems AVINASHKUMAR
KARRE needed for higher refining margins. This need in turn drives sulphur projects
in the refinery. There is no home for H2S gas in the refinery other than the
sulphur units. H2S or SOx cannot be emitted to the atmosphere for reasons of
safety and environmental regulations. As a result of this, a refinery’s
production and profits are at risk when the SRU/ TGTU is not operating. Process
flow Figure 1 outlines the various stages of SRU and TGTU operations and the areas
affected by a capacity increase. The SRU takes acid gas from the amine
regeneration units and SWS, converting H2S to elemental sulphur using the Claus
process. Unconverted tail gas from the Claus reactors is routed to a TGTU where
sulphur oxides are converted to H2S and recycled to the Claus reactors,
increasing overall sulphur conversion to >99% to reduce SOx emissions. The
two unit feeds, sour water acid gas and amine acid gas, are separated in the
unit with segregated feed knock-out drums. This allows the AAG which is higher
in ammonia to be injected at the inlet, increasing ammonia destruction in the
thermal reactor. The combined acid gas steam is mixed with oxygen at the inlet
burner and combusted. Combustion air is controlled to ensure partial combustion
of H2S. This facilitates the reaction between H2S and sulphur dioxide (SO2) to form
elemental sulphur. The combustion section generates medium pressure steam. be looked
at for increased capacity. The thermal reactor is followed by a condenser
generating additional steam and separating the condensed elemental sulphur from
unconverted flue gas. The flue gas is then reheated using high pressure steam
to the catalytic reactor. There are three reactor stages, each with dedicated
reheat exchangers to control temperature. After each reaction stage, there is a
condenser to remove elemental sulphur and generate low pressure steam. Unreacted
tail gas contains 2-8% of inlet sulphur in the form of SO2 and H2S. The TGTU
uses an amine such as MDEA to collect H2S. After H2S is removed, the tail gas
is routed to an incinerator. The incinerator combusts any unconverted sulphur
components (carbonyl sulphur, carbon disulphide), along with residual H2S, to
SO2. Liquid sulphur is condensed and collected by sulphur traps, then collected
in the sulphur pit. The liquid sulphur is further cooled and dissolved H2S in
the liquid sulphur is removed by contact with the air. The air and H2S mixture
is vacuumed out using an ejector. This mixture can either be sent to the
reaction furnace or the incinerator. The mixture is usually sent to the
reaction furnace to increase the efficiency of the sulphur plant, otherwise the
unit capacity is limited by SOx limitations. Reactions for the various stages
of the process are: • Reaction furnace • Claus reactors • TGTU reactor •
Degassing Sulphur plant capacity basics Mass flow limited process A SRU/TGTU
operation is a mass flow limited process; the higher the flow, the higher the
pressure drop according to pressure and flow correlation. Pressure drop in the
system is proportional to the square of flow. The back pressure in the system will
increase with the increase in flow needed for a revamp. Burner pressure
increases with the increase in back pressure of the system. Nitrogen gas is
inert and unwanted in the process; most revamps replace air blowers due to the
requirement for higher head and flow. If we replace nitrogen molecules in the process
with more oxygen molecules, this favours the hydraulics and the capacity can be
enhanced. All control valves and flow meters should be replaced or evaluated in
order to obtain a very low pressure drop for the desired increased throughput.
Main gas line pressure losses should be looked at for the increased flow case.
The tail gas absorber and quench tower are usually replaced with very low
pressure drop packing. Reactors, condensers, and reheaters are evaluated for increased
flow rate in order to obtain low pressure drops.
Conclusion
Many options are available to expand the capacity of a sulphur plant.
The red line mark-up shown in Figure 1 summarises the changes required for
revamp jobs. The following are the key takeaways for the revamp of a SRU and
TGTU:
• Minimise pressure drop in the system by hardware and instrument change
• Remove or control ammonia • Go with the oxygen enrichment option and do the necessary
changes as required
• Add tail gas compression as a last resort
• Evaluate the upstream hydrocarbon removal systems
• Review sulphur trap capacity and line hydraulics
Avinashkumar Karre is a Process Engineer with Worley Group, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana. He has 13 years’ experience as a Process Engineer in the refining
and chemicals industries. He has extensive experience in refinery revamp
operations and water treatment.
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Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian,
Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean
Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he
performed for Aramco.
Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/ for continuing tips on effective online
research
Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com with questions on research, training, or
anything else
Visit Jean’s Web site at http://www.jeansteinhardtconsulting.com/ to see examples of the services we can
provide
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Monday, April 20, 2020
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 12 of a series): Patent Prior Art Search
"This is patently absurd; but
whoever wishes to become a philosopher must learn not to be frightened by
absurdities." Bertrand Russell, British author, mathematician, &
philosopher (1872 - 1970)
Experienced patent searchers understand the nuances of prior art searches. However, if you are new to the concept, here is an article that can get you up to speed.
TIP: Google® how to search prior art for more useful information on this topic.
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Prior Art Search: Everything you need to know
If you’re looking to understand everything about prior art search, you’ve landed on the right page. By the time you’ll finish reading this guide, you’ll likely have built a solid understanding of what can be included in the prior art, how you can use this knowledge to conduct a patent search all by yourself and avoid spending valuable resources on the non-patentable subject matter.
For your reference, below listed are the questions we’d be discussing in this guide. If you’d like to jump to a particular question, feel free to click on the hyperlink in the table of contents to get to the corresponding section. However, for a newbie, it is advisable to go through the complete guide, in the same sequential way it has been written.
Table of Contents
What Is Prior Art?
How Prior art impacts your patents?
What Is A Prior Art Search?
What Are The Different Types Of Prior Art Search?
Novelty Search (Before Filing A Patent)
Validity/Invalidity Search (After Issuance Of A Patent)
Clearance Search Or Freedom-To-Operate Search (Before Launching A Product)
Why Do You Need A Prior Art Search?
