Do you have any particular ideas for an invention? If yes, getting a patent is necessary to avoid any future consequences. Many people often forget to check if their concept is already patented. The primary reason for the same is a lack of knowledge. They don’t know how to search for the same. If you are in such a situation, you are in the right place. This article will provide you with all the essential steps required to find if your invention is patented or not.
Nowadays, many young students are interested in making new inventions. They have the urge to transform the world in their way. However, it is a pretty challenging task to get unique ideas for developing a new thing. Copying others doesn’t always work. If you ever try to copy someone’s innovation, you might have to face legal actions.
Human brains are built in a way that your ideas might match others’ too. Therefore, it is essential to do deep research if it is a unique one or not. The moment you find it out, you should immediately get a patent. Many platforms offer these services to users. If you are looking for the best one, you can consider InventHelp. They provide excellent patent services to everyone.
You might be curious to know the steps involved in the process of patent search. So, without wasting any more time, let’s get started with the same.
How to conduct your patent search?
A patent search is not complex as it seems to be. All you have to do is follow the below steps-
- Search for relevant terms: It is one of the most crucial steps to do a patent search. You have to write down the words that are related to your idea. After that, you can search for similar inventions that someone has already licensed. You need to make sure to go through deep research before deciding on anything. Otherwise, you might create problems for yourself.
- Use Google Patents search: It is one of the most promising search engines. Here, you can find information from 17 patent offices of the world. It is a straightforward and faster way of research. You don’t need to be an expert while doing the same.
- Check the USPTO website: All the data regarding different innovations, licenses, and more are stored in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. You can visit the site and do your search by entering the related terms of your idea. The best part about using it is that you can quickly get the results, even in images. As a result, you will have a better idea of the search you have made. If you want to make your research effective, always try to find out relevant keywords. As there are many inventions, it will be hard to discover a similar one like yours.
- Contact a PRTC library: It has now become more accessible for people to do a trademark search. You can contact or go to a nearby Patent and Trademark Resource Center’s library. It is better to apply for an appointment before going there. When you visit the library, you can directly ask the staff about the existing trademarks similar to your idea. They will guide you on the same and also help you in getting all the information.
- Talk to a professional agent: Another effective way of research is contacting an experienced agent working in this field. He will not only guide you with the process but also make sure everything is done correctly.
How to discover if your invention is already licensed?
The following things might help you finalize your invention and apply for a license.
- Look for essential elements: Sometimes, it is a pretty challenging task to discover unique aspects of your idea or innovation. Due to this, you won’t recognize if someone has already taken it or not. So, you must always add a unique element to your invention and keep using those words that describe it precisely. Otherwise, your research will not be effective. In some cases, people often experienced similar elements in others’ inventions. If your idea is also like this, you should change it immediately.
- Try to find out differences: Differences between your idea and others will help you make the right decision. Whenever you are doing a patent search, make sure to find substantial differences. You must keep in mind that your application will be rejected even if there is a slight similarity.
- Verify your concept qualities: You might already know the importance of the concept in an invention. It is essential to confirm that your concept qualities are unique and new.
What are the benefits of doing a patentability search?
There are plenty of benefits of the same. They are as follows-
- Uniqueness is possible: If you consider it, you will identify whether your invention is new or not. As we mentioned earlier, every individual’s idea must be unique. There are many competitors all over the globe. So, you have to think in a different way when it comes to innovation.
- Easily apply for a patent: Nothing else will matter if your idea is not similar to anybody. You can easily apply for the protection of your invention by a professional agent. There won’t be any problems in its process.
- Avoid legal charges: Sometimes, people forget to first go through the research part. When they know that their idea has already been licensed, they have to face legal issues. So, it is better to spend some money on the patentability search before finalizing anything.
- Do it yourself: If you don’t want to hire a professional, you can also do it yourself. With the rise in technology, it has become easier to conduct it. In this way, you don’t have to spend your hard-earned money.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, we would like to say that patent search is essential to identify if your idea is unique or not. You don’t have to be an expert in conducting the same. We hope you found all the necessary information on it.