What Price Patents?

Theoretically, anyone can do a patent search. How hard can it be? I am here to tell you that, from personal experience, it can be really, really hard.

Plus, even if you are aware of all the ins and outs of the patent searching process, it can be tedious and time consuming.

Enter the professional patent searcher. Because of their experience in patent searching, they can be worth the price you pay them to do it for you.

Which brings us to the following article, excerpted below …

TIP: This is an excellent article. I think you will be well served to read the whole thing. Click on the link below.

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What is the Right Price for a Patent Search?
March 19, 2018 by Michael O'Brien
Inventors often express the belief that patent searches should be as simple as doing a quick Google search. I’m often approached by inventors who are confused as to why many patent attorneys charge thousands of dollars to conduct a patent search, while some online services charge only a couple hundred dollars.

How much a patent search should cost? The brief answer is, you generally get what you pay for.

Otherwise, read on for a quick breakdown of what factors into the cost of a patent search.

Scope of Search
Just about every patent search will encompass all of the patents and published applications in the United States. This accounts for about 60% of the total body of literature that can impact the patentability of an invention.

More elaborate searches will also include international patents and applications that can be machine translated into English, and thus queried with English language search terms. This accounts for another 20% of patent data.

The most in-depth searches will also include a variety of non-patent literature and data stored in proprietary databases, such as journal articles, sales brochures, and other publications and marketing pieces. This accounts for the final 10% to 20% of all the data out there.

When deciding how much to spend on a patent search, you have to consider the risk of missing a pertinent piece of information. Bear in mind, the purpose of a patent search is to determine whether it’s worthwhile to invest in filing a patent application. What if you go the cheap route and don’t turn up any relevant prior art, and then years down the line have your patent overturned because a more in-depth search showed that your invention wasn’t patentable?

The more thorough the patent search, the better you will be protected.

Read the full article at: https://www.obrienpatents.com/right-price-patent-search/
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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