How Much Does A Prior Art Search Cost?
Professional Search Fees
Government Search Fees
When Can an Evidence be considered as Prior Art?
How To Do Prior Art Search Yourself?
Why You Should Consider Getting The Search Conducted By A Research Firm/Attorney?
What Is Prior Art?
Prior Art, in simple terms, is evidence that your invention is already well-known and not something unique. In other words, prior-art is a reference of some type in some form (textual, visual, audio, etc.) which serves as clear proof that the invention you hold is not something unique.
It is not important that the prior art is present physically or is commercially available. It is enough that someone, somewhere, and at some time previously described, showed or made something that contains the use of a technology that is very similar to your invention.
Now prior art could be found in many forms – Be it a patent or some form of the printed publication including, but not limited to, research papers, trade journals, a college thesis, an advertisement, books, videos – basically anything that is available in the public domain and is public knowledge.
There’s just one catch – A prior art could only invalidate a patent if it has been available to the public before the effective filing date of the patent. For example, a textbook that gives the idea of an invention can be considered as prior art but a textbook that has a revised version of the idea of an invention after the effective filing date of a patent application cannot be considered as prior art.
It is not vital in which language the prior art is described or how many publications of the same are available. The main interest is that the information can be accessed by the public. Thus, a small newsletter by a local company will have the same validity as that of a leading newspaper in a country, provided it is properly time-stamped.
However, figuring prior art for your invention is not as complex as you think it might be. While you could always contact a lawyer or patent attorney to conduct a prior art search on your behalf – saving your efforts and resources in filing fees – it is also possible to conduct a prior art search all by yourself.
How?
Well, it is not exactly that simple, but if you could differentiate your invention from a similar one, it isn’t a very hard nut to crack either. We will walk you through the steps to perform a prior art search by yourself in later sections, but first, let’s have a look at the different kinds of prior art searches, when they are required, and the associated costs.
How Prior art impacts your patents?
Before we proceed further and answer these questions, first let’s go through a bit of prologue aka a brief overview of how prior art impacts your patent.
Getting a patent for your invention requires a filing process. When you submit your patent application to the PTO, the examiner conducts a prior art search to figure if there exists any art before the filing date of the patent application that could deem your idea invalid.
If such art exists, your patent application gets rejected and you might have to make some amendments in the claims of your invention, such that it does not have any overlapping prior art. And if your patent application surpasses this phase, you will get a grant for your patent.
The same applies when the validity of your granted patent is challenged, or in PTO via any of these mediums – IPR, PGR or CBM. In any of these scenarios, if prior art is found, it could reduce the scope of your patent or deem your granted patent, invalid.
Now that we know how prior art could impact the grant process of your application and validity of your granted patent, let’s have a deeper look at it.
What Is A Prior Art Search?
A Prior art search is a dedicated search to figure if there exists any evidence that could deem a patent/application invalid. A prior art search can be of three types, based on the purpose of the search, i.e. Novelty Search, Invalidity Search, and FTO Search.
What Are The Different Types Of Prior Art Search?
Novelty Search (Before Filing A Patent)
A novelty search or patentability search is conducted before filing a patent application in the PTO to determine if the invention is novel before the inventor commits the resources necessary to obtain a patent.
Conducting this search before filing a patent application can help ensure that the application won’t be rejected. And if, during the search, something does qualify as prior art, you can save your money by not opting the already existing idea to get patented, or, you can make enhancement in the features of your invention to render it as a unique idea.
This search may include searching in databases of patents, patent applications, and other documents such as utility models and in the scientific literature. Novelty searches can also be used to help an inventor determine what is unique about his/her invention. If any prior-art is not found that overlaps your idea, it can be potentially patentable.
Thomas Edison, for example, did not get a patent on the basic concept of the light bulb. It was already patented and therefore was in the prior art. Instead, Edison got a patent for his improvements to the light bulb. These improvements included a very thin filament and a reliable technique for joining the white-hot filament to the room temperature lead wires.
A novelty search is also conducted by patent examiners during the prosecution of a patent. However, if you feel your idea/invention is vital and should be granted a patent, it always makes sense to get a novelty search conducted by an expert beforehand to ensure that your invention meets the criteria of patentability. Further, this approach makes sense since you can save a lot of resources – both in terms of time and money, spent on drafting, filing, and prosecution fees.
Validity/Invalidity Search (After Issuance Of A Patent)
Patent validity or invalidity search is a comprehensive prior art search – conducted after the issuance of a patent – either to authenticate the enforceability of a patent’s claims or to cancel one or more claims of a patent, correspondingly. These two searches are alike except for the needed outcome of the search (valid or invalid patent claims).
Related Read: Everything we could tell you about Patent Invalidity search.
Clearance Search Or Freedom-To-Operate Search (Before Launching A Product)
It is quite important to assess and understand the business risks involved when you are bringing a new product to the market. This is particularly vital as there are chances that your product may infringe on another’s patent rights. Freedom to practice opinion is a legal judgment that analyses your product against an appropriate selection of patents to find out the level of risk associated with bringing the product to market. This search can help you avert from the dangers of potential infringement while launching your product.
Related Read: Ignoring Freedom to Operate searches could be fatal for your organization. Find out how?
Now that we had a look at the different types of patent searches and their purpose, it is important to figure why you need a prior art search. If you have reasons to believe that you do not need a prior art search, the pointers below could change your mind. If you’re on the same side of the wagon, feel free to skip this section and jump to the next.
Why Do You Need A Prior Art Search?
The process of getting a patent can be costly as you have to pay hefty fees (constituting a filing fee, an examination fee, and attorney fees). While official fees are often discounted for individual inventors and small enterprises in most jurisdictions, the overall cost of protecting the invention can be quite high, mainly if the inventor wishes to safeguard his or her invention in several jurisdictions.
