If you have an idea and you want to know if somebody else had already discovered it before, you can do a patents search. This is important if you plan to invent things and want to earn from it. A patent is a legal document that describes a certain invention and is granted to the owner of the idea or invention. This is done so that other people will have no right to sell the invention.
Doing a patents search helps you know who owns a certain inventions or idea. Searching for a patent in the web is not that easy. The database of patents in the web is immense and it’s going to be a really tough search. There are however companies like InventHelp, who can do a full patent research on your behalf.
To make things less complicated you should narrow down your search. What type of patent are you looking for? Is it a utility, plant or design patent? Objects that are invented to function in some manner are categorized under the utility patent. This includes machines, methods, gadget, devices and processes, etc.
For improvements in design only of an object or invention you can find it under the design patent. New types of plants that are produced through asexual method are found under plant patent. However plants that are genetically engineered are still placed under utility patents.
There are different reasons why people conduct a patent search. If you want to patent a certain idea you should first see whether it’s original. Doing a patents search is very useful if you plan to write your own patent application. A successful search will show related inventions or inventions that are same as yours.
There are different ways that you can use when searching for a patent. You can search for a patent using the inventor’s name. But you can only search for inventors who had invented things for the past twenty years. There are tutorials online that can help you learn how to search for patents using the inventor’s name. If your search requires objects that are really old you will need to search it using its patent number. Patent numbers are found in a box of a product or directly printed on it.
Another way of searching for a patent is with the use of words. In doing this type of search think of the words that describes the invention that you are looking for, then search them. Come up with words that directly and uniquely describe an invention to make your search easier. After typing in the keywords your search will reveal a list of titles and number of patents found. By clicking the title you be able to read the details of the patent and its full text.
There are online databases that you can readily use when doing a patent search. It is provided by Delphion and the US Patents Office. There are also Depository Patent Libraries that you can search from. You can set an appointment with the librarian and ask for help regarding your patents search.
In doing a patents search you can also employ other people to do it. There are experts in this field that can provide quality research. If you are new to this it is advisable that you hire an attorney or professionals, like InventHelp, to do the work. Before hiring someone, to avoid scammers there should be a non-disclosure agreement signed by both parties.
To better understand patents searching you can read procedures and tutorials online. You can also purchase books that provide easy to understand procedures for beginners. If you plan to do the research yourself you will need to study many things such as the patents classification system. You will need to prepare yourself because the search can take to a number of days to weeks.