You’ve just come up with a brilliant invention—game-changing, unique, and ready to shake up the market. But here’s the question: Has someone else already thought of it? Too often, inventors jump straight into the patent filing process without asking this crucial question. The result? Thousands spent on drafting, filing, and legal fees—only to have their application rejected because a similar idea already exists. Or worse, getting sued for infringing on someone else’s patent.This is why a patent search is not just a recommendation—it’s a strategic necessity. Think of it as your invention’s first shield in the legal arena. Whether you’re an independent inventor, a startup founder, or part of a corporate R&D team, a patent search is your first checkpoint in the innovation journey. Done right, it can help you refine your idea, strategize your claims, and move forward with confidence.
Prior art includes any evidence that an invention was already known or available to the public—such as published articles, public demonstrations, or products—not just existing patents. Existing patents are just one type of prior art.
No, searching only your home country’s database is insufficient, especially if you seek wider protection; prior art and relevant patents may exist in other countries, which could impact your patent’s validity.
Published, abandoned patents may serve as prior art, but unpublished ones generally only count if they are referenced in another publicly available document or patent.
It is very important as Journals, product manuals, academic papers, blogs, and even social media posts can be valid prior art. NPL can destroy novelty just like a published patent.
an FTO search checks if your product infringes existing patents in a specific market, while a novelty search determines if your invention is new and patentable by examining worldwide prior art, including patents and non-patent literature.
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