Wondering how much drafting, filing and maintaining a patent would cost you in various jurisdictions across the world? We have answered this question in another post which could be read by clicking here – Cost of Filing, Obtaining and Maintaining a patent in Major Jurisdictions across the world
So it is generally recommended to carry out a prior art search yourself or hire a professional to do so before the commencement of the patenting process. Based on the findings of the prior art search, the novel (unique) and inventive features of the invention can be figured, and a decision can be made, whether to file for a patent or not and in which jurisdictions, it should be filed.
The benefits of conducting a prior art search can be summarized in two points:
It can save resources in filings and prosecution proceedings if the invention is not exclusive, allowing R&D centers to use their IP budgets sensibly.
The prior art search helps to find out the closest prior arts and thus can describe the scope of protection present in patent claims. Even prosecution time can be reduced due to the need for fewer office actions and claim amendments.
A prior art search is like a due conscientiousness exercise that can alter the risk of rejection of the patent application.
Now that we had a look at some of the reasons why you should get a prior art search conducted before filing a patent, the next question that might occur to some of you is how much it would cost if you see professional assistance.
Well, you’re about to get answers.
How Much Does A Prior Art Search Cost?
Professional Search Fees
For patent searches, the fee differs as there are different methods used by professionals that may vary their charge fees. Some opt for a flat rate, while others charge an hourly fee. The hourly fee is mostly applicable in cases where you want the researcher to sort through the information and give you an opinion on the patentability of your invention. Ultimately, the fee being charged comes down to the method being used by the person who would perform the search.
If your invention is fairly simple, the searcher might charge you around $100 for the search. This is in the case if you hire a service that doesn’t offer an in-depth opinion or analysis. For more complex inventions you might end up paying $2,000 or more as it requires a deep analysis of the domain under study.
Below listed are some ballpark estimates if you choose to hire an attorney.
$1,000 to $1,250 for simple inventions
$1,250 to $1,500 for slightly complex inventions
$1,500 to $2,000 for moderately or relatively complex inventions
$2,000 to $3,000 for highly complex inventions or software
Some businesses – that file a lot of patents – need to opt for patent search quite a number of times. In those cases, it makes sense to subscribe to advanced patent research tools and services instead of paying a separate fee for each search.
Government Search Fees
After the submission of your application, the patent examiner assigned to your case will perform a search related to your patent. In the US, the search fee for a small entity is $300, while for larger businesses, the fee is $600.
When Can an Evidence be considered as Prior Art?
Prior art is defined by Title 35, United States Code, Section 102, which states: A person is not entitled to a patent if the invention was “known or used by others in this country, or was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country” before the date of invention by the applicant for the patent.
After the introduction of the America Invents Act (AIA) and the shift from first to invent to the first inventor to file, there are considerable changes in patent law. While the virtual definition remains the same, there are quite a few changes which are introduced after the passage of AIA, which is summarized as follows:
If the invention in question was described in a patent issued anywhere in the world more than 12 months prior to a US application being filed, then no patent can be obtained.
If the invention in question was described in a printed publication published anywhere in the world more than 12 months prior to a US application being filed, then no patent can be obtained.
If the invention in question was publicly used in the US more than 12 months prior to a US application being filed, then no patent can be obtained.
If the device, machine or compound in question was offered for sale in the US more than 12 months prior to a US application being filed, then no patent can be obtained.
How To Do Prior Art Search Yourself?
By now, you must be having a solid understanding of what can be considered as prior art, what does and does not qualify as evidence in court post-AIA, some solid reasons why you should absolutely get a prior art search conducted and how much it would cost you – based on the complexity of your invention – if you choose to go with a professional to get the search conducted.
Now, a lot of people would like to conduct a prior art search by themselves to save some money. Though less recommended, going the DIY way has its own set of pros including getting a grasp of inventions out there which would help you develop a better business plan, and could even help you refine your invention to cover any additions/modifications in your invention. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Searching for prior art requires a search on different databases to find whether someone else has already described an idea similar to yours. A search strategy is required to be formulated for a prior art search at the beginning using either a keyword search, name search, classification search or a citation search, or a combination thereof.
In the keyword search, all of the main features of the invention are recognized and then keywords and their related synonyms are determined from the key features of the creation to formulate search strings to run on patent and non-patent databases.
In addition, patent classes, applicants and inventors which are similar to the field of the invention need to be recognized and used in the search strings to further the search strategy. To choose the most relevant prior arts, all of the search results must be manually analyzed.
Now there could be thousands of search results based on your search string and it is difficult to read through each of them. What could one do in that case?
There’s an easy way to do it – You can screen the results at multiple levels. In the first level of screening, only the title and abstract of the search results can be read, and after shortlisting the relevant-sounding ones, the second level of screening can be done to figure the most relevant to your invention. Once most of the relevant prior arts have been shortlisted, their citations can be verified to find out more results around the shortlisted ones.
For the sake of simplicity, let us condense all the above knowledge into few pointers for your later perusal along with some database suggestions.
Brainstorm the keywords that describe your invention
To conduct a thorough search, you’ll need to take into account, all possible keyword combinations that could exist in the prior art.
Conduct a thorough search of various databases
After having assembled a list of search strings based on keywords/inventors/assignee/citation data, the next step is to input these strings on some of the most common databases.
Below listed are few patent databases where you could conduct a search:
Google Patents
USPTO search interface
Espacenet (European Patent Office) search interface
WIPO search interface
Patent Lens
Got the overview? Now, the important part is using these databases effectively.
We won’t go in detail on how to conduct searches on each of these databases, as we have already covered the same in another post. If you are curious to figure how to perform a patent search using all the above mediums and don’t want to leave the page, you can download the below PDF covering the material for a later perusal.
Go beyond Patent Databases
Prior art is not just confined to existing patents or patent applications. All ideas that are publicly available and are publicly disclosed, can be counted as prior art. Thus, a comprehensive prior art search should extend beyond patent searching. You should also include the following sources in the domain of your invention for a complete search:
Google Scholar search for scholarly publications
Non-patent literature like articles, publications, or journals (printed or electronic)
Amazon or other e-commerce sites for product search
When you file your patent application, you want to state the relevant prior art along. If the patent examiner has all the relevant references at his disposal, you will end up with a stronger patent. Additionally, this will satisfy your ethical duties of disclosure, candor and good faith to report prior art to the PTO. So make sure you save a list of all relevant results.
Know when to stop searching
Your goal is not to look at all the prior art out there. Rather, it’s to examine enough prior art to gain a complete understanding of where your invention stands in the industry. Once you think you have performed a satisfactory search, you could call it an off and go for the filing process.
Related Read: 5 Ways to do an Advanced Prior Art Search
Why You Should Consider Getting The Search Conducted By A Research Firm/Attorney?
Going the DIY way sounds amazing, but it has its own set of cons. It can never be said with confidence that no prior art went unsearched as the search needs skills, training, and practice. Any prior art if missed could lead to the rejection of the patent application or termination of the granted patent at a later stage.
Hence, it becomes paramount that the task is assigned to professionals who know their way in the business – aka conducting a comprehensive search. It is also extremely important to choose the right firm to do the job, whose mission is to help you with your end goal and not just take up a search as a vending machine approach. In other words, you should be looking for a service partner and not a vendor to carry out your search to get the best results.
To find the best vendor for the job, research around a bit, read some of the reviews/testimonials posted by others who have perused a particular attorney’s service – In short, do your homework before settling with an attorney for the search. The chances of getting a patent grant for your application and retaining the validity of your granted patent depends a lot upon the attorney you choose to conduct the search on your behalf, so choose wisely.
Here are some of our helpful guides that can help you out here:
How To Select A Better Search Partner?
What You Should Look For When Deciding A Patent Search Partner?
Conclusion
In this not so short guide, we explored various questions someone would have related to the prior art. Though limited, the questions covered the fundamentals of the prior art and prior art search in particular. We scratched the surface of some topics – one of them is how to conduct a free prior art search by yourself – given the limited scope of the article.
However, if you’d like to take a deep dive and want to understand how to perform a patent search by yourself using various databases, this guide on free patent searching would be of great help. If the former isn’t a subject of your interest, and you are looking to understand the sources that welcome could serve as prior art and various unconventional strategies and tactics to spot prior art (for novelty or invalidation search), you’d want to bookmark this page.
To efficient searches!
source: https://www.greyb.com/prior-art-search/
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Starting Down the Startup Path: TOC – Table of Contents
If you enjoyed this post, you might like some of the others in this series. Here is a convenient way to find them.
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Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 1 of a series)
How do you find emerging technology? One way is to focus on startups.
OK, fine, but how do you discover the startups that offer a technology of interest to you? One way is to focus on venture capital firms that focus on the areas of interest to you.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2019/12/starting-down-startup-path-part-1-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 2 of a series)
Anyone involved in venture capital or its variants is interested in identifying potential candidates for investment opportunity. Finding these candidates is not easy. But a place to start on startups is to see what companies other venture capital firms have identified.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2019/12/starting-down-startup-path-part-2-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 3 of a series)
Panning for Google® gold: startups with promising new technologies
The previous post in this series featured the List of Top Oil and Gas Private Equity Firms discovered as the result of a Google® search. The list focuses on companies pursuing acquisition and development of existing resources. While the list will be useful to many, this series of posts focuses on techniques you can use to identify startups with promising new technologies.
So, on to the next step in the quest to find new technology on the cusp of successful deployment.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/01/starting-down-startup-path-part-3-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 4 of a series)
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained: Follow the Lead of the Oil Majors
How do you identify startups that fit your corporate goals? One way is to set up and advertise a venture capital unit, which enables young companies to pitch their technology to your corporation.
And that is just what several oil majors have done.
Studying their portfolios can provide a wealth of helpful information, whether you are a venture capitalist, a startup, or simply interested in identifying emerging technology.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/01/starting-down-startup-path-part-4-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 5 of a series): Searching Patents
Patents: Emerging Tech
Patents are a rich source of cutting-edge research. And much of the research reported in patents never appears in peer reviewed journals. So, to identify emerging technology in your field, consider searching the patent literature on a regular basis.
TIP: Read Tips for reading patents: a concise introduction for scientists for an excellent overview on this topic.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/02/start-up-startdown-path-parti-5-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 6 of a series): Reviewing Patents
Searching for patents is iterative. You type in some keywords. Results reveal more keywords. You type in those keywords. And repeat.
This can be really tedious, irksome even. Sometimes it is hard to figure out whether a given patent is even relevant to your needs.
Fortunately, a number of experts have offered tips to make it easier to read a patent quickly.
TIP: Google® how to read a patent for more tips on efficient ways to review a patent
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/03/starting-down-startup-path-part-6-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 7 of a series): Patents and Run On Sentences
Per USPO rules, the Claims in a patent must be stated in a single sentence. In many cases, the “single sentence” can be, thanks to colons, commas, semicolons, et al., several hundred words long.
But remember that, as difficult as it may be to wrap your head around any given claim, it still is faster than reading the whole patent.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/03/starting-down-startup-path-part-7-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 8 of a series): Mining Patents for Keywords
Mining patents for useful information can be tedious. One thing you can do is to look for keywords to use in Google® searches. For example, in a previous post I listed a Breakthrough Technologies LLC patent with the following claim …
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/03/starting-down-startup-path-part-8-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 9 of a series): PTQ Catalysis 2020
PTQ Catalysis 2020 is ready to view at www.eptq.com. As always, it is rich in useful information. In the context of our Startdown the Startup Path series of posts, one article in particular caught my eye …
Pilot plant studies of hydrotreating catalysts
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/03/starting-down-startup-path-part-9-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 10 of a series): The Bigness of Machine Learning
Big data is a big deal. We humans generate so much data that our puny brains are unable to process it. So we have created machines to do that for us.
There is a whole discipline called machine learning designed to train these machines to process massive amounts of data in useful ways.
“Machine learning,” as Serdar Yegulalp notes in an InfoWorld article, “is a complex discipline. But implementing machine learning models is far less daunting and difficult than it used to be, thanks to machine learning frameworks—such as Google’s TensorFlow—that ease the process of acquiring data, training models, serving predictions, and refining future results.”
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/03/starting-down-startup-path-part-10-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 11 of a series): Thread the Needle
In a horse race, the goal is to bet on the winning horse. Common sense tells us that if we knew for a certainty which horse would win the race, racing them would be pointless. The same logic applies to new technologies, and the companies that create them.
That’s why it can be useful to look at companies that have been examined by investment funds like the Columbia Seligman Communications and Information Fund.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/04/starting-down-startup-path-part-11-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 12 of a series): Patent Prior Art Search
Prior Art Search: Everything you need to know
If you’re looking to understand everything about prior art search, you’ve landed on the right page. By the time you finish reading this guide, you’ll likely have built a solid understanding of what can be included in the prior art, how you can use this knowledge to conduct a patent search all by yourself and avoid spending valuable resources on the non-patentable subject matter.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/04/starting-down-startup-path-part-12-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 13 of a series) Dibenzothiophene Patents 2020
What’s the quickest way to determine if a patent is of interest to you? Depends on your purpose. This tip sheet may help you decide which section of a patent to focus on.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/05/starting-down-startup-path-part-13-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 14 of a series)-Google Patents Find Prior Art Link
Patent research is important in any area of research you are engaged in ... especially if you are a startup, or are considering investing in a startup.
Prior art is an important concept in patent research.
In this regard, Google® Patents Prior Art Link is useful. When you find a patent of interest, in the upper right of the screen you will find a link labeled Prior Art.
Read full post at:
http://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/05/starting-down-startup-path-part-14-of.html
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Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.
Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/ for continuing tips on effective online research
Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com with questions on research, training, or anything else
Visit Jean’s Web site at http://www.jeansteinhardtconsulting.com/ to see examples of the services we can provide
Experienced patent searchers understand the nuances of prior art searches. However, if you are new to the concept, here is an article that can get you up to speed.
TIP: Google® how to search prior art for more useful information on this topic.
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Prior Art Search: Everything you need to know
If you’re looking to understand everything about prior art search, you’ve landed on the right page. By the time you’ll finish reading this guide, you’ll likely have built a solid understanding of what can be included in the prior art, how you can use this knowledge to conduct a patent search all by yourself and avoid spending valuable resources on the non-patentable subject matter.
For your reference, below listed are the questions we’d be discussing in this guide. If you’d like to jump to a particular question, feel free to click on the hyperlink in the table of contents to get to the corresponding section. However, for a newbie, it is advisable to go through the complete guide, in the same sequential way it has been written.
Table of Contents
What Is Prior Art?
How Prior art impacts your patents?
What Is A Prior Art Search?
What Are The Different Types Of Prior Art Search?
Novelty Search (Before Filing A Patent)
Validity/Invalidity Search (After Issuance Of A Patent)
Clearance Search Or Freedom-To-Operate Search (Before Launching A Product)
Why Do You Need A Prior Art Search?
How Much Does A Prior Art Search Cost?
Professional Search Fees
Government Search Fees
When Can an Evidence be considered as Prior Art?
How To Do Prior Art Search Yourself?
Why You Should Consider Getting The Search Conducted By A Research Firm/Attorney?
What Is Prior Art?
Prior Art, in simple terms, is evidence that your invention is already well-known and not something unique. In other words, prior-art is a reference of some type in some form (textual, visual, audio, etc.) which serves as clear proof that the invention you hold is not something unique.
It is not important that the prior art is present physically or is commercially available. It is enough that someone, somewhere, and at some time previously described, showed or made something that contains the use of a technology that is very similar to your invention.
Now prior art could be found in many forms – Be it a patent or some form of the printed publication including, but not limited to, research papers, trade journals, a college thesis, an advertisement, books, videos – basically anything that is available in the public domain and is public knowledge.
There’s just one catch – A prior art could only invalidate a patent if it has been available to the public before the effective filing date of the patent. For example, a textbook that gives the idea of an invention can be considered as prior art but a textbook that has a revised version of the idea of an invention after the effective filing date of a patent application cannot be considered as prior art.
It is not vital in which language the prior art is described or how many publications of the same are available. The main interest is that the information can be accessed by the public. Thus, a small newsletter by a local company will have the same validity as that of a leading newspaper in a country, provided it is properly time-stamped.
However, figuring prior art for your invention is not as complex as you think it might be. While you could always contact a lawyer or patent attorney to conduct a prior art search on your behalf – saving your efforts and resources in filing fees – it is also possible to conduct a prior art search all by yourself.
How?
Well, it is not exactly that simple, but if you could differentiate your invention from a similar one, it isn’t a very hard nut to crack either. We will walk you through the steps to perform a prior art search by yourself in later sections, but first, let’s have a look at the different kinds of prior art searches, when they are required, and the associated costs.
How Prior art impacts your patents?
Before we proceed further and answer these questions, first let’s go through a bit of prologue aka a brief overview of how prior art impacts your patent.
Getting a patent for your invention requires a filing process. When you submit your patent application to the PTO, the examiner conducts a prior art search to figure if there exists any art before the filing date of the patent application that could deem your idea invalid.
If such art exists, your patent application gets rejected and you might have to make some amendments in the claims of your invention, such that it does not have any overlapping prior art. And if your patent application surpasses this phase, you will get a grant for your patent.
The same applies when the validity of your granted patent is challenged, or in PTO via any of these mediums – IPR, PGR or CBM. In any of these scenarios, if prior art is found, it could reduce the scope of your patent or deem your granted patent, invalid.
Now that we know how prior art could impact the grant process of your application and validity of your granted patent, let’s have a deeper look at it.
What Is A Prior Art Search?
A Prior art search is a dedicated search to figure if there exists any evidence that could deem a patent/application invalid. A prior art search can be of three types, based on the purpose of the search, i.e. Novelty Search, Invalidity Search, and FTO Search.
What Are The Different Types Of Prior Art Search?
Novelty Search (Before Filing A Patent)
A novelty search or patentability search is conducted before filing a patent application in the PTO to determine if the invention is novel before the inventor commits the resources necessary to obtain a patent.
Conducting this search before filing a patent application can help ensure that the application won’t be rejected. And if, during the search, something does qualify as prior art, you can save your money by not opting the already existing idea to get patented, or, you can make enhancement in the features of your invention to render it as a unique idea.
This search may include searching in databases of patents, patent applications, and other documents such as utility models and in the scientific literature. Novelty searches can also be used to help an inventor determine what is unique about his/her invention. If any prior-art is not found that overlaps your idea, it can be potentially patentable.
Thomas Edison, for example, did not get a patent on the basic concept of the light bulb. It was already patented and therefore was in the prior art. Instead, Edison got a patent for his improvements to the light bulb. These improvements included a very thin filament and a reliable technique for joining the white-hot filament to the room temperature lead wires.
A novelty search is also conducted by patent examiners during the prosecution of a patent. However, if you feel your idea/invention is vital and should be granted a patent, it always makes sense to get a novelty search conducted by an expert beforehand to ensure that your invention meets the criteria of patentability. Further, this approach makes sense since you can save a lot of resources – both in terms of time and money, spent on drafting, filing, and prosecution fees.
Validity/Invalidity Search (After Issuance Of A Patent)
Patent validity or invalidity search is a comprehensive prior art search – conducted after the issuance of a patent – either to authenticate the enforceability of a patent’s claims or to cancel one or more claims of a patent, correspondingly. These two searches are alike except for the needed outcome of the search (valid or invalid patent claims).
Related Read: Everything we could tell you about Patent Invalidity search.
Clearance Search Or Freedom-To-Operate Search (Before Launching A Product)
It is quite important to assess and understand the business risks involved when you are bringing a new product to the market. This is particularly vital as there are chances that your product may infringe on another’s patent rights. Freedom to practice opinion is a legal judgment that analyses your product against an appropriate selection of patents to find out the level of risk associated with bringing the product to market. This search can help you avert from the dangers of potential infringement while launching your product.
Related Read: Ignoring Freedom to Operate searches could be fatal for your organization. Find out how?
Now that we had a look at the different types of patent searches and their purpose, it is important to figure why you need a prior art search. If you have reasons to believe that you do not need a prior art search, the pointers below could change your mind. If you’re on the same side of the wagon, feel free to skip this section and jump to the next.
Why Do You Need A Prior Art Search?
The process of getting a patent can be costly as you have to pay hefty fees (constituting a filing fee, an examination fee, and attorney fees). While official fees are often discounted for individual inventors and small enterprises in most jurisdictions, the overall cost of protecting the invention can be quite high, mainly if the inventor wishes to safeguard his or her invention in several jurisdictions.
Wondering how much drafting, filing and maintaining a patent would cost you in various jurisdictions across the world? We have answered this question in another post which could be read by clicking here – Cost of Filing, Obtaining and Maintaining a patent in Major Jurisdictions across the world
So it is generally recommended to carry out a prior art search yourself or hire a professional to do so before the commencement of the patenting process. Based on the findings of the prior art search, the novel (unique) and inventive features of the invention can be figured, and a decision can be made, whether to file for a patent or not and in which jurisdictions, it should be filed.
The benefits of conducting a prior art search can be summarized in two points:
It can save resources in filings and prosecution proceedings if the invention is not exclusive, allowing R&D centers to use their IP budgets sensibly.
The prior art search helps to find out the closest prior arts and thus can describe the scope of protection present in patent claims. Even prosecution time can be reduced due to the need for fewer office actions and claim amendments.
A prior art search is like a due conscientiousness exercise that can alter the risk of rejection of the patent application.
Now that we had a look at some of the reasons why you should get a prior art search conducted before filing a patent, the next question that might occur to some of you is how much it would cost if you see professional assistance.
Well, you’re about to get answers.
How Much Does A Prior Art Search Cost?
Professional Search Fees
For patent searches, the fee differs as there are different methods used by professionals that may vary their charge fees. Some opt for a flat rate, while others charge an hourly fee. The hourly fee is mostly applicable in cases where you want the researcher to sort through the information and give you an opinion on the patentability of your invention. Ultimately, the fee being charged comes down to the method being used by the person who would perform the search.
If your invention is fairly simple, the searcher might charge you around $100 for the search. This is in the case if you hire a service that doesn’t offer an in-depth opinion or analysis. For more complex inventions you might end up paying $2,000 or more as it requires a deep analysis of the domain under study.
Below listed are some ballpark estimates if you choose to hire an attorney.
$1,000 to $1,250 for simple inventions
$1,250 to $1,500 for slightly complex inventions
$1,500 to $2,000 for moderately or relatively complex inventions
$2,000 to $3,000 for highly complex inventions or software
Some businesses – that file a lot of patents – need to opt for patent search quite a number of times. In those cases, it makes sense to subscribe to advanced patent research tools and services instead of paying a separate fee for each search.
Government Search Fees
After the submission of your application, the patent examiner assigned to your case will perform a search related to your patent. In the US, the search fee for a small entity is $300, while for larger businesses, the fee is $600.
When Can an Evidence be considered as Prior Art?
Prior art is defined by Title 35, United States Code, Section 102, which states: A person is not entitled to a patent if the invention was “known or used by others in this country, or was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country” before the date of invention by the applicant for the patent.
After the introduction of the America Invents Act (AIA) and the shift from first to invent to the first inventor to file, there are considerable changes in patent law. While the virtual definition remains the same, there are quite a few changes which are introduced after the passage of AIA, which is summarized as follows:
If the invention in question was described in a patent issued anywhere in the world more than 12 months prior to a US application being filed, then no patent can be obtained.
If the invention in question was described in a printed publication published anywhere in the world more than 12 months prior to a US application being filed, then no patent can be obtained.
If the invention in question was publicly used in the US more than 12 months prior to a US application being filed, then no patent can be obtained.
If the device, machine or compound in question was offered for sale in the US more than 12 months prior to a US application being filed, then no patent can be obtained.
How To Do Prior Art Search Yourself?
By now, you must be having a solid understanding of what can be considered as prior art, what does and does not qualify as evidence in court post-AIA, some solid reasons why you should absolutely get a prior art search conducted and how much it would cost you – based on the complexity of your invention – if you choose to go with a professional to get the search conducted.
Now, a lot of people would like to conduct a prior art search by themselves to save some money. Though less recommended, going the DIY way has its own set of pros including getting a grasp of inventions out there which would help you develop a better business plan, and could even help you refine your invention to cover any additions/modifications in your invention. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Searching for prior art requires a search on different databases to find whether someone else has already described an idea similar to yours. A search strategy is required to be formulated for a prior art search at the beginning using either a keyword search, name search, classification search or a citation search, or a combination thereof.
In the keyword search, all of the main features of the invention are recognized and then keywords and their related synonyms are determined from the key features of the creation to formulate search strings to run on patent and non-patent databases.
In addition, patent classes, applicants and inventors which are similar to the field of the invention need to be recognized and used in the search strings to further the search strategy. To choose the most relevant prior arts, all of the search results must be manually analyzed.
Now there could be thousands of search results based on your search string and it is difficult to read through each of them. What could one do in that case?
There’s an easy way to do it – You can screen the results at multiple levels. In the first level of screening, only the title and abstract of the search results can be read, and after shortlisting the relevant-sounding ones, the second level of screening can be done to figure the most relevant to your invention. Once most of the relevant prior arts have been shortlisted, their citations can be verified to find out more results around the shortlisted ones.
For the sake of simplicity, let us condense all the above knowledge into few pointers for your later perusal along with some database suggestions.
Brainstorm the keywords that describe your invention
To conduct a thorough search, you’ll need to take into account, all possible keyword combinations that could exist in the prior art.
Conduct a thorough search of various databases
After having assembled a list of search strings based on keywords/inventors/assignee/citation data, the next step is to input these strings on some of the most common databases.
Below listed are few patent databases where you could conduct a search:
Google Patents
USPTO search interface
Espacenet (European Patent Office) search interface
WIPO search interface
Patent Lens
Got the overview? Now, the important part is using these databases effectively.
We won’t go in detail on how to conduct searches on each of these databases, as we have already covered the same in another post. If you are curious to figure how to perform a patent search using all the above mediums and don’t want to leave the page, you can download the below PDF covering the material for a later perusal.
Go beyond Patent Databases
Prior art is not just confined to existing patents or patent applications. All ideas that are publicly available and are publicly disclosed, can be counted as prior art. Thus, a comprehensive prior art search should extend beyond patent searching. You should also include the following sources in the domain of your invention for a complete search:
Google Scholar search for scholarly publications
Non-patent literature like articles, publications, or journals (printed or electronic)
Amazon or other e-commerce sites for product search
When you file your patent application, you want to state the relevant prior art along. If the patent examiner has all the relevant references at his disposal, you will end up with a stronger patent. Additionally, this will satisfy your ethical duties of disclosure, candor and good faith to report prior art to the PTO. So make sure you save a list of all relevant results.
Know when to stop searching
Your goal is not to look at all the prior art out there. Rather, it’s to examine enough prior art to gain a complete understanding of where your invention stands in the industry. Once you think you have performed a satisfactory search, you could call it an off and go for the filing process.
Related Read: 5 Ways to do an Advanced Prior Art Search
Why You Should Consider Getting The Search Conducted By A Research Firm/Attorney?
Going the DIY way sounds amazing, but it has its own set of cons. It can never be said with confidence that no prior art went unsearched as the search needs skills, training, and practice. Any prior art if missed could lead to the rejection of the patent application or termination of the granted patent at a later stage.
Hence, it becomes paramount that the task is assigned to professionals who know their way in the business – aka conducting a comprehensive search. It is also extremely important to choose the right firm to do the job, whose mission is to help you with your end goal and not just take up a search as a vending machine approach. In other words, you should be looking for a service partner and not a vendor to carry out your search to get the best results.
To find the best vendor for the job, research around a bit, read some of the reviews/testimonials posted by others who have perused a particular attorney’s service – In short, do your homework before settling with an attorney for the search. The chances of getting a patent grant for your application and retaining the validity of your granted patent depends a lot upon the attorney you choose to conduct the search on your behalf, so choose wisely.
Here are some of our helpful guides that can help you out here:
How To Select A Better Search Partner?
What You Should Look For When Deciding A Patent Search Partner?
Conclusion
In this not so short guide, we explored various questions someone would have related to the prior art. Though limited, the questions covered the fundamentals of the prior art and prior art search in particular. We scratched the surface of some topics – one of them is how to conduct a free prior art search by yourself – given the limited scope of the article.
However, if you’d like to take a deep dive and want to understand how to perform a patent search by yourself using various databases, this guide on free patent searching would be of great help. If the former isn’t a subject of your interest, and you are looking to understand the sources that welcome could serve as prior art and various unconventional strategies and tactics to spot prior art (for novelty or invalidation search), you’d want to bookmark this page.
To efficient searches!
source: https://www.greyb.com/prior-art-search/
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Starting Down the Startup Path: TOC – Table of Contents
If you enjoyed this post, you might like some of the others in this series. Here is a convenient way to find them.
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Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 1 of a series)
How do you find emerging technology? One way is to focus on startups.
OK, fine, but how do you discover the startups that offer a technology of interest to you? One way is to focus on venture capital firms that focus on the areas of interest to you.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2019/12/starting-down-startup-path-part-1-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 2 of a series)
Anyone involved in venture capital or its variants is interested in identifying potential candidates for investment opportunity. Finding these candidates is not easy. But a place to start on startups is to see what companies other venture capital firms have identified.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2019/12/starting-down-startup-path-part-2-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 3 of a series)
Panning for Google® gold: startups with promising new technologies
The previous post in this series featured the List of Top Oil and Gas Private Equity Firms discovered as the result of a Google® search. The list focuses on companies pursuing acquisition and development of existing resources. While the list will be useful to many, this series of posts focuses on techniques you can use to identify startups with promising new technologies.
So, on to the next step in the quest to find new technology on the cusp of successful deployment.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/01/starting-down-startup-path-part-3-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 4 of a series)
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained: Follow the Lead of the Oil Majors
How do you identify startups that fit your corporate goals? One way is to set up and advertise a venture capital unit, which enables young companies to pitch their technology to your corporation.
And that is just what several oil majors have done.
Studying their portfolios can provide a wealth of helpful information, whether you are a venture capitalist, a startup, or simply interested in identifying emerging technology.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/01/starting-down-startup-path-part-4-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 5 of a series): Searching Patents
Patents: Emerging Tech
Patents are a rich source of cutting-edge research. And much of the research reported in patents never appears in peer reviewed journals. So, to identify emerging technology in your field, consider searching the patent literature on a regular basis.
TIP: Read Tips for reading patents: a concise introduction for scientists for an excellent overview on this topic.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/02/start-up-startdown-path-parti-5-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 6 of a series): Reviewing Patents
Searching for patents is iterative. You type in some keywords. Results reveal more keywords. You type in those keywords. And repeat.
This can be really tedious, irksome even. Sometimes it is hard to figure out whether a given patent is even relevant to your needs.
Fortunately, a number of experts have offered tips to make it easier to read a patent quickly.
TIP: Google® how to read a patent for more tips on efficient ways to review a patent
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/03/starting-down-startup-path-part-6-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 7 of a series): Patents and Run On Sentences
Per USPO rules, the Claims in a patent must be stated in a single sentence. In many cases, the “single sentence” can be, thanks to colons, commas, semicolons, et al., several hundred words long.
But remember that, as difficult as it may be to wrap your head around any given claim, it still is faster than reading the whole patent.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/03/starting-down-startup-path-part-7-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 8 of a series): Mining Patents for Keywords
Mining patents for useful information can be tedious. One thing you can do is to look for keywords to use in Google® searches. For example, in a previous post I listed a Breakthrough Technologies LLC patent with the following claim …
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/03/starting-down-startup-path-part-8-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 9 of a series): PTQ Catalysis 2020
PTQ Catalysis 2020 is ready to view at www.eptq.com. As always, it is rich in useful information. In the context of our Startdown the Startup Path series of posts, one article in particular caught my eye …
Pilot plant studies of hydrotreating catalysts
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/03/starting-down-startup-path-part-9-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 10 of a series): The Bigness of Machine Learning
Big data is a big deal. We humans generate so much data that our puny brains are unable to process it. So we have created machines to do that for us.
There is a whole discipline called machine learning designed to train these machines to process massive amounts of data in useful ways.
“Machine learning,” as Serdar Yegulalp notes in an InfoWorld article, “is a complex discipline. But implementing machine learning models is far less daunting and difficult than it used to be, thanks to machine learning frameworks—such as Google’s TensorFlow—that ease the process of acquiring data, training models, serving predictions, and refining future results.”
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/03/starting-down-startup-path-part-10-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 11 of a series): Thread the Needle
In a horse race, the goal is to bet on the winning horse. Common sense tells us that if we knew for a certainty which horse would win the race, racing them would be pointless. The same logic applies to new technologies, and the companies that create them.
That’s why it can be useful to look at companies that have been examined by investment funds like the Columbia Seligman Communications and Information Fund.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/04/starting-down-startup-path-part-11-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 12 of a series): Patent Prior Art Search
Prior Art Search: Everything you need to know
If you’re looking to understand everything about prior art search, you’ve landed on the right page. By the time you finish reading this guide, you’ll likely have built a solid understanding of what can be included in the prior art, how you can use this knowledge to conduct a patent search all by yourself and avoid spending valuable resources on the non-patentable subject matter.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/04/starting-down-startup-path-part-12-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 13 of a series) Dibenzothiophene Patents 2020
What’s the quickest way to determine if a patent is of interest to you? Depends on your purpose. This tip sheet may help you decide which section of a patent to focus on.
Read full post at:
https://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/05/starting-down-startup-path-part-13-of.html
Starting Down the Startup Path (Part 14 of a series)-Google Patents Find Prior Art Link
Patent research is important in any area of research you are engaged in ... especially if you are a startup, or are considering investing in a startup.
Prior art is an important concept in patent research.
In this regard, Google® Patents Prior Art Link is useful. When you find a patent of interest, in the upper right of the screen you will find a link labeled Prior Art.
Read full post at:
http://desulf.blogspot.com/2020/05/starting-down-startup-path-part-14-of.html
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Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.
Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/ for continuing tips on effective online research
Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com with questions on research, training, or anything else
Visit Jean’s Web site at http://www.jeansteinhardtconsulting.com/ to see examples of the services we can provide
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